GEME - HOME PAGE

A. Purpose of GEME
Welcome to the GEME Home Page. GEME is an inter-disciplinary research network based in the Public Services Academy of ICOSS at the University of Sheffield. The network draws together academic expertise from Political Science, Human Geography and Migration Studies to interrogate and examine the links between globalisation, employment and migration within and between European nation-states.

B. GEME Research Projects

I. Gangmaster Licensing Authority (GLA) Evaluation
The GLA evaluation began in February 2007 and will run until August 2007; further annual evaluations are also planned. The GLA is a non-departmental government body (established in April 2005, in part as a response to the Morecambe Bay trajedy) that licenses gangmasters/ labour providers supplying workers in "agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering and associated processing and packaging industries". The licensing scheme officially came into oporation in late 2006: it is now an offence for companies to supply workers without a GLA license and/ or to use labour providers not registered on the GLA public database. Our evaluation of the GLA licensing has two main components: (1) a 'Baseline Review' focusing on the measurable outputs/ outcomes of the licensing scheme and also on the broader macro-economic context in which it is operating; and (2) an 'Annual Review' collating the experiences, views and opinions of labour providers, labour users, and other stakeholder groups (Unions, Community Groups, Trade Organisations, Labour Users) with regard to the first-year of GLA licensing. More details of this research project are available on the 'GLA Evaluation' page. We also welcome the input of all those effected by the GLA and have set up an anonymous and confidential Discussion Board where interested parties can have their say.

The staff contact for this project is Miss Katrine Nielsen
Funded by DEFRA and the GLA

II. Migrant Food Miles (MFM): Fresh Produce Supply-Chain Analysis
The MFM suppl-chain analysis is a pilot project that aims to assess the impact and contemporary importance of migrant labour in the production and supply of fresh British produce to large multiple retailers. The project will use in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, as well as site visits, to map out the role played by migrant workers at the various stages of fresh produce supply. Selected 'salad' products will be chosen (celery, lettuce, tomatoes, onions) and the distances travelled by workers involved in the production and supply of these products to British supermarkets will be calculated. The aim is to show how labour, as much as goods/ services, is now transnationally mobile; with the UK economy relying on migrant labour for its flexibility and efficiency in an increasingly competetive/ global marketplace. More detyails of this research project are available on the 'Migrant Food Miles' page.

The staff contact for this project is Dr Sam Scott
Funded by the Nuffield Foundation Small Grants Scheme

C. GEME Research Staff

Professor Andrew Geddes	Department of Politics and PSA	University of Sheffield	Email Andrew
Dr Sam Scott	Department of Geography and PSA	University of Sheffield	Email Sam
Miss Katrine Nielsen	PSA	University of Sheffield	Email Katrine