Seasonal Migrant Workers in Sweden: Contingents of the new austeriat

Abstract

Seasonal Migrant Workers in Sweden: Contingents of the new austeriat

In the current era of austerity free movement of labour has produced an ongoing but also contingent flow of migrant labour, an austeriat, moving from poorer crisis-hit regions of Europe to those countries such as Sweden where the crisis has been less severe. This project describes the working and living experiences of Bulgarian Roma berry pickers in Sweden. It argues that, in the context of a previously well-regulated labour market, an erosion of labour standards based on the exploitation of seasonal unskilled labour migrants from Bulgaria is occurring in the Swedish berry industry, in turn posing challenges for labour market actors and regulatory authorities. The examines what might be appropriate European and national trade union responses and those of civil society to the issues of labour precariousness which have emerged.

Keywords

Civil society, Employment/Recruitment, Labour standards/rights, Austeriat,

Publications

Mesic, N., (2017). Negotiating solidarity: collective actions for precarious migrant workers’ rights in Sweden. Avhandling. Linköping: Linköpings universitet.

Mesic, N., (2016). Paradoxes of European Free Movement in Times of Austerity: The Role of Social Movement Actors in Framing the Plight of Roma Berry Pickers in Sweden. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 36, 289–303

Mesic, N. och Woolfson, C. (2015). Roma Berry Pickers in Sweden: Economic Crisis and New Contingents of the Austeriat. Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 21, 37–50