Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The “green transition” relies heavily on the contribution of immigrant labour for its realisation. Yet, immigrant workers – marginalised in society and living in the peripheries of northern Sweden – are invisible in policies and public discourse. Their future visions are largely absent in discussions about the transition to sustainability. To address this problem, this thesis studies future
visions from the margins, particularly how immigrant workers in northern Sweden’s green transition sectors articulate their future visions. Thinking with the concept of Sociotechnical Imaginaries (STI), this study draws empirical data from semi-structured interviews with ten immigrant workers, employed predominately in the steel manufacturing sector. From this material, three intersecting future visions were identified and formulated: (1) Prioritising people, (2) A sense of belonging and creating community, and (3) Doing the “right” thing. With the help of secondary material (recent academic papers), these workers’ future visions were contrasted with dominant green transition imaginaries or narratives. All three visions have in common that they highlight issues of justice and social sustainability: such as caring for the wellbeing of people and the environment, ensuring access to infrastructure, participation, and security, with a small-scale, bottom-up and slow-paced approach. Comparing the workers’ visions with dominant imaginaries reveals that these aspects tend to be absent from dominant imaginaries. Importantly, this thesis finds that immigrant workers’ visions offer a different set of values and priorities that do not only challenge and critique, but even more reframe current dominant pathways. By focusing on perspectives of immigrant workers, this thesis contributes empirical material on immigrant workers future visions, as well as their perspectives and real-life accounts in relation to the green transition situated in the north of Sweden.