Professionals ¿gleaning¿ at the margins

The global development of capitalism and the transition from ¿Fordism¿ to ¿flexible accumulation¿ intensified international migration especially the migration of professionals. ¿Flexible accumulation¿ hinges on different forms of flexibilities mainly labour market flexibility, which is, made possible by dividing the labour force into ¿core¿ and ¿periphery¿. Migrant professionals, however, occupy a unique position. As foreigners they can be easily marginalised in the social, cultural and political processes in the workplace. At the same time they hold scarce skills that are crucial for the success of business organizations. This case study of Zimbabwean engineers in the public sector of the construction industry in Pretoria and Johannesburg reveals that migrant professionals are far from being fully integrated in the workplace. They are faced with structural barriers that need to be redressed.