Economic Development and the Labour Movement

The professionalization of management is a function of the stage of economic development, both of the enterprise and the economy in which it operates, for these stages influence the size, number, nature, and complexity of problems to which the enterprise is exposed. The nature of personnel problems, for example, are influenced by the relative maturation of the labour force in motivation, commitment and skill development, and management's responses to these problems evolve with the inducement of professionalism from the growing size, complexity, and diversity of industrial institutions. Compared to 1950, the labour force of Thailand in 1986 is more urban, better educated, more materially motivated, more ethnically uniform, and better disciplined to factory work. Hence, it should be more receptive to modern management practices. Yet, by American or Japanese standards, the Thai labour force is still comparatively primitive, and personnel are administered in a diverse milieu of work environments that condition the style and progress of management. As a consequence, the practice of management varies as widely in Thailand as it does in other developing countries between metropolitan and provincially located establishments, between large and small firms, among Thai, Thai-Chinese, Japanese, or Western firms.

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The Limitations of Global Social Movement Unionism as an Emancipatory Labour Strategy in Majority World Countries

Socialist Studies/Études Socialistes ◽

10.18740/s44597 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zia Rahman ◽

Tom Langford

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Social Movement ◽

Universal Model ◽

Labour Movement ◽

Social Movement Unionism ◽

Majority World ◽

Democratic Dialogue ◽

Socio Economic Development ◽

Globalized World ◽

Important Site

This study assesses the applicability of Peter Waterman’s model of global social movement unionism as an emancipatory labour strategy in Bangladesh, an important site for the manufacture of ready-made garments in the neo-liberal era. Our main conclusions are that Waterman’s North Atlanticist model fails to comprehend the present-day necessities and struggles of the Bangladesh working class; ignores the impacts of colonialism, militarism and imperialism on Bangladesh’s socio-economic development and labour movement; and privileges democratic dialogue as a means of action when militant collective mobilization has been shown to be the only effective way to get action on workers’ issues in countries like Bangladesh. Our recommendation is for Waterman and others to abandon the quest for a universal model of progressive labour unionism and instead come up with a variety of models that apply to different typical patterns of socio-economic and labour movement development in the globalized world. Cette étude évalue l’applicabilité du modèle global de syndicalisme de mouvement social de Peter Waterman en tant que stratégie libératrice au Bangladesh, un site important pour la fabrication de textiles dans l’ère néolibérale. Nos conclusions principales sont que le modèle nord-atlantiste de Waterman échoue à comprendre les besoins et souffrances de la classe ouvrière au Bangladesh aujourd’hui; qu’il ignore l’impact du colonialisme, du militarisme et de l’impérialisme sur le développement socio-économique et sur le mouvement ouvrier ; et qu’il privilégie le dialogue démocratique comme seul moyen d’agir alors que la mobilisation collective militante s’est montrée comme la seule manière efficace d’attirer l’attention sur les questions ouvrières dans les pays comme le Bangladesh. Notre recommandation, pour Waterman et d’autres, est d’abandonner la quête d’un modèle universel du syndicalisme progressiste et au lieu de cela de créer une variété de modèles qui s’appliquent aux différentes réalités du développement socio-économique et du mouvement ouvrier dans un monde globalisé.

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