Labour and the Challenges of Globalization: What Prospects for Transnational Solidarity?

Contents......Page 6
List of figures......Page 11
List of tables......Page 13
Acknowledgements......Page 14
Foreword: rebuilding the unity of the ‘labour front’......Page 15
1 The future of the global working class: an introduction......Page 24
Theoretical and conceptual starting points......Page 25
Globalization, the ‘working poor’ and inequality......Page 31
A brief overview based on country reports......Page 34
2 The contested politics of gender and irregular employment: revitalizing the South Korean democratic labour movement......Page 46
Neoliberal democratic regimes: breaking militantunionism......Page 48
Labour market resegmentation: gender and the expansion of irregular employment......Page 52
Overcoming exclusionary unionism: organizing the periphery......Page 55
Conclusion: the friction of new directions......Page 65
The transition to democracy in South Africa......Page 68
The reorganization of labour......Page 71
The persistence of poverty and rising inequality......Page 74
Union responses to the challenges......Page 77
Other organizational responses......Page 82
Conclusion......Page 85
The Indian labour market in historical perspective......Page 88
Trade unions in India: between high fragmentation and low unionization......Page 92
What future for Indian trade unions?......Page 97
Preface......Page 104
Background: ‘marketization’ under the typical ‘dual system’......Page 105
Analysis......Page 112
Some predictions......Page 117
Researchers’ findings......Page 118
The impact of neoliberal globalization on the working class......Page 121
The informalization of work in the formal and informal sectors: growing deterioration of wages and the loss of effective working-class power......Page 123
Responses by unions to these challenges......Page 127
Main current challenges......Page 134
Brazil from 1930 to 1980: economic dynamism, income concentration and the role of the labour movement......Page 138
Economic opening, privatization and attraction of foreign investments: the new forms of dependency......Page 141
Increased ‘social debt’: unemployment, informality and exclusion......Page 146
Responses of and challenges to the working class and the social movements......Page 153
Introduction......Page 162
Intensified global competition and changes in the work environment......Page 164
Neoliberalism and the withdrawal of worker protection......Page 171
International labour movement cooperation......Page 177
Conclusion......Page 181
9 Challenges facing the Canadian labour movement in the context of globalization, unemployment and the casualization of labour......Page 184
The labour market context......Page 185
The structure of the Canadian labour movement......Page 187
The advantages and challenges of organizing......Page 191
Challenges for the Canadian Labour Congress......Page 195
Conclusion......Page 199
Introduction......Page 201
The myth, reality and impact of globalization......Page 202
Challenges for trade unions......Page 206
Trade unions’ responses and strategies......Page 212
Outlook: what future for German trade unions?......Page 219
Introduction......Page 222
Labour market stratification......Page 225
Swedish trade unions and the transnational restructuring of social relations......Page 226
Conclusions: future strategies for the Swedish labour movement......Page 233
Interviews......Page 239
Globalizing informality and challenges for collective organizing......Page 240
Overview of relations between trade unions and organizations of informal workers: African experiences......Page 243
Mozambique: an alliance across theformal–informal divide......Page 246
The benefits and challenges of organizing across the formal–informal divide......Page 248
Global informality, international organizing and scaling up alliances......Page 250
Interviews with leaders of informal workers’ organizations in Africa......Page 252
Introduction......Page 254
European integration and the myth of social Europe......Page 255
Trade unions in Europe: a comparative overview......Page 258
Trade unions at the European level: between social partner and social movement......Page 261
Conclusion: an alternative strategy for European labour......Page 266
Introduction......Page 271
The structures of international unionism......Page 272
Labour internationalism under globalization: within and beyond unions......Page 274
The international unions respond......Page 275
The global justice and solidarity movement and a global civil society in construction......Page 278
Contrasting the responses......Page 279
Questions remaining: a global working class? globalized unionism? a reinvented labour internationalism?......Page 280
Update 2007......Page 284
15 What future strategy for the global working class? The need for a new historical subject......Page 287
Shortcomings of present strategies......Page 289
Divisions within the global working class: the need for transnational solidarity?......Page 292
Possibilities for more offensive strategies towards transnational solidarity......Page 295
Concluding remarks......Page 305
Bibliography......Page 310
Notes on contributors......Page 338
List of abbreviations......Page 342
Index......Page 348