Occupational Injury Experiences and Coping Strategies of Migrant Workers: The Limits of Public Protection and the Utilization of Ethnic Networks (2025)

Translated by Cheonghee Yu

This study analyzed the role ethnic networks play in the process of handling occupational injuries among migrant workers from the perspective of a safety net. An analysis of in-depth interviews with migrant workers and professional occupational injuries support providers revealed that, in the process of addressing occupational injuries, “injury victims” and “support providers” were not separated into fixed groups; rather, a cyclical structure was identified in which the knowledge and information acquired through the experience of a occupational injuries were transformed into resources that subsequently helped other members of the same ethnic community cope with their own injuries. Migrant workers’ experiences with occupational injuries did not end as mere personal tragedies; rather, they were shared and accumulated within ethnic networks, forming the basis for mutual aid.

The analysis revealed that ethnic networks performed two key functions in migrant workers’ responses to occupational injuries. First, ethnic networks served as an emergency safety net. Migrant workers who left their workplaces due to conflicts with employers during the accident response process were able to obtain various forms of assistance through ethnic networks, including temporary housing, medical expense support, hospital interpretation and caregiving, and support during surgery. This assistance was provided not only through close relationships, such as relatives or friends from their hometowns, but also through connections with fellow countrymen mediated by platforms like Facebook communities. However, while this assistance was effective for short-term crisis response, it had clear limitations in sustaining long-term medical care or livelihood support, and access to it was unequal depending on factors such as immigration status or social standing in their home country.

Second, ethnic networks served as a conduit for accessing workers’ compensation insurance. All study participants were introduced to specialized workers’ compensation advocates through fellow immigrants and applied for workers’ compensation insurance through them; those with prior experience in the claims process also acted as liaisons, passing on information about these advocates to other immigrants. However, although the non-profit organization provides highly reliable assistance on workers’ compensation, the process for meeting them was not formalized, making it difficult to predict the timing and duration required to access their services. As a result, accessing workers’ compensation insurance was perceived by the individuals involved as a matter of “luck,” and there were cases where this led to delays in the initial response. However, within some ethnic networks, certain specialized advocates who had provided long-term assistance had established themselves as widely recognized “hubs” within the immigrant community, enabling relatively swift access.

Meanwhile, ethnic networks were also being utilized by for-profit legal professionals as a channel for acquiring clients. Some legal professionals even hired interpreters specializing in specific nationalities to actively promote their services within migrant communities. While this helped expand access to assistance with workers’ compensation claims, it also increased the risk of falling victim to fraud perpetrated by predatory legal professionals. In response, although on a limited scale, information verification and sharing were taking place within migrant communities, centered around trusted fellow migrant support providers.

This study analyzed migrant workers’ responses to occupational injuries without reducing them to failures of the institutional system or mere experiences of victimization. It is significant in that it empirically demonstrated that ethnic networks serve to supplement gaps in the public safety net while simultaneously functioning as an ambivalent safety net that encompasses uncertainty, inequality, and risk. In particular, by revealing a cyclical mutual aid structure in which individuals transition into the role of helpers following their own experiences with occupational injuries, this study reconceptualized migrant workers’ responses to occupational injuries as relational and collective practices.

However, this study has limitations: it focused primarily on cases where workers were relatively able to cope with work-related injuries; it did not sufficiently address the lives of migrant workers who returned to their home countries after their injuries; and it provided only a limited in-depth analysis of the processes by which work-related illnesses are handled outside the work-related injury insurance application system. Despite these limitations, this study demonstrates that migrant workers’ responses to occupational injuries rely excessively on individual capabilities or chance, and suggests the need to establish a multilingual official support system for occupational injuries and protective measures that encompass undocumented and precariously residing migrant workers. Furthermore, the mutual aid characteristics of ethnic networks hold the potential to expand into collective forms, such as unions or mutual aid funds, and demonstrate the possibility of evolving into a more sustainable safety net through future integration with public institutions.