Introduction: the crisis and austerity neoliberalism

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
David Etherington
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Employment Rights ◽  
Work First

The chapter provides an overview of the key arguments and structure to the book. Of central importance is to understand austerity as a class strategy involving labour discipline through attacks on social protection and employment relations. Central to the book’s argument is the need to understand the geographical nature of labour inequalities and impacts of austerity cuts in the ‘left behind’ regions. The chapter highlights the way industrial relations and employment relations inter link as Work first policies undermine employment rights and reinforce labour market insecurity and inequality. The chapter briefly outlines the role of agency and the capacities of trade unions and social movements to negotiate and resist austerity are seen as crucial to an understanding of the contemporary welfare and employment crisis. The origins of the book is outlined, arising from previous comparative work on the Danish welfare and employment model which provides relevant lessons when discussing the link between labour and social movements and welfare regimes and alternatives to neoliberalism

scholarly journals Fusion or replacement? Labour and the ‘new’ social movements

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmund Heery
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Dynamic Force ◽  
Community Coalitions ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
New Social Movements ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Modes Of Action

A neglected element of Rethinking Industrial Relations is its critique of postmodernism. This article argues that this is regrettable on three grounds. First, core claims that characterized the postmodern account of employment relations at the time that Kelly was writing continue to be made today; particularly with regard to the characteristics of ‘new’ social movements and their capacity to replace labour as the main dynamic force advancing employee interests. Second, Kelly’s critique of postmodernism remains relevant and his observations with regard to the multiple forms and modes of action of new social movements continue to have force. Third, Kelly suggested that rather than replacing labour, new social movements were natural allies of trade unions. His argument here anticipated much later work on union–community coalitions and the final purpose of the article is to update Kelly’s ‘fusion thesis’ by identifying the ways in which labour and new social movements work together.

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.

scholarly journals Learning to live with the law? The legislative attack on British trade unions since 1979

1970 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Dickens
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Legal Intervention ◽  
British Trade ◽  
Industrial Action ◽  
The Law ◽  
Labour Legislation

This article takes as its focus the labour legislation of the Conservative governments in Britain under Mrs. Thatcher since 1979. It locates the legislation in its broader context and examines three main prongs of what is seen as a legislative attack on the trade unions: the move away from collective industrial relations; the restricted terrain for lawful industrial action; and legal intervention in internal union affairs. The immediate impact, use of and response to this legislation is discussed and a broader question raised concerning whether, as well as having to adjust to the new legal framework, British trade unions are reappraising their attitude to the role of law in industrial relations more generally.

Australian Labour Market Issues: an Historical Perspective

1998 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 690-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Isaac
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Institutional Arrangement ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Women's Wages ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Wage Inflation

This paper provides an historical perspective on topics related to recent developments in the Australian industrial relations system discussed in this issue of the Journal— the 'living wage' concept and the safety net, 'fairness' in relative wages, women's wages, the Accord, labour market decentralisation and the role of trade unions. It concludes that recent legislation was not necessary to facilitate increased productivity because the prevailing system had shown sufficient responsiveness to the needs of the economy, both macro and micro. By limiting the jurisdiction of the AIRC and reducing the power of the weaker unions, recent legislation bas created a dual system with a less equitable pay structure and an institutional arrangement less able to deal with wage inflation under more buoyant economic conditions.

Ever-Widening Ripples: The Impact of Specialist Industrial Tribunals on Management Practice

1994 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Thornthwaite
Keyword(s):  
Management Practice ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Employment Decisions ◽  
Public Role ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

While conciliation and arbitration tribunals have been at the forefront of Austral ian research on industrial relations institutions, numerous specialist tribunals enforcing individual workers' rights in employment have been virtually hidden from view. This paper examines the role of two such tribunals in New South Wales, the Government and Related Employees' Appeal Tribunal and the Equal Opportu nity Tribunal. It argues that although their most direct and public role is to resolve individuals' grievances, equally significant is the contribution of these agencies to the detailed regulation of employment relations and hence the increasing sophisti cation of labour management in public sector organizations since the late 1970s, and the institutionalization of management prerogatives and conflicts over an increasingly wide range of employment decisions.

scholarly journals New Actors in Employment Relations in the Periphery: Closing the Representation Gap amongst Micro and Small Enterprises

2011 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Webster ◽  
Christine Bishoff
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Small Enterprises ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Community Based ◽  
First Response ◽  
Workplace Organization ◽  
Micro And Small Enterprises ◽  
Mapping Exercise

This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of how the representation gap in micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in nine countries can be closed through a mapping exercise (both horizontal and vertical). The study draws on peripheral workers in MSEs predominantly from countries on the periphery of the global economy. The assumption underlying the research is that the failure of traditional industrial relations actors, especially trade unions, to respond to the representation gap has created the space and the need for new actors to fill the gap. We identify a number of dimensions in trade union responses to non-standard employment relations and focus on their awareness of the specific nature of non-standard workers’ interests and their willingness to innovate with representation models.The paper identifies four main responses by trade unions to non-standard employees. The first response is where trade unions are indifferent to workers in MSEs as they are seen as marginal and unorganizable. Secondly, there are trade unions that are very much aware of the need to revise and revitalize their representation strategies, but they respond by attempting to extend existing forms of representation. Thirdly there are those who believe that non-standard employment should be resisted. The fourth, and most interesting response, is where unions create specific kinds of representation and protection for the new forms of employment.While there were positive outcomes both individually and organizationally from this mapping exercise, as an organizational tool designed to recruit members into the union, mapping is limited. In five of the nine case studies peripheral workers were recruited into a union or worker association. The paper confirms the existence of new actors in employment relations in developing countries. In particular the emergence of NGOs and community based worker associations and co-operatives have been identified as crucial intermediaries in developing new forms of workplace organization.

scholarly journals Capital, the State, and Environmental Pollution in Nigeria

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402097501
Author(s):  
Buhari Shehu Miapyen ◽  
Umut Bozkurt
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Environmental Pollution ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Secondary Literature ◽  
Niger Delta Region ◽  
Global And Local

This research discusses the environmental pollution by the capital in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria and identifies two historical agents that have the potential to harmonize their social power through a common language that may create a new social and political agency. We argue that the working class and the community-based social movements are necessary but not sufficient agents of transformation in the Nigerian oil-dependent capitalist economy. The cooperation between the global and local sites of resistance is an imperative: a synergy and deliberate action by the conglomerate of trade unions, community-based social movements, nongovernmental organizations, local and global activists, nurtures the potential to transform the capitalist domination, exploitation, and expropriation in Nigeria. Using secondary literature sources, we re-visit the conversation on the role of capital and the pollution of environment in Nigeria through the concept of “Movement of Movements”.

Alexander C. Pathy,Waterfront Blues: Labour Strife at the Port of Montreal, 1960–1978. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004. ix + 328 pp. $53.00 cloth.

2005 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 144-146
Author(s):  
Colin J. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Quebec City ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Maritime Economy ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Loading And Unloading ◽  
The Government ◽  
Technological Improvements ◽  
Two Sides

In this autobiographical account of labor relations on the Montreal waterfront, Alexander C. Pathy gives an insider account of the volatile relationship between shippers and longshoremen. Pathy worked as a lawyer and then official of the influential Maritime Employers Association (MEA). The MEA was in the forefront in changing employment relations to better fit the introduction of technological changes brought on by containerization. As in most ports around the world, the introduction of containerization was riven with challenge and controversy. The Port of Montreal, and the lesser ports of Quebec City and Trois-Rivieres, shared this common experience. According to Pathy up to 1960 the respective ports had seen little strife. Indeed, it would seem that the relations between the two sides had been relatively amicable. This would change once ship owners and stevedores embarked on a rationalization scheme to make the loading and unloading of cargo that much more efficient and speedier. Beginning in 1960, negotiations became increasingly heated and hostile. Not least was the problem of language. In what could be best described as mutual ignorance the employers negotiated in English, while the union representatives, reflecting the membership, spoke in French. It was no wonder that misunderstandings could occur because of poor translation. But according to Pathy more than language, the principal point of conflict was perception. Each side brought to the table mutual suspicion and hostility. The problem Pathy contends was, “Each party did not see its glass half full but half empty.”(40) Therefore, negotiations over gang size, technological improvements, hiring methods, and union jurisdiction all became major issues of contention. Adding to the complexity of the situation was the role of Canadian government. Canadian industrial relations law gave the government a vital stake in the negotiations. Just as important, as both official and wildcat strikes broke out, the government scrambled to stabilize the situation as ships were diverted to US ports. The loss of trade and thereby revenue was seen as a critical impairment to the maritime economy.

The Role of Trade Unions as a Subject of Social Partnership in the Settlement of Labor Disputes

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 967
Author(s):  
Asem M. RAKHIMOVA ◽  
Asel K. KAISHATAEVA
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Collective Agreement ◽  
Labor Disputes ◽  
Social Partnership ◽  
Labor Legislation ◽  
Literary Sources

The most important actor of the system of social partnership are trade unions, which often act as democratic institutions of society. The aim of the study is to determine the role of trade unions as a participant in social partnership in the system of settlement of labor disputes in Kazakhstan, using the experience of foreign countries as an example, creating a mechanism for social protection of workers in the form of a balanced system of state and market regulators and strengthening the role of trade unions in the occupational safety management system. The following methods were used as methods of scientific research: analysis of literary sources, the study of regulatory legal acts, special legal, comparative legal. The author focuses on the problems faced by employees in resolving labor disputes. The labor legislation of Kazakhstan regulates the procedure for issuing acts of an employer, preparing a draft collective agreement, the procedure for resolving labor disputes, etc. All this should be conducted taking into account the opinion or in agreement with the representatives of employers, but today, as practice shows, all these procedures take place without proper coordination, especially in commercial enterprises with a non-state form of ownership. According to the author, the regulation of labor disputes is just the direction where there is close interaction between trade unions and the state is a clear manifestation of social partnership.

scholarly journals Labour standards application in the informal economy of Ghana: The patterns and pressures

2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (196) ◽  
pp. 157-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Akorsu
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Work Organisation ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Labour Market Regulation ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
Labour Legislation

In spite of the rapid growth and importance of informal employment in Ghana, few studies have investigated the extent of coverage of labour standards application, as a form of labour market regulation. This paper investigates the extent of labour standards application in shaping the employment relations and conditions within the informal economy. The study focuses on 30 manufacturing firms in Ghana?s informal economy. Data were obtained through interviews with 43 entrepreneurs and their workers, as well as with key informants from the social partners of industrial relations. The study shows that labour standards are generally not applied among informal economy operators due to factors such as a lack of coverage of the existing labour legislation, ineffective enforcement, ignorance, peculiarities of work organisation, and the dynamics of the apprenticeship system. It is therefore concluded that informal economy workers, who constitute the majority of the workforce in Ghana, lack social protection and must be targeted for intervention.

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