LAUSR

ABSTRACT It is well documented that post-1990s migrant labour supported Southern European families over a period of social and economic change which challenged their capacity to mobilise and accrue welfare resources. Drawing on empirical research in Greece, this paper explores the trajectory of a particular group of migrant care workers who moved on from the insecurity of the informal labour market of domestic work to work as exclusive bank nurses in hospitals. It reveals how during the crisis these care workers seek refuge back to the informal labour market where their journey started, and discusses what this trajectory reversal implies on a theoretical level. Are we witnessing change in the prevalent pattern of migrant incorporation or rather its continuation under a familiar, and perhaps more precarious, ground?