Exploatation of the foreign workforce - or what? : The perspective of a workers union on immigration and immigration policy. Livsmedelsarbetareförbundets tidning, Mål och Medel 1960-1973

The following essay is a study about how migrant workers and immigration policies were discussed from Livsmedelsarbetareförbundets union press, Mål och Medel, to the members of the union between the years 1960-1973. To find this out I set these questions: What sort of information appear in Mål och Medel concerning migrant workers and immigrant policies, and how does this change over time? How does Mål och Medel present the immigrant workers opinions? The method for the study is based on analyzing articles, interviews and others texts found in Livsmedelsarbetareförbundets union press, Mål och Medel, and what they want to inform the members of the union about. The study’s results have found that during the early parts of the 1960s immigrant workers were not included in the union press at all. Towards the late 1960s the immigrants were discussed, but in a manner which implied that immigrants are naturally exploited and therefore must the immigration be controlled better. It also discussed immigrants had some sort of “adaptation problem” to the Swedish norm. The immigrants were expected to adapt themselves to become more like the normal “Swedish worker”. In the early 1970s the immigrant workers become gradually more included with the rest of the union members and are considered to be a great asset in Swedish workforce. During this period Mål och Medel also publishes immigrant workers opinions and frequently discusses the possibilities for education in Swedish for the foreign part of the workforce.