In many countries, including Germany and Austria, the pandemic has both exposed and generated conflicts around migrant labour. Social.History Online has published several texts on struggles of migrant workers since March 2020, including analyses of conflicts over mass infections or labour unrest in agriculture or the meat industry. Johanna Neuhauser and Peter Birke discuss theoretical perspectives on how to understand the current cycle of conflicts. Based on empirical research in Germany’s and Austria’s low wage sectors they suggest to link critical research on migration and labour so as to improved the understanding of the perspectives of anti-racist and workplace struggles.