«Du må bare leve med det» – om strukturelle føringer, handlingsrom og strategier blant sesongmigranter i landbruket

Abstract

Agricultural seasonal labour is associated with long hours, physically demanding work, and low wages, and is mostly performed by labour migrants. The macro structures that shape seasonal migrants’ experiences are mostly constructed to fit employers’ needs for flexible working hands, and thus contribute to the marginalisation of seasonal migrants. This chapter discusses the ways in which seasonal migrants express their agency by way of resilience, reworking, and resistance within a system of marginalising structures. Based on a qualitative study of seasonal migrants working at a Norwegian fruit and berry farm, I analyse the different ways in which seasonal migrants display agency within the realms of work, social relations, and housing conditions. The analysis shows how resilience at times is used as a coping strategy in day-to-day-life, and at other times as a way of working to improve conditions in the longer run.