Labour Government Research Articles

The Invention of Tribology: Peter Jost’s Contribution

Peter Jost is known to the international tribology community as the father of the subject—‘the man who made the world spin a little easier’. He was the author of the eponymous ‘Jost Report’, the report of the Working Group set up in 1964 to investigate the state of lubrication education and research in the UK. Over the following five decades, up to his death in 2016, he was tireless in extolling the importance of tribology to manufacturing efficiency, energy conversion and environmental sustainability. He was instrumental in establishing the International Tribology Council and its prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals. Jost was himself the recipient of numerous national and international awards. In 1976, he was the President of the Institution of Production Engineers, and in 2013, he received the Sustained Achievement Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering. What is less well known is the story behind the Jost report—what was it that led the recently elected Labour government and its newly established Ministry of Technology to investigate lubrication and to choose Jost to lead the investigating panel? The story illustrates the combination of serendipity and determination on which success can so often depend.

A social reproduction analysis of digital care platform work

ABSTRACT Digital platforms are becoming an important factor in the process of reconfiguration and commodification of social reproduction during the neoliberal phase of capitalism. Developing a theoretical framework merging social reproduction theory and migrant labour regimes, this article argues that the introduction of digital platforms in the care sector is facilitating the expansion of precarised commodification of reproductive activities in a context of social care crisis. Through a mixed-method analysis, combining desk-based research with in-depth interviews of digital care platform work in Spain, the study examines the migrant labour regime of digital care platforms and how they take advantage of the international division of labour and global care chains to further exploit a highly precarious, informalised, feminised and racialised workforce. Our findings reveal that platforms use technology to rapidly access a reserve labour army, thus extracting more surplus value by restricting access to information, controlling the intermediation process and further fragmenting the workforce in reproductive activities.

Intimate liminality in Spain's berry industry

AbstractSpain's berry industry relies on the agricultural labour of both local and seasonal migrant workers. A significant part of this migrant workforce comprises Moroccan mothers who leave their children with relatives in order to perform this wage labour. The bilateral recruitment regime favours the employment of Moroccan women with children for this labour to ensure that workers return home at the end of the harvesting season. Drawing on multi‐site ethnographic research in Spain and Morocco, this study revealed the effects of this bilateral labour regime on the intimate lives of migrant workers. We argue that the geopolitical prescriptions of this labour migration regime, along with the working and living conditions of migrant workers in Huelva, result in experiences of intimate liminality. We examined these experiences by exploring: (1) how the role of female workers as mothers becomes liminal as transnational labour agreements marginalise and outsource care obligations, (2) how governmental neglect of migrant workers' occupational health exposes them to reproductive health risks and (3) how this neglect places them in a liminal space in terms of access to healthcare, and (4) how, despite their liminality, migrant workers contest precarious conditions through everyday solidarity practices. We advance a feminist approach to liminality, emphasising the importance of an embodied, intersectional, and multiscalar perspective.

Value theories in motion: Circular labour migration, unfinished land dispossession and reproductive struggles across the urban–rural divide

This analysis theorises the central role of the urban–rural divide in the making of value relations and exploitation in contemporary labour regimes. Inspired by insights contained in Diane Elson’s ‘value theory of labour’ and informed by evidence on labour circulation in India’s ‘Sweatshop Regime’, the article combines Early Social Reproduction Analyses (ESRA) and debates on ‘forms of exploitation’ to illustrate the integrated nature of the circuits incorporating production and reproduction, use and exchange value across the urban–rural divide. It represents these circuits as a concrete instantiation of ‘value in motion’. In this schema, the countryside emerges as central to the regeneration of the urban labour regime; as key provider of labouring bodies; and as absorber of reproductive costs, also performing the function of ‘global housework’ for contemporary capitalism. The narrative is particularly attentive to post-industrial work trajectories, which further explain how partial land dispossession and informal work interplay to sustain the dynamic nature of value relations as well as workers’ livelihoods beyond factory labour. The conclusions stress the political implications of reproductive readings of value for labour struggles and pro-labour policy.

Migrate to (not) be ‘gurus’: Unpacking workplace masculinity in China's tech sector

AbstractThrough an intersectional analysis of gender, class, and migration, this article reveals how a hegemonic culture of workplace masculinity, embodied by a group of ‘gurus,’ is constructed in China's tech companies. The guru masculinity is characterized by proactivity and aggressiveness at work, ‘putting work first’ and overwork, and the ability to navigate boundaryless careers and settle down in first‐tier cities. It translates hegemonic masculine norms of material success, enjoying urban life, and men's breadwinner position in contemporary China on the one hand, and responds to a labor regime of precarious employment relations and prevalent overwork norm on the other hand. The article contributes to the literature on hegemonic masculinity in work organizations by showcasing how a hegemonic masculinity in China's tech workplace is constructed at the conjuncture of hegemonic gender norms at a societal level and the distinct labor regime in the tech sector. It also reveals that many male workers fail to conform to this cultural ideal, experiencing masculine frustration rooted in the nature of the ‘workplace masculinity contest,’ uneven urban development, and the demanding labor regime. It thus opens further discussions on how men resist hegemonic gender norms and construct alternative masculinities.

The effects of government labour intervention on firm performance and innovation

ABSTRACT The government sets legal limits on the number of working hours to minimize the negative effects of long working hours. Reducing legal working hours increases employee life satisfaction by decreasing mental and physical health problems. However, reducing legal working hours may decrease the firm’s future investment opportunities, which reduces the firm’s competitiveness. This study uses a quasi-experimental design to explore the negative effects of reducing legal working hours on firms. Specifically, we build a difference-in-differences (DID) model to explore the negative effects of reducing legal working hours on a firm’s ROI and innovation. We find reducing legal working hours decreases a firm’s ROI and innovation.

Analysis Of Factors Affecting Economic Growth In Banten Province

This study aims to identify the factors that drive economic growth in Banten Province.The scope of this survey covers 8 districts in Banten Province.The data used are secondary data and cross sectional data.
 The results of the study indicated that there was a positive and significant relationship between the variables of labor force and government expenditure and economic growth, while unemployment had a significant negative effect on economic growth. The results showed that the variables of labor force, government expenditure and unemployment had a significant effect on economic growth in Banten Province.

‘Implacable Enemies’? The Labour Party and the intelligence community in 1920s Britain

ABSTRACT The 1920s marked the first decade in which the Labour Party and the British intelligence community had to work closely together. Their relations during this period, which were often strained, have come to be defined by the Zinoviev letter affair. Allegations that intelligence officials leaked the Zinoviev letter to bring down the Labour government in 1924 have persisted for the last century. Using documents that have been largely unexplored, this article argues that the Zinoviev affair was not an isolated incident. It uses two specific case studies to show that a small number of intelligence officials also leaked sensitive information, in the years before and after 1924, in an attempt to undermine and discredit prominent Labour Party figures. By analysing events in the years before and after the Zinoviev affair, the article illustrates how relations between the British state and the Labour Party fluctuated providing a fresh understanding of Labour Party-intelligence relations during the interwar years.

ЗМІНИ МІГРАЦІЙНОГО ЗАКОНОДАВСТВА ЗА ПРЕМ’ЄРСТВА ТОНІ БЛЕРА (2005–2006)

This article examines the aftermath of the terrorist attacks carried out by naturalized British citizens on July 7, 2005, in London. It explores the broader context of the attack, including its impact on public opinion and the political climate of the country. The article analyzes Tony Blair’s public statements following the event, identifies the key points of his response to the terrorist attack, and evaluates the political decisions made in accordance with this response. It also investigates the factors that influenced changes in migration legislation and their consequences for British society. In order to better understand the context of changes in migration legislation under the influence of the July 7, 2005, terrorist attacks in London, the author examined the previous changes implemented by the Labour government in this area. The author aimed to identify the key challenges faced by the British authorities in the context of migration policy after the terrorist attacks, as well as to determine possible strategies for responding to these challenges. Various aspects of changes in migration policy legislation and practice, such as border controls, naturalization procedures, refugee resettlement programs, and other aspects that affected the lives of migrants and the overall political atmosphere in the country, were analyzed. The article aims at a deeper understanding of the relationship between terrorist events, political reactions to them and changes in migration policy, which is key to understanding the events of that time and their consequences today. Since the beginning of the XXI century, there have been ongoing scientific discussions about the relationship between terrorism and migration processes. At the start of the new century, numerous countries faced the real threat of terrorism, each responding differently with its own set of consequences. The article analyzes Tony Blair’s reaction, contrasting it with that of his foreign counterparts. Blair managed to respond by gradually expanding the scope of issues and accents while maintaining his position as head of state. He prepared society for changes in migration and anti-terrorist legislation, which were already in progress before the tragic events of July 7, 2005. These laws were subsequently revised and gained even greater relevance, sparking lively discussions both in society and within the government.

A Study on the Impact of China’s OFDI on Labor Export Using a Linear Regression Model

Abstract Chinese enterprises’ overseas investments have significantly facilitated China’s foreign labor export, but the international labor market is undergoing profound changes, posing new challenges. This study constructs an empirical model to examine the relationship between labor export and China’s OFDI, conducts a Pearson correlation test, and uses a simple linear regression model to verify the influence of OFDI on labor export flow. The study suggests that China’s OFDI has a significant impact on labor export, transitioning from pulling to crowding out effects after the Belt and Road Initiative, with policy recommendations for enhancing labor enterprise competitiveness and government oversight.

Bolshevik bogies: red scares in Britain, 1919-24

ABSTRACT The establishment of an anti-socialist hegemony has been widely accepted as the pivot of the Conservative Party’s electoral dominance in the interwar period. Anti-communism as a component of anti-socialist discourse, though commonly alluded to, has not received systematic attention, and is known above all for its appearance during the 1924 election campaign by way of the Zinoviev letter. This article offers the first comprehensive account of British political anti-communism in the early 1920s and reinterprets its significance and reach by demonstrating the vast extent to which it saturated Conservative propaganda between 1919 and 1924, as well as the range of social groups it sought to appeal to by these methods. It explores the origins and development of political anti-communism from the ‘first red scare’ in 1919-21 to the infamous 1924 campaign, punctuated by a series of ‘little red scares’ by which the fear of communism was perpetuated among key demographics. The 1924 election, rather than being seen chiefly as a triumph of ‘progressive’ Baldwinite Conservatism, must be understood in this context of a developed and pervasive anti-communist discourse that could be effectively deployed to engender a red scare under certain conditions, which the first Labour government was not the first to provide.

Artisanal and small-scale mining through a “labour regime” lens: Consolidating a research agenda on labour exploitation

This article examines the way the notion of labour regime in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) research can contribute to new ways of conceptualising this sector's challenges. It starts by reviewing how the phenomenal expansion of ASM over the last decades has been problematised, and highlights the need to better understand what drives artisanal miners to operate under extremely precarious work conditions, and the role they play in shaping the conditions of the sector they evolve in. ASM labour has generally been approached in research from two main lines of debates, namely livelihoods and agrarian change, and as embedded in global commodity frontiers and networks. The former perspective played an important role in highlighting the diversity of forms of production, and the heterogeneity of labour comprising ASM. This body of work showed that these emerge from strategies adopted mainly by smallholders facing subsistence challenges who diversify their source of income by either branching out into mining or combining it with agricultural activities. The second line of enquiry approaches ASM as emerging from the complex interactions of actors and factors across scales in global commodity frontiers and competing territorialisation projects. Both perspectives highlight the importance of better conceptualising value extraction and ASM labour exploitation dynamics, and the article draws on recent work on “labour regimes” to suggest ways to move in this direction. At this juncture, we emphasise three areas of work that we suggest are worth pushing forth, namely the role of social reproduction dynamics underlying ASM work, the intersecting production of social difference and ASM labour control across supply chains, and the role of ASM resistance, collective mobilisation and agency. Through these, we hope to advance future research on exploitation dynamics in ASM labour regimes, in ways that may also have policy relevance, as labour has rarely been the latter's focus.

The Bitter and the Sweet: Managerial Perceptions of the Well-Being of Ethiopian Female Apparel and Horticultural Workers

Observers of Ethiopia’s entry into export-oriented global value chains generally agree that social upgrading is crucial if these chains’ largely female workforce is to reap the benefits of participation. They disagree, however, on the extent to which a ‘business case’ can be made to involve in this upgrading the managers who link frontline workers to international buyers. This article takes a novel approach to these questions by directly asking these managers and those who advise them on human resources how they understand the well-being of their frontline workers. Drawing on 37 qualitative semi-structured interviews, we find great variation in the extent to which such actors are interested in pursuing worker well-being and social upgrading beyond basic compliance. This is indeed due in part to the sectoral dynamics that have shaped managers’ views of what constitutes a profitable labour regime but also by sociocultural factors that include managers’ own national contexts, gender and class.

How has the media framed the introduction of the supervised injecting room in Victoria? A comparison of editorials of The Age and Herald Sun 2017–2022

AbstractInfluenced by a harm reduction philosophy, the then Victorian Labor Government announced the establishment of the state's first medically supervised injecting room (MSIR) in North Richmond in late 2017. But, public and political opinion remains sharply divided as to the merits of the MSIR. One influence on policy development appears to be media commentary on the MSIR and the wider illicit drugs policy debate. This paper compares the official editorials of the two daily Melbourne newspapers, the Herald Sun and The Age regarding the MSIR, from November 2017 until November 2022. Based on 33 articles (Herald Sun, N = 28; The Age, N = 5), our findings identify philosophical differences between the two newspapers as reflected in their sources of information, language and highlighted issues. The Age was mostly supportive of both the introduction of the North Richmond MSIR and proposals for a second site. The Herald Sun's position was more ambiguous, ranging from qualified support for the North Richmond MSIR to strong opposition to further sites.

Socio-Economic Factors and Engagement Work in Teachers of Educational Institutions, State and Private

Objective: The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between sociodemographic factors and engagement in teachers of public and private institutions in the city of Juliaca, 2021. Methodology: The approach was quantitative with a cross-sectional correlational design, the sample consisted of 104 teachers from public and private educational institutions. A sociodemographic form was used for data collection, as well as the UWES-17. Results and conclusions: Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data processing through the SPSS statistical package. It is concluded that the sociodemographic factors are not related to engagement, except for the age factor, in which a chi-square value of 15.966 was obtained with a p-value of 0.043 which is less than the proposed significance (p<0.05), therefore, it is affirmed that there is a relationship between the factor and engagement in teachers of public and private institutions in the city of Juliaca, 2021. Implications of the research: In the other factors such as gender, marital status, labor condition, labor regime, length of service, academic training, average remuneration the p value obtained was greater than 0.05 so it is affirmed that there is no relationship between these and engagement in teachers. Originality/value: This article contributes to analyze the socioeconomic factors and work engagement in teachers from different schools in Puno, and it also shows the different relationships with the dimensions of the study.

Digital labor in the state-led/capitalist complex: State labor and playful workaholics in the Chinese digital space

Contemporary Chinese digital creative industries are no longer a realm of self-entrepreneurship, with multi-channel networks (MCNs) playing a significant role in shaping the digital labor market. This study focuses on the multifaceted Chinese digital labor regimes characterized by capitalism, national agendas, and state regulation. Through a qualitative analysis of 203 recruitment advertisements of major MCNs and 17 interviews of digital laborers, the findings reveal that the digital labor of MCNs operates in a state-led/capitalist complex. Beyond the risks of the capitalist industries, MCNs’ recruitment logic and management align with the state's agenda of economic development. Whether intentionally or not, the digital labor of MCNs has been swept into China's entrepreneurial solutionism, evolving into a form of state labor that integrates creative power and individual entrepreneurship into national building.

Assessing privatization efficiency in CIS countries: financial, non-financial, and GDP-linked indicators

This study investigates the impact of privatization on the relationship between gross capital accumulation, employment, labor resources, government spending, and gross domestic product (GDP) in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. Employing econometric analysis and cointegration evaluation, the study reveals that privatization has had a mixed impact on CIS economies. While privatization has contributed to increased capital accumulation and employment in some countries, it has also led to reduced labor resources and government spending in others. The study also finds that government spending is an indirect indicator of privatization efficiency that significantly influences GDP in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

Reindustrialization and Transnational Labour Regimes in Maramureș County: Between National Deregulation and Export-Dependence

Abstract The paper examines Maramureș County’s labour regime and describes its transformation from a heavily unionized formation under socialism to today’s deregulated, transnational condition. The region’s former mining cluster and current furniture production hub are posited as sectoral focal points. Union militantism prevented the mining sector’s accelerated decline in the 1990s, but liberalisation and conformity with the European Union’s regulatory frameworks gradually eroded labour rights and shifted the region’s economic profile to export-oriented sectors. Among these, domestic and foreign furniture manufacturers emerged as dominant economic actors in the early 2000s. While the county is well-known for its wood processing, the companies in question tap into IKEA’s global production network and employ low-cost, flexible labour in just-in-time supply schedules. Recent developments include the use of immigrant agency workers as a solution to the county’s skilled and unskilled labour shortage.

The Effect of Government Subsidies on Innovation Capability of the New Energy Vehicle Industry

Countries all over the world are paying attention to the growth of the new energy vehicle industry and implementing various subsidy policies to stimulate industry development to enhance the new energy vehicle industry’s innovative capability. This study uses a network DEA model to analyze China’s new energy vehicle industry’s technological innovation capability, decomposing it into two stages: technology development and innovation transformation, and calculating the innovation capability level of China’s new energy vehicle industry from 2012 to 2017. The findings show that due to a disconnect between the efficiency of the technology development stage and the efficiency of the innovation transformation stage, innovation technology cannot serve business operations, resulting in China’s new energy vehicle industry’s overall low level of innovation capability. Based on this, an IT3SLS analysis of the factors influencing innovation capability and phase-by-phase efficiency reveals that while China’s new energy vehicle industry’s subsidy policy has historically failed to significantly improve innovation capability, there is a complementary/substitution effect between labor input, corporate capital, and government subsidies. Based on the findings of this study, important policy recommendations are made to further develop the technological capabilities of the new energy vehicle industry in the context of China’s present new energy policy.

The Labour Share, Government Expenditure and Income Inequality of Post-Soviet Countries

This study analyses the influence of economic growth on inequality, concentrating on the role of governments as mediators. The period studied is from 2000 to 2020, encompassing 11 post-Soviet countries. The primary estimation method used is the two-stage least squares for panel data. Despite the differences in the economic and political systems at the current development stage, the post-Soviet countries share a common pattern in terms of the relationship between economic growth, the labour income share and the level of inequality, which we first show in this article. Government expenditure has the potential to reduce inequality. However, its effectiveness depends largely on government efficiency and the development of democratic institutions. Despite the increase in government spending on education, more is needed to reduce income inequality. Increased economic performance, productivity, and high-quality state institutions are necessary for this change.