‘A STRONG MIND AND A SOLID PHYSIQUE’: Symbolic Constructions of Migrant Workers in Sweden’s Green Industries

This article analyses how employer federations, trade unions and the Swedish state symbolically construct seasonal migrant workers to work in the green industries, specifically in agriculture, forestry and wild-berry picking. Work tasks and skills become ethnicised where certain groups are constructed as ‘fit’ for certain work tasks. Through symbolic constructing, boundaries are drawn in relation to Swedish workers in general but also hierarchically within the group of seasonal migrant workers and in relation to specific groups in Sweden, typically un-employed youth and newly settled refugees. This paper is based on interviews with unions and employer organisations as well as secondary text-sources and legal texts. The analysis shows that while employers construct seasonal migrant workers as vital for agriculture, forestry and wild-berry picking, arguing that their line of business could not be sustained without them, the union side portrays this as an ‘artificial demand’. Within a system that to a large degree is based on employers’ demand for inexpensive and flexible labour, symbolic boundaries of seasonal migrant workers are not only performed by the employers’ side, but are also co-constructed with and sanctioned by the state; while partly contested by the unions

From panic to business as usual: What coronavirus has revealed about migrant labour, agri-food systems and industrial relations in the Nordic countries

This article focuses on migrant labour in Nordic agriculture, wild berry picking and food processing. The starting point is the fear of a food crisis at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic (2020) because of the absence of migrant workers. The question was raised early in the pandemic if food systems in the Global North are vulnerable due to dependence on precarious migrant workers. In the light of this question, we assess the reactions of farmers and different actors in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden to what looked like an unfolding food crisis. In many ways, the reactions in the Nordic countries were similar to each other, and to broader reactions in the Global North, and we follow these reactions as they relate to migrant workers from an initial panic to a return to business as usual despite the continuation of the pandemic. In the end, 2020 proved to be an excellent year for Nordic food production in part because migrant workers were able to come. We discuss reasons why the Nordic countries did not face disruptions during the pandemic, map out patterns of labour precarity and segmentation for migrant labour in agriculture and food production in the Nordic countries and propose questions for further research

"There's no I in team" : A study of roles of civil society in Holmsund, and it’s connection to constructions of Holmsund

The civil society and civic engagement is a prerequisite for democracy (Putnam, 1994), and in the form of the popular movements it has in many ways defined the Swedish democracy. This thesis focuses on the locality Holmsund located in the municipality of Umeå, Holmsund has a history that are in ways defined by activeness from civil society in similarity with many other places in Sweden (Ambjörnsson, 2001). Through interviews with people active connected to voluntary associations in Holmsund, and the use of narrative analysis this thesis tries to understand how what roles civil society has in Holmsund today; with specific interest in the rural context. Central to this is the understanding of space as relational and in many ways defined by power relations, and in particular relationship between centre-periphery. The combination of the centre-periphery relationship and the neo-liberal restructuring of the Swedish economy from being characterized by wealth distribution to wealth contributing in order to prosper has among other things lead to a decrease in services and increase inequality, both in urban peripheral places or as in this case, rural places. A part of how voluntary associations perceive their role in a rural and local context, is a role of counteracting the effects of inequality but mainly voluntary association are occupied with creating a good living environment within their local community. A part of the increasing inequality is that it enhances the identification with the local context which creates a common social reality among the inhabitants which serves as ground for organization. Through place attachment there seem to be an identification in between a significant presence and importance of civil society and the place Holmsund, this contributes to Holmsund being constructed as a civic community

Invisible yet essential : the role of seasonal labour migration in Sweden’s green industries

Over the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in seasonal labour migration to the green industries in Sweden. This migration, from both within and outside the EU, has been presented as a solution to local labour shortages by the industries. Migrant workers are a group that is often in a precarious situation due to the intersection of labour market regulations and migration policies. Both the labour market and migration policies in Sweden gone through substantial changes, following a neoliberal trajectory.  Against the backdrop of labour market neoliberalization this thesis aims to investigate seasonal labour migration in the green industries, particularly in forestry and berry picking. It explores how different actors understand, describe, and justify the use of foreign labour and analyses the structural factors driving this trend. The thesis is comprised of four articles exploring and discussing different aspects of this subject. Collectively, they address various questions about the role of labour migration in neoliberalism, different structural actors' perspectives on migrant workers in green industries, and the connection between the inherent characteristics of green industries and labour migration. Additionally, it scrutinizes the inclusion of migrant workers in Sweden's sustainability efforts. The conclusion demonstrates that structures like neoliberalism favour economic interests in Sweden and impact sustainability work. Labour migration is seen as part of market orientation that increases the availability of exploitable labour. Symbolic boundaries between worker groups are employed to justify the need for migrant workers, complicating labour unions' organization efforts, and reinforcing inequality in an increasingly informal labour market2013-01457 Grapes of Wrath: Global labour mobility in the wild berry industry affecting rural development in Sweden and Thailan

Negotiating the Wild West: Variegated neoliberalisation of the Swedish labour migration regime and the wild berry migration industry

Neoliberalisation processes have long permeated Western societies, including a common direction towards neoliberal migration regimes. This paper combines the perspective of variegated neoliberalisation with the recent literature on migration industries, to investigate the neoliberalisation of the Swedish labour migration regime and how it affected and interacted with the wild berry migration industry. It shows how neoliberalisation as a historical and spatially contingent process resulted in the distinct phases of intertwined policymaking and enactment of the industry. The ‘roll back’ phase included mutual interests and ‘intimate relations’ between state and industry, which both empowered and increased the number of private actors, creating structures that remained during the regular restructuring phase of ‘roll out’ neoliberalisation. While adding the perspective of variegated neoliberalisation, the paper deepens the analysis of migration industries by pointing at neoliberalisation as a spatial and temporal process, where the interplay between state and industry, an enlarged number of intermediaries and the increased responsibility of private actors are central cornerstones. The Swedish case shows how the role of intermediaries in the wild berry migration industry was reconstructed in order for the neoliberal migration regime to regulate a previously irregular migration industry. It is concluded that strong but spatially contingent links exist between neoliberal political economies, migration regimes and migration industries

Vårdmiljöns betydelse : En litteraturöversikt utifrån ett patientperspektiv

Bakgrund: Det finns brister i den fysiska vårdmiljön som påverkar patientens hälsa. Tidigare forskning har visat att miljön upplevs som klinisk och förfallen där det inte finns tydliga riktlinjer för hur sjuksköterskor kan anpassa vårdmiljön efter patientens behov. Syfte: Att beskriva vad i den fysiska vårdmiljön som har betydelse för patientens välbefinnande. Metod: Allmän litteraturöversikt baserad på tio kvalitativa och fyra kvantitativa studier. Examensarbetet har en kvalitativ inriktning med en induktiv ansats. Resultat: Fem huvudkategorier som hade betydelse för patientens välbefinnande framkom; Estetisk distraktion, natur, hemlik miljö, arkitektonisk rumsutformning samt säkerhet. Resultatet påvisade att förändringar i vårdmiljön kan ske utifrån enkla medel och låga kostnader, som att införskaffa växter eller hänga upp tilltalande tavlor i vårdrummet för att inge harmoni och välbefinnande hos patienten. Slutsats: Det är viktigt att ta hänsyn till patientens individuella önskemål för att uppnå en vårdmiljö som främjar välbefinnande. Vårdmiljön visade sig vara en viktig aspekt i upplevelsen av god sjukvård för patienten. Vårdmiljön kan fungera som en stödjande funktion vid sjukdom och ohälsa genom att ha en positiv inverkan där välbefinnande beaktas. 

Vårdmiljöns betydelse : En litteraturöversikt utifrån ett patientperspektiv

Bakgrund: Det finns brister i den fysiska vårdmiljön som påverkar patientens hälsa. Tidigare forskning har visat att miljön upplevs som klinisk och förfallen där det inte finns tydliga riktlinjer för hur sjuksköterskor kan anpassa vårdmiljön efter patientens behov. Syfte: Att beskriva vad i den fysiska vårdmiljön som har betydelse för patientens välbefinnande. Metod: Allmän litteraturöversikt baserad på tio kvalitativa och fyra kvantitativa studier. Examensarbetet har en kvalitativ inriktning med en induktiv ansats. Resultat: Fem huvudkategorier som hade betydelse för patientens välbefinnande framkom; Estetisk distraktion, natur, hemlik miljö, arkitektonisk rumsutformning samt säkerhet. Resultatet påvisade att förändringar i vårdmiljön kan ske utifrån enkla medel och låga kostnader, som att införskaffa växter eller hänga upp tilltalande tavlor i vårdrummet för att inge harmoni och välbefinnande hos patienten. Slutsats: Det är viktigt att ta hänsyn till patientens individuella önskemål för att uppnå en vårdmiljö som främjar välbefinnande. Vårdmiljön visade sig vara en viktig aspekt i upplevelsen av god sjukvård för patienten. Vårdmiljön kan fungera som en stödjande funktion vid sjukdom och ohälsa genom att ha en positiv inverkan där välbefinnande beaktas. 

Utbud av tillgänglighetsanpassade aktiviteter i Jämtlands län : - En studie om hur turism- och aktivitetsföretag arbetar med inkludering av personer med fysisk funktionsnedsättning

Att utöva turism- och fritidsaktiviteter är en väsentlig del i många människors liv, men för personer med funktionsnedsättningar (PmF) är genomförandet av sådana aktiviteter långt från lika självklara. Frågan om aktivt deltagande och inkludering av PmF i samhällets alla delar lyfts allt mer och kraven på tillgänglighet ökar. Därav syftar denna studie till att undersöka på vilka sätt turism- och aktivitetsföretag i Jämtlands län arbetar med att anpassa sina aktiviteter för att kunna inkludera individer med fysisk funktionsnedsättning. För att uppnå syftet var en kvalitativ ansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer studiens huvudsakliga metodologiska verktyg för insamling av empiriska data. Resultatet tyder på att majoriteten av verksamheterna inte erbjuder aktiviteter som är specifikt anpassade för PmF men att en del av utbudet går att kan anpassa om efterfrågan skulle uppstå. Marknadens efterfrågan styr verksamhetens utbud av aktiviteter och en bristande efterfrågan från PmF på tillgängliga aktiviteter har identifierats. Studiens slutsats beskriver att den bristande efterfrågan från PmF ligger till grund för det bristande utbudet av tillgängliga aktiviteter samt att verksamheterna anger resurser såsom kunskap och ekonomiska faktorer som utmanade vid utvecklingen av tillgänglighetsanpassade aktiviteter.Tourism and leisure activities are an essential part of many people's lives, but for people with disabilities (PwD), their involvement can be highly conditional. The issue of active participation and the inclusion of PwD in all parts of society is increasingly being raised and the need for accessibility is growing. This study aims to investigate how tourism and activity companies in Jämtland County works to adapt and customize their activities to include individuals with physical disabilities. The study had a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews as the key focus for collecting empirical data. The result indicates that the majority of businesses do not currently offer activities that are specifically tailored to PwD, but for most of the companies these activities can be adjusted if there is a demand for it. Market demand controls the companies’ range of activities and a lack of demand from PwD for accessible activities has been identified. The conclusion describes that the absence of demand from PwD is the reason for the lack of accessible activities  and that the companies specify resources such as knowledge and financial factors as challenging for the development of accessible activities.2020-06-08</p

Negotiating the Wild West: Variegated neoliberalisation of the Swedish labour migration regime and the wild berry migration industry

Neoliberalisation processes have long permeated Western societies, including a common direction towards neoliberal migration regimes. This paper combines the perspective of variegated neoliberalisation with the recent literature on migration industries, to investigate the neoliberalisation of the Swedish labour migration regime and how it affected and interacted with the wild berry migration industry. It shows how neoliberalisation as a historical and spatially contingent process resulted in the distinct phases of intertwined policymaking and enactment of the industry. The ‘roll back’ phase included mutual interests and ‘intimate relations’ between state and industry, which both empowered and increased the number of private actors, creating structures that remained during the regular restructuring phase of ‘roll out’ neoliberalisation. While adding the perspective of variegated neoliberalisation, the paper deepens the analysis of migration industries by pointing at neoliberalisation as a spatial and temporal process, where the interplay between state and industry, an enlarged number of intermediaries and the increased responsibility of private actors are central cornerstones. The Swedish case shows how the role of intermediaries in the wild berry migration industry was reconstructed in order for the neoliberal migration regime to regulate a previously irregular migration industry. It is concluded that strong but spatially contingent links exist between neoliberal political economies, migration regimes and migration industries