Workers Divided: Solidarities, Social Reproduction, and Contradictions of Migrant Labour in Danish Trade Unionism
Facts
- Contact person:
- Karen Ravn Vestergaard
- Responsible at MaU:
- Karen Ravn Vestergaard
- Time frame:
- 01 September 2021 - 31 January 2027
- Faculty/department:
About the project
Alongside most forms of organised labour across the globe, the Danish labour movement has in recent decades been challenged by the proliferation of borders, fragmentation of labour processes, declining membership rates, and growing levels of precariousness. Within this context, this dissertation explores Danish trade union politics of solidarity concerning racial and gendered labour differentiation, specifically forms of migrant labour and precariousness. It empirically focuses on the largest Danish trade union federation, 3F, that covers unskilled and skilled workers in industrial and service sectors, with a focus on the cleaning and construction sectors.
Labour differentiation is understood as a multiscalar process constituted by various bordering apparatuses shaping labour relations and (im)mobility. Theoretically, the dissertation combines social reproduction theory, theories of racial capitalism, and critical migration studies to explore the social relations, history, and material conditions of Danish trade unionism, specifically attending to what forms of labour and workers remain (un)recognised in organising strategies and practices of solidarity.