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Short Abstract

The EU's green transition in Finnish Lapland requires a sizable migrant labor force. Using the “just access” framework, this research analyzes how current governance risks perpetuate exclusion, creating an unsustainable foundation. It offers a critical roadmap for equitable, inclusive strategies.

Abstract

The European Union’s (EU) green transition in regions like Finnish Lapland creates a significant labor demand in sectors such as forestry, mining, and renewable energy. This development relies heavily on an incoming workforce of migrants, who constitute a subaltern labor force often navigating highly precarious employment and complex regulations. This research employs the “just access” framework, which uniquely integrates Nancy Fraser's three dimensions of social justice (redistribution, recognition, and representation) into a three-level model of migrant “access” (territory, rights, and society). Drawing on EU migration law, critical border and migration studies, and social justice studies, this approach enables a structural analysis of the systemic injustices faced by this workforce. The article argues that while the green transition presents an opportunity to recognize the value of workers with foreign backgrounds, existing migration governance in the EU and Finland risks perpetuating exclusion through physical, legal, and social bordering. I examine how current labor and immigration regulations, particularly in the context of Finnish Lapland, support or hinder the subaltern migrant's equitable access to Finland’s territory, rights, and society. The research analyzes critical gaps in governance, demonstrating how the lack of sufficient protection and secure legal status for these marginalized workers creates an unsustainable foundation for the transition’s required workforce. The findings provide a critical intervention in migration and climate justice scholarship by systematically linking justice theory to migration governance, offering decision makers a grounded roadmap for creating truly inclusive, equitable, and sustainable strategies for foreign workers crucial to Europe’s green economy.