Maria from Migros

Under the auspices of the «Trentiner-Aktion», Migros organised the immigration of young people from South Tyrol in 1946. The men laboured on farms, and the women worked as maids in private households. Members of the Migros cooperative received preferential treatment when the sought-after workers were assigned positions.

In the post-war time, many Swiss households and farms are short of staff – at the same time, in neighbouring Italy, recovery is slow and many people have no money and no job. The Migros therefore recruits in South Tyrol ”young, healthy, of good repute“ men and women who can ”provide“ the necessary help. In 1946, in cooperation with the Italian authorities, Migros organises the ”Trentino office”, which thoroughly checks out thousands of people.
The interest in the workers is huge and Migros Cooperative members are preferentially assigned A household maid in a town is to earn between 80 and 100 francs per month, a man working on a farm between 120 and 160 francs, plus room and board for both. Thanks to the ”Trentino campaign“, 2,500 South Tyrolean workers are placed. The Italian workers are, however, only allowed to stay for a maximum of six months. ”Just a drop in the ocean“, writes the Brückenbauer.
A short time later, the Federation of Migros Cooperatives tests the employers’ level of satisfaction through a postcard campaign. The vast majority of the replies are positive, but the campaign is not repeated.