Unpacking the immigration hierarchy: postcolonial imaginaries of labour migrants

This article examines and unpacks how postcolonial imaginaries shape migrants' experiences of the labour market. Drawing on qualitative primary research the article compares the narratives of Romanians and temporary Australians working in London to explore experiences of paid employment. The article finds that postcolonial imaginaries play a role in how migrants experience and understand the labour market, and that these imaginaries inform migrant agency which are used to navigate the labour market, legitimise positioning in the division of labour, and at times utilised and exchanged as a form of capital. The findings imply a need for a layered understanding of how the postcolonial shapes the macro, meso and micro phenomena of labour immigration, and a better understanding how these imaginaries intersect with relational identities in informing the experience of the labour market.