The Migration and Identity Reconstruction of Temporary Ukrainian Labour Migrants in Poland

This paper focuses on the reconstruction of some migrants’ identities in the context of contemporary labour migration. The article is based on a study of temporary female labour migrants from western Ukraine in Poland and includes twelve semi-structured interviews with Ukrainian women who have an experience of work in Warsaw. The research of S. Castels and M.J. Miller as well as Polish scholar Z. Mach provide the theoretical and methodological framework of this paper. The essay discusses both the migration context and the linguistic, religion, professional, family, national and regional identities of the women in question. It demonstrates that the reconstruction of the temporary labour migrant identity is a complicated and multidimensional process (involving conflict and adaptation in the same time). In spite of many favourable factors female labour migrants are interested neither in the reconstruction of their personal identities, not the integration into the Polish society due to the perception of their migration as only a temporary activity aimed at money-making. Additionally, the precarious legal and labour status of respondents creates an obstacle for the smooth advancement of these processes.