The Political Integration of Foreign Workers: A Pilot Study on Problems of Conferring Citizenship in Switzerland

Survey data are presented on several hundred Italian workers who had been in Switzerland for at least five years. Four categories of workers are delineated: (1) the genuinely integrated, (2) the anomic but not truly integrated, (3) those who aspire to return home, & (4) those experiencing conflict about integration. Readiness to assume Swiss citizenship was dependent upon: (A) personal experiences of descrimination in Switzerland, (B) interest in returning to Italy, (C) the Italian economic recession, & (D) fear concerning the ability to retain an Italian identity in a Swiss setting. Feelings of marginality were enhanced by the high % of Rs (90%) who work as unskilled & skilled laborers & the proportion of those who have migrated from the South of Italy (66%). Low educational levels (50% of the Rs had only completed five years of schooling) guarantees a low position on the Swiss pay scale, thus, exacerbating migrant worker marginality. Both length of residence & facility with the host country's language affected experiences & perceptions of discrimination. Italian migrants favored leftist political ideologies, but a large % (46%) gave no particular political preference. It is important to provide positive living experiences for migrant workers in order to facilitate their integration. 13 Tables. Modified HA.