The Large Migrant Workers’ Strike at Femern: Class Coherence and Intra-worker Fragility in Collective Action

Abstract

Migrant strikes are rare occurrences, and even more rarely do they end up with a successful outcome. In this article, we scrutinise one of the largest migrant strikes to date, in which 300 Polish migrant workers successfully claimed a wage increase at a large construction site in Denmark. We delve into the social dynamics of the strike including the endeavour to maintain class-coherence during a strike. We explore the preconditions and sense of injustice that enabled the strike as well as the internal coherence, focussing on intra-worker tensions and the formation and negotiation of interest, preferences and strategies that shaped the course of the strike. The article provides empirical and conceptual knowledge of the social dynamics that unfold during collective action among migrant workers. We conclude that migrant workers can express agency and secure a wage claim when the right preconditions are in place, and when an alignment of interest and strategies are overall maintained. However, intra-worker tensions and management strategies pose threats to the collective action, making the outcome of the strike somewhat ambiguous in the aftermath. We conclude that even in a setting with high wages, strong institutional backing and a rather homogenous workforce it is highly challenging to secure and maintain coherence among the workers.