Migration, ethnicity and solidarity: 'multinational workers' in the former Soviet Union

Morrison, Claudio ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3041-8606, Sacchetto, Devi and Croucher, Richard ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9617-734X (2020) Migration, ethnicity and solidarity: 'multinational workers' in the former Soviet Union. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 58 (4) . pp. 761-784. ISSN 0007-1080 [Article] (doi:10.1111/bjir.12518)

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Abstract

We investigate migrant construction workers’ experiences in the Former Soviet Union, examining their attitudes to other ethno-national groups, unions and collective action. Industrial relations and migration studies view migrant workers’ hypermobility and diversity, under conditions of low union coverage and rising nationalism, as potentially obstructing consciousness-raising and mobilizing. Workers in our study faced union indifference, ethno-national segregation and discrimination. However, managerial abuses, informality and contestation from below led to spontaneous mobilisation. Lack of institutional channels to solve these disputes drove workers’ further mobility. Complex mobility trajectories and collective action translated into increased awareness of collective interests and rejection of nationalist ideologies. The outcome is ‘multinational workers’ potentially resistant to nation-state politics and capital’s logics but also aware of the value and usefulness of collective solidarities. Thus, previous arguments solely associating exit with individualistic attitudes, and post-socialist legacies with workers’ quiescence present only partial pictures.

Item Type: Article
Research Areas: A. > Business School > Leadership, Work and Organisations > Employment Relations group
Item ID: 28474
Notes on copyright: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Morrison, C., Sacchetto, D. and Croucher, R. (2020), Migration, Ethnicity and Solidarity: ‘Multinational Workers’ in the Former Soviet Union. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 58: 761-784., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12518. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.
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Depositing User: Claudio Morrison
Date Deposited: 02 Dec 2019 15:47
Last Modified: 29 Nov 2022 18:10
URI: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/id/eprint/28474

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