The role of unions in shaping work-based precarity on the Norwegian continental shelf

Based on desk studies and qualitative interviews with both workers and union representatives at different levels, we explore how Polish temporary migrant workers in the offshore-related industrial services and maintenance sector in Norway experience precarity; their relationship with unions at different levels; and how the unions tackle the challenges of representing them. The distinction between how unions operate to tackle precarity on the strategic level and in everyday practices provides a nuanced picture of what even strong, institutionally embedded unions and temporary workers face in stemming precarity. It underscores how important engagement of the unions is in everyday practices for temporary migrant workers to benefit from the regulatory achievements they make, and yet how challenging measures against precarity are to implement in contexts of sharp competition in labour costs.