Fläckiga arbetsförhållanden och fläckfria bär : En undersökning av cirkulär arbetsmigration inom bärindustrin 1980–2022

Sammanfattning

The berry industry is one of many migration corridors where migrant workers work under precarious forms of employment. The essay’s purpose is to examine different perspectives on the living and working conditions in the Swedish berry picking industry. This will be studied qualitatively, with oral history as the primary research method, by analysing inspection reports and through interviews with six informants. The informants consist of workers from The Swedish Municipal Workers' Union (Kommunal), a berry picker and a berry principal. Previous research on this topic is sparse and few have used historical and sociological perspectives to explain the phenomenon. The Thai berry pickers’ living conditions varies. Some municipalities need to execute inspections far more frequent, for the inspections to become an important mechanism of control which can exert pressure. Kommunal has since 2009 had the right to represent the Thai berry pickers and the working conditions have improved ever since. Through the collective agreement the workers are given the right to minimum-wage in addition to the piece rate. Kommunal plays an important role but are limited as few berry pickers are members of the labour union. The working hours is one area of concern where Kommunal has difficulties to act. The piece rate has given rise to intense work and the berry pickers therefore want to maximize their profits. The berry picking principals, in the competitive industry, varies in terms of seriousness but can change the industry. This responsibility has not always been adopted.