LCHI- Cluster Research

Labour Migration, Family Well-Being and Aging

Carol D. H. Harvey, PhD, PHEc, CFLE (Organizer)
Family Social Sciences
Email: charvey@cc.umanitoba.ca

Tuula Heinonen, PhD
Social Work
Email: heinonh@cc.umanitoba.ca

Lyn Ferguson, PhD
Social Work
Email: fergusn@cc.umanitoba.ca

Kathryn McKnight, PhD
Social Work
Email: mcknight@cc.umanitoba.ca

Shahin Shooshtari, PhD
Family Social Sciences
Email: shooshta@cc.umanitoba.ca

Purpose: To explore family well-being, health and aging in contexts of geographical mobility and intra- and trans-national labour migration.

Due to globalization forces, regional opportunities and rural change, labour and inter-generational remittances, families in many parts of the world are experiencing economic and social pressures and concomitant shifts in family roles and responsibilities. Sons and daughters who migrate from rural areas to cities within a country or go abroad often save money earned and send remittances home to sustain their parents and other family members and maintain households and family farms (Cheung, Heinonen, & Liu in press). Families who receive caring labour (Neysmith, 2000) in the form of the remittances can improve their standard of living. Using a multimethod approach we can conduct comparative research across cultures and regions. This research can extend to a number of ethno-cultural groups in Canada, China and Iran, with the potential for other countries to be included. [See, for example, relevant work on Chinese immigrant families (Xia, Zhou, & Xie, 2005).]