Neoliberalising Human Resources: The Case of a Marginal Trade Union (original) (raw)
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British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2009
In their introduction, the authors say their intention is to provide 'an introduction to the political dynamics of organizational life' (p. 6). This is a task that has been undertaken before, but the approach of these authors is different. It is not difficult to see that they have much more concern for conceptualization than is evident in much of the existing literature. Part One of the book, which takes up pages 11-65-or one-third of the text-is an extended discussion of the concepts of power, resistance and struggle, and the whole of the rest of the volume (pp. 69-191) is ostensibly organized around the conceptual priorities set out at the beginning. Although the question of whether the initial framework is followed through in the more substantive parts of the text is open, that the authors are more than usually preoccupied with ideas is not. There are references here to social and political theorists (such as Machiavelli and Hannah Arendt) as well as to moral philosophers (Diogenes and Nancy Fraser), not to mention the ideas of fashionable contemporary thinkers (Laclau, Zizeck, etc.). One issue the reviewer must consider, therefore, is the explanatory yield of this particular approach to organizational politics. What does the use of these concepts explain that so far remains opaque or obscure? However, the book does not only claim to be a work of theory. The authors also suggest that their book provides, presumably because of its sophisticated conceptualization, an account of 'some of the most important forms of struggle that characterise contemporary organisations today' (p. 6), so this claim should also be considered. Part One of this book is devoted to the consideration of the concepts of power, resistance and struggle, one chapter being devoted to each. It is argued in chapter 1 that power can be seen as having four 'faces': coercion, manipulation, domination and 'subjectification'. Following this, in the next chapter, four faces of resistance are also identified: refusal, voice, escape and creation. Finally, in chapter 3, the faces of power are explicitly linked with the faces of resistance, giving four pairings (coercion and refusal, manipulation and voice, domination and escape, and subjectification and creation). The concept of struggle (linking power and resistance) is also put forward, together with the idea that struggle may co-vary in intensity and kind, yielding three types of struggle: destructive, resentful and loving. The concept of struggle, presumably conceived as having an emergent property, is claimed by these authors as their distinctive contribution to theory. This set of ideas is economical and neat-if it works, it will tidy things up a good deal. But does it work? Is what is offered actually a theoretical breakthrough? There are some unexpected features of the ideas considered in these chapters. While the four faces of power have some obvious similarities with established ideas, the typology of forms of resistance offered here does not. When orthodox organizational analysts consider power, they are apt to use concepts including those identified by these authors. In orthodox Weberian theory, for example, systems of (societal) domination, which are characterized by legitimate power, are central to the analysis. It is difficult to imagine any specifically managerial regime being able to function effectively without working largely within a broader system of domination of this kind. Also, it would be impossible to discuss managerial regimes without manipulation and what these authors call 'subjectification'. On the other hand, the unwillingness of some analysts of the modern organization to think of their work in the context of a theory of power is not simply due to their supposed intellectual or political
Transnational solidarity or conflict? Trade unions and neo-liberal restructuring
It is frequently argued that European trade unions have been co-opted into the neo-liberal restructuring of the European social relations of production. The purpose of this paper is twofold: First, it will be assessed whether this allegation is actually justified. Second, the paper will review concrete examples of trade union cooperation opposed to neo-liberal restructuring on the one hand, as well as outline several areas of tensions within the European labour movement, which undermine potential transnational solidarity on the other. It will be argued that while trade unions are not automatically progressive actors vis-à-vis neo-liberal restructuring, they have the potential to play an important role in a wider resistance movement.
2005
The thesis explores trade union resistance to neo-liberal globalisation through a case-study of the strategic development of Sintraemcali (the trade union of the Municipal Enterprises of Cali) in Colombia. Sintraemcali, since the mid 1990's, has fought off a series of attempts by the Colombian government to privatise the public utilities of water, electricity and telecommunications. Drawing on Burawoy's (1998) Extended Case Method the research is based on 16 months of participatory ethnographic fieldwork and develops a critical theory approach to researching `globalisation from below' through drawing on the work of the Neo-Gramscian School and that of Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The thesis focuses on one particular episode of protestthe 36 day CAM Tower Occupation that began on December 25th, 2001-in order to understand the conditions that enabled this event to come about. This episode of protest linked workers and local communities in mass protest and operated on a range of scales from the local to the global. The thesis explores how this multi-scalar strategy developed. The thesis traces the historical development of these strategies and explores Sintraemcali's transformation during the 1990's from a corporate trade union fighting for the particular interests of its affiliates to a social movement union defending the broader interests of the local community. The transformation of the trade union took place under the difficult conditions of Colombia where trade unions and human rights activists are regularly subject to assassination by state and para-state forces. Through a reconceptualisation of `trade union education' the thesis argues that Sintraemcali's transformation can be understood as a pedagogical process. The main argument put forward is that the emergence of a strategic pedagogy within the union facilitated the development of a broad multi-scalar strategy that included: (1) an alternative economic strategy for the management of Emcali; (2) a trade union/ community alliance within the city of Cali in defence of public services; (3) a mobilisation strategy which included a series of militant occupations of high profile buildings; and, (4) a human rights strategy that provided access to local, national and international legal and advocacy mechanisms that facilitated Sintraemcali's ability to globalise its struggle against privatisation. The research isolates two key pedagogical processes at work that serve to modify the context within which Sintraemcali operated: transborderisation and horiiontalisation. The first challenges the view that labour organisations can only operate at the local scale and highlights how, through a multi-scalar pedagogy, Sintraemcali members and allies developed new skills, knowledge and strategies that enabled them to operate on a range of scales from the local to the global. The second pedagogical process, horiiontalisation, highlights the rearticulation of trade union objectives towards an ethic of citizenship and human rights. This allowed for the development of a more reciprocal relationship between the trade union, social movements, and marginalised communities at a range of geographical scales.
Transnational solidarity or conflict? Trade unions and neo-liberal restructuring in Europe
It is frequently argued that European trade unions have been co-opted into the neo-liberal restructuring of the European social relations of production. The purpose of this paper is twofold: First, it will be assessed whether this allegation is actually justified. Second, the paper will review concrete examples of trade union cooperation opposed to neo-liberal restructuring on the one hand, as well as outline several areas of tensions within the European labour movement, which undermine potential transnational solidarity on the other. It will be argued that while trade unions are not automatically progressive actors vis-à-vis neo-liberal restructuring, they have the potential to play an important role in a wider resistance movement.
Employees in global workplaces commonly suggest they are being failed by trade union representatives that betray the political ideals of their institutions. The tenacity of this discourse requires interrogation, since the notion persists even in contexts that lack evidence of such practices occurring. Based upon a comparison of Kazakhstan and India, we suggest that there is a fundamental slippage between the emotive aspect of union politics and the banal realties of institutional processes. We explore how conservative and radical trade unions alike rely upon appeals to an affect of struggle, in order to rationalise their work as part of an international and historically continuous political project. The paper explains why it is in the bureaucratic nature of trade unions to betray such an affect.
Globalizations, 2021
The traditional industrial relations approach – focused on the state, employers and unions as main actors – faces severe limits in its capacity to analyse labour conflict in the face of the specific forms of labour regulation in the Global South. This contribution argues that a solid theoretical framework for Global Labour Studies requires a critique of its forerunner, the industrial relations approach. A globally relevant understanding of labour conflict in the twenty-first century requires to abandon the main assumptions of this forerunner. A new theoretical framework for the analysis of labour conflict can build on the debates around social movement unionism and the research agenda of labour geography that include other places and spaces of labour mobilization than the workplace and the trade union into their epistemological perspective. Such a conception allows to analyse labour conflict at the level of the social formation, and not just as something relegated to or emanating from the economic sphere.
Trade unions in neo-liberal times: Discourse variations on emerging identities
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This paper focuses on how trade unions are redefining their organisational identity in response to the neoliberal changes that have affected the labour market, mainly as a result of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. Such changes brought about a profound crisis of representation among workers in various sectors. Trade unions have had to redesign their identities to meet new demands from workers. Based on 30 interviews with unionists from one of Italy's major unions, the study identifies four discursive variations and as many potential evolutions in the identity of trade unions. The respective positionings generated by these four discourses for the union and its members are examined. The study also highlights certain contradictions in these discursive variations, which may either encourage a redefinition of the union's strategic objectives or, on the contrary, act as regulating mechanism that hampers change.