‘If it remains out of sight’: governance networks and discursive power disparities in migrant workers’ housing

Sub-standard living conditions among migrant workers have become a structural feature all over Europe. In the Netherlands, this policy problem has persisted for over a decade despite much political attention. We investigate this issue by combining a governance network perspective with a critical discourse analysis. The study builds on an analysis of existing materials and interviews with stakeholders. The results reveal a disjuncture between policy rhetoric and practice; while it is often stated that migrant workers should not be seen as second-class citizens, housing policies have the implicit aim of keeping them out of sight of the rest of the population. Our findings show that housing policy for migrant workers prioritises the social reproduction of labour and the interests of the general population instead of the rights of migrant workers. This contribution adds to the growing literature on governance networks in housing studies by refuting the assumption of consensus-seeking in deliberation and highlighting the significance of power disparities.