Recent Industrial Relations Developments in China and Viet Nam: The Transformation of Industrial Relations in East Asian Transition Economies

2006 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang-Hee Lee
Keyword(s):  
Transition Economies ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
The Political ◽  
Viet Nam ◽  
The Government ◽  
Labour Disputes ◽  
Positive Results ◽  
Party State

Industrial relations in China and Viet Nam are on the way to divergence. The official industrial relations actors in China have attempted ‘institutional cloning’ of key elements of modern industrial relations such as tripartite consultation and collective bargaining within the political limit imposed by the Party-state. This attempt of preemptive corporatism has so far failed to address the rising tide of various forms of labour disputes while yielding some positive results of gradual strengthening of official trade unions at the workplace. Industrial relations in Viet Nam are characterized by more vibrant associational dynamism at national and provincial levels, which is obvious in the co-existence of cooperation and competition between and within the industrial relations actors. Workers in Viet Nam display greater degree of spontaneous solidarity in the form of well coordinated ‘wildcat strikes’, which are accommodated by the government and the official trade unions at higher level.

Approaching the 21st Century: Perspectives on Korean Industrial Relations

1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seoghun Woo
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Presidential Address ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Government ◽  
Time Changes ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
Major Factors

This paper argues that the future direction for the development of Korean industrial relations will evolve through direct interaction between employers and trade unions (either conflictual or cooperative). The government is likely to play a less interventionist role in industrial relations, compared with the past, and to adopt the role of mediator between unions and employers. Characteristics of Korean industrial relations during the pre- 1987 period is firstly examined; four major factors are used to explain the industrial relations practice during this time. Changes after 1987 are also considered. Special consideration is given to interaction between the environment and the three major industrial relations participants, and the interactions between them. Both macro and micro aspects of industrial relations are examined. The special Presidential Address (26/04/1996), known as New Conception of Industrial Relations, is also analysed in terms of its implications for future industrial relations issues in Korea.

A Review of Development Planning in Guatemala

1970 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don R. Hoy
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Structure ◽  
Resource Utilization ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
The Political ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
The Government ◽  
General Aspects ◽  
Positive Results

Planning is often analogous to weather in that everyone discusses it but little is really done. Such, at least, is the case in Guatemala where individuals, groups, and the government espouse a need for development planning in eloquent terms but produce few positive results. In Guatemala, however, it is increasingly recognized that planning can be a logical and relatively scientific method of improving resource utilization. The purpose of this paper is to appraise a few general aspects of development planning in Guatemala and to characterize its organizational structure and the political constraints imposed upon the process.Governments are assuming a more dominant role in development, particularly in the less advanced areas. Public opinion has generally supported this trend by criticizing development programs or blaming the lack of development on the government.

Trade Unions and the Quadripartite Interactions in Strike Settlement in China

2010 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
pp. 104-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Chen
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Social Basis ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
The Government

AbstractAlthough the Chinese government has claimed to be pursuing tripartism for labour relations, the non-judicial resolution of interest conflict in enterprises is largely a process of quadripartite interaction. In addition to the government and employers, the trade unions and workers are separate players: labour strikes in China are always launched by unorganized workers rather than by trade unions, whose task is to defuse the situation. Such a quadripartite process is dominated by the government, with the trade union playing a mediating role, not only between workers and the government but also between workers and employers. The process involves certain explicit and implicit rules, as well as distinct dynamics. This research examines the institutional and social basis of quadripartite interaction and how it led to the settlement of strikes. It demonstrates that although it can effectively defuse workers' collective action, a quadripartite process of conflict resolution reflects a low degree of institutionalization of industrial relations in China.

scholarly journals The Politicization of Labor in 1905: The Case of Odessa Salesclerks

Slavic Review ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-445
Author(s):  
Robert Weinberg
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Organized Labor ◽  
Russian Revolution ◽  
The Political ◽  
Remarkable Feature ◽  
Collective Rights ◽  
Urban Workers ◽  
The Government ◽  
Opposition Movement

One remarkable feature of the 1905 Russian Revolution was the efflorescence of labor organizations that occurred throughout the urban regions of the empire. Many workers throughout the empire demonstrated their resolve to promote and defend their interests in an organized and rational manner, with the mass labor movement often cutting across craft and occupational divisions to bring all kinds of workers into joint economic and political action against both employer and autocracy. As 1905 progressed the political radicalization of urban workers inspired much of the opposition movement that nearly brought the government to its knees. As several United States historians have recently shown, in 1905 organized labor, particularly trade unions, entered the political arena as a potent force, with workers simultaneously demanding individual rights of citizenship and collective rights of association.

Managing Expectations: The Howard Government's Workchoices Information Campaign

2007 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Peter van Onselen ◽  
Wayne Errington
Keyword(s):  
Interest Groups ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Modern Trend ◽  
Information Campaign ◽  
Incumbency Advantage ◽  
Advertising Campaign ◽  
Radio Stations ◽  
Australian Council ◽  
The Government

This article analyses the Howard government's $55 million information campaign to sell its new industrial relations (IR) reforms. The expensive advertising campaign was spread across newspapers, television channels, radio stations and even on internet sites. It was widely criticised by media professionals, politicians and interest groups. The IR information campaign was an example of ‘permanent campaigning’ because it was an overtly partisan information campaign that appeared in the middle of an electoral cycle. It was also emblematic of the blurred lines between government and political advertising. However, the IR information campaign also revealed the limitations of incumbency advantage and the limitations to some aspects of the modern trend towards permanent campaigning. Public anger over the plethora of taxpayer-funded advertisements limited the effectiveness of the messages being delivered. The government persisted with the information campaign — perhaps a signal it was designed not to turn public opinion in favour of the reforms, but to prevent an increase in public dissatisfaction following the negative campaign being waged by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).

Developments in Worker Participation in New Zealand

1979 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. Smith
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Marked Effect ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Industrial Democracy ◽  
International Debate ◽  
Worker Participation ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government

Industrial democracy and worker participation have become important topics for international debate, with developments taking place in many countries. Despite its former reputation for advances in the social field, little has been heard about developments in worker participation in New Zealand. The aim of the present paper is to report and assess such developments whilst placing these within the context of developments in industrial relations in that country. The strong reliance upon legal arrangements and government intervention in industrial relations matters have had a marked effect upon the development of the industrial relations system in New Zealand. Yet, despite this tradition of legalism, successive governments remain singularly reluctant to legislate in the field of worker participation. Recent initiatives by employers have been strongly unitary in nature, whilst the trade unions appear to be concentrating their efforts upon extending the scope of collective bargaining, an opportunity afforded to them due to recent changes in the law. The present Government's wish that voluntary arrangements between employers and trade unions will eventuate to cover worker participation seems less than pragmatic, since employers, unions and the Government itself differ so fundamentally upon what constitutes worker participation, and the forms it might take.

Big Business and the Kapp Putsch

1971 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald D. Feldman
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Military Officers ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Big Business ◽  
Government Bureaucracy ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Government ◽  
General Strike

The Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch, hastily begun on March 13, 1920, and ingloriusly ended with the resignation of Dr. Wolfgang Kapp on March 17, has already been the subject of significant study. The details of the putsch itself, the character of the conspirators, and their motives, the positions taken by the political parties and leaders, and the reasons for its failure are fairly Well known. It is generally agreed that the circle of conspirators had too narrow a social base and was too divided in its purposes to be successful. In essence, it was a revolt of unemployed reactionary East Elbian officials like Kapp himself and his “Minister of the Interior,” Traugott von Jagow, disgruntled conservative military officers, the most important of whom was Freiherr von Lüttwitz, and military adventurers like Colonel Max Bauer, Major Pabst, and Captain Ehrhardt. Where Kapp sought far-reaching constitutional and political changes, Lüttwitz strove for more short-term goals, i.e., reconstruction of the cabinet to give it an “expert” character, new elections, and a larger army. The Kapp regime was doomed because of the refusal of the government bureaucracy to serve it and because of the general strike called by the trade unions on March 14.

scholarly journals Union struggle and the crisis of industrial relations in Italy

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Pulignano
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Union Power ◽  
Social Dialogue ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
The Government

This paper argues that the Berlusconi government is seeking to replace the ‘social concertation’ arrangement between government and trade unions with ‘social dialogue’ in an effort to undermine trade union ‘power’. This endeavour by the government to impose a policy of ‘social dialogue’ would severely limit trade unions' influence in economic and social policy decision-making and leave Berlusconi free to introduce reforms favouring his friends in employer organisations. One likely outcome would be the deregulation of the Italian labour market strongly damaging workers' rights.

scholarly journals Industrial relations in Italy in the twenty-first century

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 654-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Pulignano ◽  
Domenico Carrieri ◽  
Lucio Baccaro
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
The State ◽  
First Century ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Classical Source ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
The Government ◽  
Institutional Actors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the developments which have characterized Italy’s industrial relations from post-war Fordism to neo-liberal hegemony and recent crisis, with a particular focus on the major changes occurred in the twenty-first century, especially those concerning concertative (tripartite) policy making between the government, the employers’ organizations and the trade unions. Design/methodology/approach This study is a conceptual paper which analysis of main development trends. Findings Italy’s industrial relations in the twenty-first century are characterized by ambivalent features which are the heritage of the past. These are summarized as follows: “collective autonomy” as a classical source of strength for trade unions and employers’ organization, on the one hand. On the other hand, a low level of legislative regulation and weak institutionalization, accompanied by little engagement in a generalized “participative-collaborative” model. Due to the instability in the socio-political setting in the twenty-first century, unions and employers encounter growing difficulties to affirm their common points of view and to build up stable institutions that could support cooperation between them. The result is a clear reversal of the assumptions that had formed the classical backdrop of the paradigm of Italy’s “political exchange.” This paradigm has long influenced the way in which the relationships between employers, trade unions and the state were conceived, especially during 1990s and, to some extent, during 2000s, that is the development of concertative (tripartite) policy making. However, since the end of 2000s, and particularly from 2010s onwards national governments have stated their intention to act independently of the choices made by the unions (and partially the employers). The outcome is the eclipse of concertation. The paper explores how the relationships among the main institutional actors such as the trade unions (and among the unions themselves), the employers, and the state and how politics have evolved, within a dynamic socio-political and economic context. These are the essential factors needed to understand Italy’s industrial relations in the twenty-first century. Originality/value It shows that understanding the relationship among the main institutional actors such as the trade unions (and among the unions themselves), the employers and the state and their politics is essential to understand the change occurred in contemporary Italy’s industrial relations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document