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Voices from the Margins: Migrant Workers' Experiences in Sweden's Sectoral Labour Market Divides
University College Stockholm, Department of Human Rights and Democracy.
2025 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

This study explores into the working conditions and experiences of migrant blue-collar workers in Sweden's restaurant, cleaning, and construction industries, specifically how the lack of statutory minimum wage laws and insufficient collective agreement coverage affects their economic stability. Despite Sweden's reputation for strong labour protections, the voluntary nature of its collective bargaining system leaves significant gaps for vulnerable workers, particularly migrants who make up a sizable portion of the workforce in these sectors (more than 40% in cleaning services, 35% in restaurants, and 25% in construction). This study uses a qualitative research approach, using semi-structured interviews of 12 migrant workers complemented by statistical data, to investigate the gap between established labour rules and migrants' lived experiences. The study use Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis method to detect patterns of meaning throughout participants' narratives while remaining sensitive to individual differences. The theoretical approach combines labour market segmentation theory, migration-focused precarity frameworks, and institutional labour market regulation theories to investigate how structural limits in collective bargaining create special vulnerabilities for migrant workers. The findings help to further both theoretical understandings of labour market segmentation in Nordic welfare states and practical policy conversations about providing equitable working conditions for all employees, regardless of migration status or employment sector. This study examines how Sweden's labour market model, while beneficial to many workers, generates a dualized system that disproportionately affects migrant communities in blue-collar industries.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. , p. 56
Keywords [en]
Migrant labour, Sweden labour market, Collective bargaining, Labour market segmentation, Institutional dualization, Blue-collar sectors, Wage exploitation, Union access and Labour rights
National Category
Humanities and the Arts
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ths:diva-2861OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ths-2861DiVA, id: diva2:1977909
Subject / course
Human Rights
Educational program
Master’s Program in Human Rights and Democracy
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2025-06-27 Created: 2025-06-26 Last updated: 2025-06-27Bibliographically approved

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12345672 of 18
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • harvard-theologisches-seminar-adelshofen
  • sodertorns-hogskola-harvard
  • oxford-university-press-humsoc
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf