IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ecoind/v35y2014i4p695-715.html

Migrant precarity and future challenges to labour standards in Sweden

Author

Listed:
  • Charles Woolfson

    (Linköping University, Sweden)

  • Judy Fudge

    (University of Kent, UK)

  • Christer Thörnqvist

    (Linköping University, Sweden)

Abstract

Fears of a ‘race to the bottom’ in labour standards may have been overstated. Nevertheless, using Sweden as a case study, it is argued that the diminished capacity of trade unions to defend labour standards following the Laval judgement of the European Court of Justice, together with a decline in trade union density, a limited remit of enforcement authorities and recent changes to the Swedish labour migration regime, may have detrimental impacts on labour standards, particularly in low-skill low-wage occupations. In combination, these developments are creating new spaces for migrant precariousness within the context of a formerly well-regulated Swedish labour market model.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles Woolfson & Judy Fudge & Christer Thörnqvist, 2014. "Migrant precarity and future challenges to labour standards in Sweden," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 35(4), pages 695-715, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:35:y:2014:i:4:p:695-715
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X13494249
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0143831X13494249
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0143831X13494249?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Monica Andersson & Christer Thörnqvist, 2007. "Determining wages in Europe's SMEs: how relevant are the trade unions?," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 13(1), pages 55-73, February.
    2. Torben Krings & Alicja Bobek & Elaine Moriarty & Justyna Salamońska & James Wickham, 2011. "From boom to bust: Migrant labour and employers in the Irish construction sector," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 32(3), pages 459-476, August.
    3. Ekberg, Jan, 2011. "European versus non-European immigrants on the Swedish labour market during the recession," CAFO Working Papers 2011:2, Linnaeus University, Centre for Labour Market Policy Research (CAFO), School of Business and Economics.
    4. Malmberg, Jonas, 2010. "Posting Post Laval International and National Responses," Working Paper Series, Center for Labor Studies 2010:5, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    5. repec:bla:jcmkts:v:48:y:2010:i::p:1307-1327 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Chris F. Wright, 2012. "Immigration policy and market institutions in liberal market economies," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(2), pages 110-136, March.
    7. Dominique ANXO & Harald NIKLASSON, 2006. "The Swedish model in turbulent times: Decline or renaissance?," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 145(4), pages 339-371, December.
    8. Guglielmo Meardi, 2012. "Union Immobility? Trade Unions and the Freedoms of Movement in the Enlarged EU," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(1), pages 99-120, March.
    9. Nicole Lindstrom, 2010. "Service Liberalization in the Enlarged EU: A Race to the Bottom or the Emergence of Transnational Political Conflict?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(5), pages 1307-1327, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Diane van den Broek & Chris F Wright & Joanna Howe & Alexander Reilly, 2021. "Pro-market governance, migration status and worker vulnerability: The case of Australian horticulture," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 42(4), pages 1305-1325, November.
    2. Olga Kostoula & Nicole Kronberger, 2025. "The role of time for refugees’ work: insights from a systematic literature review," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Michelle O’Sullivan & Thomas Turner & Jonathan Lavelle & Juliet MacMahon & Caroline Murphy & Lorraine Ryan & Patrick Gunnigle & Mike O’Brien, 2020. "The role of the state in shaping zero hours work in an atypical liberal market economy," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 41(3), pages 652-671, August.
    4. Chris F Wright & Angela Knox & Andreea Constantin, 2021. "Using or abusing? Scrutinising employer demand for temporary sponsored skilled migrants in the Australian hospitality industry," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 42(4), pages 937-959, November.
    5. Bjarke Refslund, 2021. "When strong unions meet precarious migrants: Building trustful relations to unionise labour migrants in a high union-density setting," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 42(2), pages 314-335, May.
    6. Carin Håkansta & Maria Albin & Bertina Kreshpaj & Virginia Gunn & Christer Hogstedt & Nuria Matilla-Santander & Patricia O’Campo & Cecilia Orellana Pozo & David H Wegman & Theo Bodin, 2024. "Power resources and the battle against precarious employment: Trade union activities within a tripartite initiative tackling undeclared work in Sweden," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 45(1), pages 29-56, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gabriella Alberti & Jo Cutter, 2022. "Labour migration policy post‐Brexit: The contested meaning of regulation by old and new actors," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 430-445, September.
    2. Chris F Wright & Angela Knox & Andreea Constantin, 2021. "Using or abusing? Scrutinising employer demand for temporary sponsored skilled migrants in the Australian hospitality industry," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 42(4), pages 937-959, November.
    3. Chris F. Wright, 2017. "Employer Organizations and Labour Immigration Policy in Australia and the United Kingdom: The Power of Political Salience and Social Institutional Legacies," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 55(2), pages 347-371, June.
    4. Élodie Béthoux & Roland Erne & Darragh Golden, 2018. "A Primordial Attachment to the Nation? French and Irish Workers and Trade Unions in Past EU Referendum Debates," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(3), pages 656-678, September.
    5. repec:ilo:ilowps:468575 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Bengt Larsson & Anton Törnberg, 2021. "Sectoral networks of transnational trade union cooperation in Europe," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 42(4), pages 1189-1209, November.
    7. Adam Rogalewski, 2022. "Trade unions challenges in organising Polish workers: A comparative case study of British and Swiss trade union strategies," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 28(4), pages 385-404, December.
    8. Baccaro, Lucio & Howell, Chris, 2017. "Unhinged: Industrial relations liberalization and capitalist instability," MPIfG Discussion Paper 17/19, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    9. Ian Fitzgerald & Ron Beadle & Kevin Rowan, 2022. "Trade unions and the 2016 UK European Union Referendum," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(1), pages 388-409, February.
    10. Song, Ji-Won, 2021. "How MNE subsidiaries transfer HRM practices in distant environments: A tale of two IKEA subsidiaries," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2).
    11. repec:bla:jcmkts:v:48:y:2010:i::p:1185-1208 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Christine Erhel & Charlotte Levionnois, 2013. "Labour Market Policies in Times of Crisis: A Comparison of the 1992-1993 and 2008-2010 Recessions," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 13060, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    13. Milena Kern & Jörg Paetzold & Hannes Winner, 2021. "Cutting red tape for trade in services," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(10), pages 2858-2886, October.
    14. Theodoros PAPADOPOULOS & Antonios ROUMPAKIS, 2013. "The meta-regulation of European industrial relations: Power shifts, institutional dynamics and the emergence of regulatory competition," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 152(2), pages 255-274, June.
    15. Diane van den Broek & Dimitria Groutsis, 2017. "Global nursing and the lived experience of migration intermediaries," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(5), pages 851-860, October.
    16. Zierahn, Ulrich, 2008. "Reform der schwedischen Arbeitsmarkt- und Tarifpolitik," HWWI Research Papers 1-14, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI).
    17. Seikel, Daniel, 2014. "Nationale Anpassungsstrategien an das Fallrecht des Europäischen Gerichtshofes: Europäisierung durch Richterrecht und innenpolitische Veto-Positionen," WSI Working Papers 189, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    18. Jens Arnholtz & Bjarke Refslund, 2019. "Active Enactment and Virtuous Circles of Employment Relations: How Danish Unions Organised the Transnationalised Copenhagen Metro Construction Project," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 33(4), pages 682-699, August.
    19. Sebastian Diessner & Niccolo Durazzi & Federico Filetti & David Hope & Hanna Kleider & Simone Tonelli, 2026. "Skill‐Biased Policy Change: Governing the Transition to the Knowledge Economy in Germany, Sweden and Britain," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), pages 495-508, April.
    20. Anna Kyriazi, 2023. "Making and breaking coalitions for a more ‘Social Europe’: The path towards the revision of the posted workers directive," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 29(3), pages 221-241, September.
    21. Botrić Valerija, 2016. "Attitudes Towards Immigrants, Immigration Policies and Labour Market Outcomes: Comparing Croatia with Hungary and Slovenia," Croatian International Relations Review, Sciendo, vol. 22(76), pages 5-28, October.
    22. Jens Arnholtz & Chris F. Wright, 2023. "Labor Migration as a Source of Institutional Change: Danish and Australian Construction Sectors Compared," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(3), pages 532-555, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:35:y:2014:i:4:p:695-715. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ekhist.uu.se/english.htm .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.