This article examines how the United Kingdom (UK) trade unions organise Polish migrant workers in the aftermath of post EU enlargement migration, and what forms of inclusion strategies they implement. The benefits and limitations of various inclusionary approaches are scrutinised through the analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with officers of three different large trade unions. These unions have at times, applied similar and at other times very different strategies, which depend on the unions' structures and decision-making. These approaches vary from equal treatment and the 'level playing field' approach to special treatment. While the first combined approach has resulted in some positive experiences in locating and recruiting Polish members, further inclusion through activism, however, calls for a special treatment approach.
The present paper examines how, at a time of post EU-enlargement migration, female Polish migrants in the UK act within, despite and against the social structure of gender regimes in the origin and host societies and how female migrant agents are actively mediating structures in a quest to fulfil their aspirations. Biographical narrative interviews conducted with female Polish migrant workers in the UK and semi-structured expert interviews provide the empirical data for the analysis of how employment trajectories in migration can challenge or reinforce gender roles, and of the role of female migrants’ agency. The paper shows how some women are limited in their opportunities by gender roles and familial obligations, while others are able to progress professionally either by entering a typical ‘migrant’ sector, by undertaking UK education, or by starting their own businesses, challenging the gendered expectations they face. The paper thus contributes to the discussion on female migrants as disadvantaged migrant workers or as active agents of change.
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