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Problematising refugee migrants in the Swedish forestry sector

Author

Listed:
  • Eva Wikström

    (Department of Social Work, Umeå University, Sweden)

  • Anna Sténs

    (Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious studies, Umeå University, Sweden)

Abstract

In this article, ideas behind current Swedish efforts to integrate refugees in ‘green’ industries are analysed. We ask why the employment of refugees in forestry, a sector historically and globally notorious for its abuse of migrant workers, has come to be regarded as a solution in official Swedish migration policy. A discourse analytical approach is applied, analysing what the arguments are for introducing refugees to forestry work and how the forest, as a space, is depicted and used discursively as a means for refugee integration. The sources for the analyses consist of articles appearing in the printed press from 2015 to 2017. Three main problem discourses are identified: the ‘labour shortage’ discourse, the ‘refugees in need of work’ discourse and the ‘forest as a health-promoting learning environment’ discourse. The hazardous aspects of forestry work or the fact that refugees might be overqualified for the jobs offered are generally left unproblematised.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva Wikström & Anna Sténs, 2019. "Problematising refugee migrants in the Swedish forestry sector," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 25(1), pages 63-80, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:25:y:2019:i:1:p:63-80
    DOI: 10.1177/1024258919827133
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Olof Åslund & Lena Hensvik & Oskar Nordström Skans, 2014. "Seeking Similarity: How Immigrants and Natives Manage in the Labor Market," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(3), pages 405-441.
    2. Per Lundborg, 2013. "Refugees' Employment Integration in Sweden: Cultural Distance and Labor Market Performance," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 219-232, May.
    3. Park, Mi Sun & Kleinschmit, Daniela, 2016. "Framing forest conservation in the global media: An interest-based approach," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 7-15.
    4. Johan Svanberg, 2018. "Migration at the multi-level intersection of industrial relations: the Schleswig-Holstein Campaign and the Swedish garment industry in the early 1950s," Scandinavian Economic History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 66(1), pages 54-72, January.
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