Paradoxes of European free movement in times of austerity: The role of social movement actors in framing the plight of Roma berry pickers in Sweden
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 13 June 2016
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the capacities of social movement actors (SMAs) and interest groups to negotiate responsibility, heighten issues of accountability and earn legitimacy from authorities and the wider public for the plight of dis-privileged Roma migrant berry pickers in the Swedish labour market.
Design/methodology/approach
The objective is guided by a multi-sited ethnographical approach to data collection and analysis, which theoretically anchors in social movement frame analysis.
Findings
The paper proposes that SMAs, in the face of incapacities of state and industry parties, generate the potentiality to leverage immediate humanitarian distress experienced by the workers and to accentuate their political and public visibility.
Research limitations/implications
Delimited by the internal organisational structure of a berry industry, partly operating behind informal employment schemes, future studies should devote closer attention in localising/identifying possible “back-stage” data-gathering settings.
Practical implications
Policy-makers and special-interest organisations concerned with internal EU labour migration, labour standards and living condition issues, may consider the social and humanitarian implications of persistent responsibility ambiguities.
Social implications
The paper raises issues of informal work and forms of labour exploitation.
Originality/value
The paper provides deeper insight into the societal nexus in which a “hard-to-reach group” of seasonal workers faces potential and actual exploitation.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful for the insightful comments of the three anonymous reviewers. Special thanks are due to Magnus Dahlstedt, Charles Woolfson and Aleksandra Ålund. All errors are the responsibility of the author alone. The support of the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE) Project Number: 2011-0338 is acknowledged.
Citation
Mešić, N. (2016), "Paradoxes of European free movement in times of austerity: The role of social movement actors in framing the plight of Roma berry pickers in Sweden", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 36 No. 5/6, pp. 289-303. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-05-2015-0057
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited