The industrial recovery will be uneven and China-led

Significance While manufacturing is recovering after its sharp contraction during the first wave of shutdowns, the recovery is uneven by sector and region, reflecting the impact of COVID-19 on the structure of market demand, manufacturing capacity and global supply chains. Impacts The major industrial economies bar China have become more dependent on manufactured imports during 2020; this will ease gradually. Production is recovering but manufacturing employment is not, and this will continue; policies to support dislocated workers will be key. Geographic variations in the incidence of COVID-19 will accentuate the sectoral and regional differences in manufacturing performance.

Training for my Life: Lived Experiences of Dislocated Workers in an Advanced Manufacturing Training Program

This qualitative paper explores the lived experiences of one group of workers dislocated because of globalized trade policies who completed a hybrid Advanced Manufacturing Training Program (AMTP) by taking advantage of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), a federally-funded program for retraining workers dislocated because of trade policies. The research questions focus on how satisfied these workers are with the services and programs provided by TAA. Focus groups and survey instrument results indicate these workers found TAA services and processes cumbersome and time- consuming and actually had the effect of discouraging their education, training, and self- employment. The consequences of their dislocation as it relates to TAA experiences are increased frustration and dissatisfaction with the TAA program. Serious consideration for TAA policy changes should be deemed of utmost importance.

Empowering Dislocated Workers in Union-Based Counseling Programs

Résumé Cet article est basé sur des pratiques novatrices d'intervention psychosociale menées auprès de travailleurs victimes de pertes d'emploi, dans trois usines du nord de la Californie. L'auteure d'abord trace le profil de la personne mise à pied aux États-Unis et dégage l'impact psychologique des fermetures, en soulignant la tendance des victimes à se blâmer elles-mêmes et à projeter ce blâme sur leurs proches. Ensuite, elle présente les caractéristiques d'un nouveau modèle d'intervention auprès des personnes mises à pied, un modèle qui fait appel notamment à la validation de la colère et à la construction de réseaux de support social. Enfin, elle souligne l'importance de développer ce nouveau modèle sur le terrain même de l'organisation syndicale, vue comme un lieu où les personnes peuvent être traitées comme des personnes à part entière.

How has Economic Restructuring Affected China's Urban Workers?

Using data from the China Urban Labour Survey conducted in five large Chinese cities at year end 2001, we quantify the nature and magnitude of shocks to employment and worker benefits during the period of economic restructuring from 1996 to 2001, and evaluate the extent to which adversely affected urban workers had access to public and private assistance. Employment shocks were large and widespread, and were particularly hard on older workers and women. During the period of economic restructuring, unemployment reached double figures in all sample cities and labour force participation declined by 8.9 per cent. Urban residents faced modest levels of wage and pension arrears, and sharp declines in health benefits. Public assistance programmes for dislocated workers had limited coverage, with most job-leavers relying upon private assistance to support consumption, mainly from other household members.