„Bei der Abwanderung nach Deutschland scheint eine Ruhe eingetreten zu sein”

Migrationsmuster und lokales Aushandeln von Migration am Beispiel der Glanzstoff Fabrik in St. Pölten

Abstract

In conventional narratives, the history of labour migration is described as a two-step process in which immigration follows so-called “guest work.” With a focus on the Glanzstoff factory in St. Pölten, I reconstruct various migration paths that do not exactly match such descriptions. Although neglected by research, many of those recruited moved on to other countries after a stopover in Austria, especially to Germany. The traditional stories about the course of labour migration are based on migration policy regulations and/or refer to national averages when describing the lifestyles of migrants. The present study takes a different perspective to such aggregated analysis: departing from current theoretical debates on migration regimes, the Glanzstoff factory is conceived as a local zone for the negotiation of migration. Based on the fluctuation and the resulting strategies of all actors involved, I examine how the “guest worker regime” was implemented and challenged locally.