Trade Union Movement Research Articles

Orthodoxy, evidence and action: Labour rights at the World Bank

Created in 1944 jointly with the IMF as one of the Bretton Woods twins, the World Bank shifted its focus to financing projects in developing countries in the 1950s. In the 1980s it became a strong proponent of structural adjustment policies that had major consequences for employment and working conditions. It only belatedly acknowledged its impact on labour and formulated policies on these issues in recent years. With the growth of other sources of finance the Bank’s pre-eminent role has lessened, but it remains the world’s largest and most influential development finance institution On the level of its official discourse and policy stances on employment and workers’ rights, the Bank has come a long way over the past fifteen years. In 2003, it launched a ‘flagship report’ which, at the height of murderous attacks against organised labour in Colombia, lauded the country for having embraced the ‘deregulation experience’ by dismantling protections for workers1. In 2018, if all goes according to announced plans, the Bank will make it obligatory for its projects to comply with a nine-page labour standard that, among other provisions, requires that borrowers ‘will not discriminate or retaliate against project workers who participate or seek to participate in … workers’ organisations … or alternative mechanisms’2. The World Bank has by no means made a complete about-face on policies for decent work, workers’ rights and its own responsibility to ensure they are respected. However, there has been a gradual shift within the Bank away from the approach, still dominant until the 2008-2009 global economic crisis, that job creation is an automatic byproduct of economic growth as long as governments do not interfere unduly in the free market. Additionally and importantly, the Bank has reversed its earlier stance that as an ‘economic’ institution, it has no reason or mandate to pay attention to the treatment of workers in the activities it finances. The belief that unregulated labour markets are a necessary ingredient for achieving high rates of investment and growth was given a distinctly enhanced status within the Bank when, in October 2003, it launched the first edition of Doing Business. Labour was one of five policy areas singled out in the report as priorities for deregulatory action to make countries more investment friendly. Doing Business published a ‘Hiring and Firing Workers’ indicator (the name was later changed to ‘Employing Workers Indicator’: EWI), which gave best scores to countries having the lowest minimum wages, longest working hours and least protections against dismissal. Within weeks of the launch of Doing Business, the Bank’s country offices began actively encouraging governments in developing and transition countries to emulate low-regulation model countries in the region, or in other regions, by slashing workers’ protections. In some cases, improving the EWI was made a ‘benchmark’ for measuring progress in meeting loan conditions. In 2007, the World Bank awarded its ‘Reformers Club’ prize to the Republic of Georgia because ‘reforms … have catapulted Georgia from a ranking of 112 to 37th place in the World Bank Group’s 2007 global rankings on the regulatory ease of doing business’3. The most substantial ‘progress’ was in labour reforms, thanks to action Georgia had taken in 2006 to abolish most labour regulations, including all protections against dismissal. IMF staff followed their Bank colleagues by incorporating EWI assessments and comparisons as well as recommendations for weakening labour protections in numerous Article IV Consultation reports. The fact that economic studies attempting to make the link between weak labour regulations and high GDP or employment growth gave highly inconsistent results, such that the link was essentially unproven, seems not to have disturbed the IFIs at this point. ResistancetotheDoingBusinessapproach Pressure for the IFIs to halt their policy of espousing extensive labour market deregulation began in the trade union movement shortly after the launch of Doing Business, spread to the ILO and then to several governments. In October 2007, the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services, chaired by Congressman Barney Frank, held a hearing on the EWI and its uses. Frank roundly condemned the Bank for its promotion of weakened protections for working people. The Bank finally paid heed to the pressure in 2009, the year...

The Weight of Absence: Rick Turner and the End of the Durban Moment

Many key participants in the ‘emerging Trade Union movement’ were once influenced heavily by Turner. Nonetheless, as they moved into the unions, most adopted a mechanistic version of Marxism, and rejected Turner’s idealistic, anti-authoritarian Socialism. There are two different ways to interpret the significance of the ‘Durban Moment’. In one telling, there is a linear progression between the social movements in the 1970s through to the foment of the 1980s, and the end of apartheid in 1994. The other interpretation seeks to understand the unique qualities of the political developments of the early 1970s in counter-balance to the opposition politics that came before and after. The ultimate erasure of Rick Turner’s politics is to claim that they have been assimilated into movements that developed after his death. As long as we believe that Rick Turner’s vision was embraced by those who came after him, we will remain within a cul-de-sac.

The fallout from the 2017 labour reform in Brazil for the trade union movement

In 2017, Brazilian labour law underwent its first general reform in decades through the approval of the federal law No. 13.467/2017, that makes significant changes to the main aspects of individual and collective law. The reform changes more than one hundred articles from the Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho (Labour Code), creating new types of labour contracts – as for example the zero-hour contract – , restricting the role of the labour courts, and changing the relationship between legal norms and collective contracts. Labour law reforms can signal progressive change but as we argue below the new law is one of the most regressive steps in Brazil’s contemporary history of labour regulation. There has been great anxiety surrounding the labour reform, mostly because of the speed with which it was brought into effect. Historically, most pieces of comprehensive legislation spent several years in each house of Congress being discussed and debated; but in this case, in less than a year the entire package of significant changes was approved. It signals a tectonic shift from the longstanding principles of Brazilian labour law. Our objective is to examine the challenges the Brazilian union movement will face in response to the new regulations. Our analysis suggests that the labour movement would need to effectively reinvent itself to neutralise the changes made in the law. From mandatory to voluntary: changes in rules governing trade union dues Brazil’s peculiar corporatist structure prevents effective freedom of association in the terms of the ILO Convention 87. One main aspect of the Brazilian corporatist system was the mandatory trade union dues (contribuição sindical), required under law to be collected from employers and workers represented by trade unions1. Union dues are the main sources of trade union funding in the country. There are basically four types of trade union dues in the current system: the dues paid by individual workers who choose to associate with the trade union (CLT, Article 548, b); the trade union assistance contribution (based on a general provision in CLT Article 513); the confederation contribution (Article 8, IV, Federal Constitution); and the trade union dues imposed by law on all members of a category (CLT Articles 578 to 610). Among the four, only the last one, the CLT trade union dues, was mandatory on entire categories of workers or employers. The mandatory trade union dues was one of the oldest rules of Brazilian Labour Law as part of the corporatist system. The first rule to establish the dues was the Decree No. 19,770, 1931, that authorised trade unions to apply to the Ministry of Labour for ‘protective measures, aid, subsidies for their institutes of assistance and education ...’. The mandatory trade union dues was a major part of the constituency of trade unions’ resources, especially for unions with a small membership, which depend almost entirely on it. Collected once a year, the dues were compulsory for employed workers, unionised or not, self-employed professionals and for employers in the case of employers’ trade unions. The value of this contribution is equivalent to one day’s pay in the case of workers’ trade unions2. The new rules make the compulsory trade union dues voluntary, that is, workers have to formally and individually agree to pay the dues. According to the new CLT Article 578: ‘The contributions due to the unions by the participants of the economic or professional categories or of the liberal professions represented by those entities shall be paid, under the denomination of trade union contribution, collected and applied in the manner established in this Chapter, provided that prior and expressly authorised’. This change is likely to cause a serious decline in the dues on which trade unions rely for their economic survival. Workers would now have the option not to authorise the collection of these dues unless they believe that the union is working in their interest. In the past, unions have taken these financial resources for granted and did not worry about their performance in representing workers’ interests and rights. Employers’ unions, however, have been spared to a certain extent, since compulsory contributions administered by these unions for social service, training and professional qualification have been maintained and...

The fallout from the 2017 labour reform in Brazil for the trade union movement

The fallout from the 2017 labour reform in Brazil for the trade union movement

‘An Uphill Job Demanding Limitless Patience’.The Establishment of Trade Unions and the Conflicts of Development in Sudan, 1946-1952

This chapter focuses on conflicts of development from the point of view of the entanglement between development, labour legislation, and labour conflicts during the time of decolonisation. It describes the origins of the trade union movement in Sudan, created after the Second World War, and covers the history of that movement up until 1952, the year in which its curve of radicalisation was stopped and it turned towards more conciliatory labour relations. Dwelling on internal sources emanating from the colonial government and the various labour attachés sent to Khartoum, the chapter aims to shed light on the reciprocal influences and feedback effect between the three main actors of these conflicts: the British government, whose agenda set colonial labour welfare as a top priority; a reluctant Sudanese government accustomed to decades of laissez-faire in matters of labour; and the workers, who quite suddenly discovered that they had the power to compel the government to listen to their demands.

Związki zawodowe w świetle przemian cywilizacyjnych: możliwości, wyzwania i zagrożenia

The scientific and technological revolution, as well as rapid acceleration in business processes on a global scale, affect labour and capital in an asymmetrical manner. Capital is inherently more f lexible than human beings, who, in addition to economic constraints, live in a network of social relations. The position of the working class is additionally weakened by process automation, replacing workers by increasingly intelligent robots. The authors’ intention is to sketch a sequence of cause and effect of these processes: describe the basic aspects of the transformation of the labour market, their impact on trade unions, and outline the future outlook for the trade union movement.

Rick Turner and South Africa's “Sixties”

This article examines the life and thought of South African radical philosopher Richard “Rick” Turner (1941–1978), a crucial figure in the 1973 anti‐apartheid political conjuncture known as the “Durban Moment.” Though steeped in existentialist philosophy, Turner's real contribution to New Left thought in South Africa came elsewhere. Turner's receptivity to “Black Consciousness,” his vision of radical pedagogy, and his commitment to participatory democracy and “workers’ control” all made a deep imprint on Black working class mobilization and the birth of a democratic trade union movement in South Africa.

Institutional Crowding Out? FDI and Centralized Wage Bargaining in Ireland

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is widely seen as an indicator of economic health and is much sought after by developed and developing nations alike. I present here a theoretical basis for the possibility of perverse effects of FDI-oriented development on the underpinnings of the economy, even where FDI's first order economic effects appear positive. In a preliminary empirical application, furthermore, I suggest that Ireland’s highly successful strategy of attracting FDI has had such an effect by altering the dramatis personae of its political economy so as to constrain the margins and methods of adjustment available to it during its recent economic crisis. Specifically, the tendency of (mostly American) multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in Ireland to adopt the industrial relations practices of their origin country rather than those of their host country has contributed to the development of a trade union movement that is disproportionately dominated by sheltered, and in particular public sector unions – more so than might be the case in the absence of an FDI-oriented development strategy. This institutional crowding out has in turn undermined the capacity of Irish “neo-corporatism” to maintain (or regain) national competitiveness whether through wage-setting or fiscal policy – the two chief margins of national adjustment available to policymakers following Ireland’s entry into Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Instead the Irish system of centralized tripartite wage- and policy-bargaining – “neocorporatism” – that emerged to much surprise in response to one profound economic crisis in the 1980s, has collapsed in the face of one in the 2010s.

Union members at the polls in diverse trade union landscapes

AbstractThis article investigates to what extent social democratic parties still benefit from the support of union members at the polls. Not only are social democratic parties confronted with new competitors in the party systems, but also the union confederations of the socialist labour movement are in some countries losing their dominant position due to the rise of separate professional confederations. It is argued in the article that the effect of union membership on voting choice is conditioned by the structure of the trade union movement. The support of union members for social democracy is fostered by the strength of the confederations historically close to this party family, while it is hampered when strong separate (or politically unaffiliated) white‐collar confederations exist. Using European Social Survey and Swedish Public Opinion data, the article shows that social democratic parties still enjoy important support from trade union members, but at the same time are under fierce competition from bourgeois and green parties among members of white‐collar confederations. This reinforces the challenges for social democracy to build new voters’ coalitions in post‐industrial societies.

Efectos sobre el empleo de la reducción del tiempo de trabajo: Aprendizajes de la experiencia francesa

En este artículo trataremos de aportar algunos elementos de diagnóstico de la política de reducción del tiempo de trabajo (RTT) en Francia. Tras comprobar el mal reparto de los aumentos de productividad de las últimas décadas, tanto en España como en Euskal Herria y Francia, nos sumergiremos en la experiencia francesa, partiendo de los precedentes que dieron lugar a una apuesta de RTT a priori diseñada para ser progresivamente generalizada. Expondremos la mecánica básica de Leyes Aubry (1998-2000) y especialmente la obligación de RTT en todas las empresas del sector mercantil de más de 20 asalariados a partir del 1 de enero del 2000. Haremos mayor hincapié en una valoración crítica de los efectos de estas dos leyes sobre la duración de las jornadas, el empleo y los salarios. Abordaremos las evoluciones posteriores de regresión sarkozysta en las políticas de RTT, así como la «última vuelta de tuerca» del Gobierno «socialista» de Valls, en actual liza contra un movimiento social y sindical de alto calado. El objetivo de este artículo es hacer un balance del pasado de la experiencia francesa, tratando de conectarla con nuestra vocación de importar sus enseñanzas a nuestra realidad concreta.

Gendered division of trade union protests? Strategies, activities and outcomes of union activity among miners and nurses in Poland

The article examines whether gender might be a key to understanding the different patterns of protests organized by miners and nurses, two active occupational groups that are characteristically masculine and feminine, respectively. The gender division does not imply symmetry, as the situations of women and men on the labour market and in the trade union movement are different. The article identifies differences and similarities between these two groups in terms of discourse and tactics and the general strategy and outcomes of strike and protest actions within a framework that enables us to study both occupations and their trade unions in terms of hegemonic masculinity theory. Can the gendered character of protests be one key to understanding the successes or failures of the trade union movement? The theory of hegemonic masculinity is used to analyse the organization and reception of strikes and protests by nurses and miners.

Prefiguring democratic revolution? ‘Workers’ control’ and ‘workerist’ traditions of radical South African labour, 1970–1985

ABSTRACTDuring the 1970s and early 1980s, sections of the trade union movement questioned the African National Congress (ANC) and South African Communist Party’s (SACP’s) narrow vision of freedom, which was based on the capture of the colonial state by a nationalist elite. Located within a distinct political current that prioritised participatory/direct-democracy and egalitarianism, workers were regarded as the locus of transformative power in society, and their organisations were viewed as prefiguring a radically democratic future. This article examines the very different kind of radical anti-colonial engagement offered by ‘workers’ control’ in the 1970s and ‘workerism’ in the early 1980s that was developed by the Trade Union Advisory Coordinating Council (TUACC) and the Federation of South African Trade Unions (FOSATU), respectively. Keen to draw lessons for the trade union movement today, this article outlines the key characteristics and limits of these traditions that facilitated their decline in the post-apartheid context.

Dockers Against Racism: an interview with Micky Fenn

This hitherto unpublished interview with left activist and trade union organiser Micky Fenn (1938–1996) was carried out in 1990. He recalls how he, as a member of the Unofficial Shop Stewards’ Committee in the London Docks, dealt with fellow trade unionists’ racism (even turning the racist vernacular to his own ends). The interview covers the critical episode which reflects the nadir of British trade unionism when, in April 1968, Dockers downed tools and joined the London Smithfield Meat Market porters’ strike and march in support of MP Enoch Powell who had become the mouthpiece of anti-immigrant sentiment, warning of ‘Rivers of Blood’. Fenn describes the quandary this posed militant organisers who believed in collective responsibility: not wanting to strike-break but completely opposed to the basis of the strike, not wanting to put up the usual pickets against strike breakers, but not wanting to cause a precedent. He goes on to show how elements in the unofficial trade union movement learnt from the 1968 debacle and went on to tackle racism on the Docks to ensure that extreme rightwingers never again got a foothold and black workers could. Fenn explains why he later felt the need to take to direct action against growing fascism in East London.

The need for unity: an interview with Vishnu Sharma

Vishnu Sharma (1921–1992) came to Southall, West London, in 1957 as a seasoned political organiser in the peasant and trade union movements of the Punjab, who had already, under the Raj, been imprisoned for his political activities. A member of the Communist Party for most of his life, a vice-chair of the 1960s’ Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (CARD) and a founder of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, where he also worked for many years, he was involved in a number of national organisations including the National Council for Commonwealth Immigrants (from which he resigned in protest in 1968), the National Council for Civil Liberties, the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) and the Anti-Nazi League. He talked, in 1982, during the filming of A Town Under Siege – one of a series of films made by IRR’s sister company in the early 1980s for Channel 4 – about his early life in Southall.

Social Europe as a Multilevel Governance: The Italian Perspective

The article deals with history and historiography of Social Europe, understood as integration of social forces (mainly the trade-unions) of the different European countries. The communitarian dimension of trade-unionism, indeed, is a topic more and more considered by historians. Starting from the first attempts of Europeanization of social dynamics in the ‘50s, the article follows the development of Social Europe trough its different stages: the political approach to the “social affairs” in 1957-1964; the spreading of the need to establish an European trade-union movement; the “long tunnel” of 1974-1984; the renewed trade-unionist awareness which made emerge a “Social Europe”; the social protocols annexed to the treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam. The article underlines the scarce capacity for initiative of an articulated European trade-union representation, but points out that social dimension has always accompanied the success of the stages for the European unification and the reasons of its expansion.

On Standing's A Precariat Charter: Confronting the Precaritisation of Labour in Brazil and Portugal

<p>Guy Standing’s new book, A Precariat Charter, does not allow us to forget that we live under the shadow of the “precariat” – a group of people who are deprived of any work-related guarantees, subjected to uncertain income, and without a collective identity that is rooted in a labour world. Among the many merits of his most recent book, Standing reports the damaging effects suffered by a substantial section of the European trade union movement. At the root of this decline is labour’s submission to a socially irresponsible and environmentally unsustainable model of development. First, I will examine the book from a Southern perspective. The data and examples that Standing provide pertain largely to changing working-class relations in advanced capitalist countries. In contrast, I will focus my attention on the metamorphosis of the working class in the Global South – particularly Brazil – during the post-Fordist era in order to raise questions about the class character of the precariat.</p>

Florence Nightingale would have taken on the political fight, and so should we.

I agree with Mike Travis' comments (letters April 20) about the role and responsibilities of the trade union movement, and those of the RCN in caring for and fighting politically on behalf of nurses at all levels.

NHS workers should heed warnings of history and unite against government.

This government is ideologically committed to destroying the trade union movement in the UK. Their refusal to compromise in the junior doctors' dispute is evidence of this. In spite of the weight of evidence against their plans, they are intent on imposing a discriminatory contract on the medical profession.

Εκπαίδευση και συνδικαλιστικές οργανώσεις: όψεις της ευρωπαϊκής εμπειρίας και σύγχρονη ελληνική πραγματικότητα

<p>Τrade union education is a developed scientific field in most European countries. The need for a systematic performance of trade union duties was one of the main reasons for the creation of specific trade union education providers in order to strengthen the role of trade unions in social dialogue. This article aims to make reference to the European experience, taking into account the establishment of the Greek Labour Academy, in order to further the debate on the role of trade union education in an era of change for the trade union movement in Greece.</p>

Resisting austerity? The case of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed

This article considers the issue of resistance to austerity in recent years in Ireland and focuses specifically on the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU). The article notes that the Irish Government’s post-2008 austerity policies had devastating effects on unemployed people, but that the INOU’s stance and responses to such policies were timid and cautious. The argument is that the INOU’s position is the result of long-established relations of dependency with respect to the state and to the trade union movement which contributed strongly to reduce its militancy in general and facilitated its caution and ambiguous responses to austerity in the post-2008 period in particular.