Representations of Immigrant Labour in the Swedish RestaurantSector:A Thematic Analysis of Union and Industry Media

Sammanfattning

The Swedish hospitality and restaurant sector is a vital and low-barrier primary gatewayfor newly arrived immigrant workers. Workers from different parts of the world, includingmigrants from outside Europe, find the sector accessible due to the availability of income andrelatively limited formal qualification requirements . Given the heavy reliance on immigrantlabour, the role of key institutions, such as labour unions and industry media, remains aninteresting and underexplored area for study. This desk-based thesis employs qualitativedocument analysis, guided by Braun and Clarke (2006) thematic analysis framework, toanalyze how immigrant workers are portrayed in union-side and industry-side texts, primarilyfrom Hotellrevyn and Bes¨oksliv, supplemented by selected HRF and Visita documents,covering the period 2018-2026.The findings reveal a clear institutional split in these representations. The union discourseframes immigrant workers primarily as a highly vulnerable demographic subjectedto systemic exploitation and precarious employment. Conversely, industry media constructsan ”integration engine” narrative, representing these workers as essential economic utilitiesrequired to solve chronic domestic labour shortages, while framing state bureaucracyas the primary obstacle to recruitment. By applying labour Market Segmentation Theoryand the concept of Ethnic Niches, this study demonstrates that while the union challengesthe exploitative symptoms of the industry, both institutional narratives ultimately reproducestructural segmentation. Furthermore, employer discourse normalizes ethnic niche formationby naturalizing links between national background and specific occupational roles within thesector. Ultimately, the thesis concludes that current institutional representations continue toposition immigrant labour as a structurally distinct and ”othered” class within the Swedishservice economy.Keywords: immigrant labour, Swedish restaurant sector, thematic analysis, labour marketsegmentation, ethnic niche, union discourse, hospitality industry, institutional representation