Article on precarious work in Sino-African infrastructure investments
Lena Fält, researcher in Human Geography at Stockholm University, has published a noteworthy article in the journal GeoForum. The study sheds light on the complex political and social dynamics surrounding infrastructure projects led by Chinese companies in Ghana.
Workers on a construction site in Ghana. Foto: Lena Fält
The aim of Lena Fält's study is to explore the multiscalar political dimensions of labor regimes within Sino-African infrastructure projects and their link to precarious work. Through an in-depth analysis of two case studies in Accra, Ghana, one concerning the construction of a huge interchangeand the other a roadexpansion, she reveals how local, national and global power structures interact to shape the conditions for the workers.
The results show that these complex infrastructure projects generate a particular type of precarious work, characterized by informal employment, weak social security, and limited opportunities for unionizing. Fält explains how actors at different levels - from Chinese company executives to Ghanaian authorities and local trade unions - negotiate and exert power in a complex interplay.
The article "Multiscalar politics of infrastructural labour: Sino-African labour regimes and precarious work in Ghana" is published in GeoForum and available through Open Access.
Lena Fält is a researcher and lecturer in Human Geography at Stockholm University.
Last updated: 2025-06-02
Source: Department of Human Geography