Globalisation Industrial Restructuring And Labour Standards

This book analyses the current conditions of work in the Indian factory sector, and provides a critical analysis of the wage, profit and productivity behaviour in India’s organised manufacturing sector over the last two decades. Examining the specificities of the conditions of industrial workers, it addresses three major questions:/-//-/- What has happened to the relative shares of profits and wages;/-/- How do we explain the levels and changes and;/-/- Are better labour standards antithetical to the project of industrial restructuring?/-//-/The author also examines the problem of industrial restructuring in India within the broader context of power and inequality in the workplace. He argues that even though the existing laws mandate decent labour conditions, India has been unable to implement them because of the minimalist position taken by successive governments./-//-/Providing new and fascinating insights into industrial growth, labour standards and development in the framework of globalisation, this book will interest students and scholars of economics, economic history, political science and sociology, as well as students of management and labour relations.

Change is a permanent feature of market economies. What is new in today's world is the pace, breadth and depth of economic change and the industrial restructuring that this entails. Over the past two decades, industrialized countries have witnessed a level of industrial restructuring which, in its scope and tempo, has probably been without historic precedent.[...] A central question has become whether labour standards impede necessary changes in economic units, industrial structures, and employment groth, as the well-established current of neoliberal thinking would maintain or whether, on the contrary, labour standards and the institutions through which they are delivered constitute viable channels for industrial innovation, economic dynamism, and sustainable development, as another school of academics, policymakers and practitioners would hold. The present volume directly addresses this debate and contains a number of contributions which lay out the arguments for and against labour standards in relation to economic performance [...] provides analyses of industrial restructuring at the firm, industry, regional, national and international levels, and includes detailed case studies of experiences in Germany, Sweden, France, Italy, the United States, Canada and Australia [...] develops conceptual perspectives on labour standards, provides comparative overviews of their impact, and trace the evolution of labour standard-setting at the level of the European Community and in the international economy.

Some of these papers were originally presented at an international conference on Globalization and the New Inequality at Utrecht University, The Netherlands; others were commissioned specifically for this book. Topics include surprising answers to frequently asked questions about globalization (the authors argue that social welfare policies can be followed and that world market forces are not beyond governance); the myth of trade union solidarity; the international restructuring of the media industries; the increasing importance of local labor relations; the impact of globalization on the potash industry; and Australia's historic industrial relations transition. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This comprehensive Handbook explores the complex and volatile debate over globalisation and labour standards. It offers key insights into the impact of globalisation on workers, the obligations of corporations and international legal bodies in protecting workers’ rights and maximising the opportunities offered by international trade and investment.

This collection of essays offers a survey of restructuring processes in Europe and their outcomes. . . Given the likelihood of increased dislocation in labor markets, the book is a timely contribution. Recommended. R.L. Hogler, Choice This detailed, comprehensive study on downsizing in Europe is underpinned by cross-national, interdisciplinary empirical research on restructuring management in five European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It contains systematic national comparative overviews, and transversal analyses of more than 30 in-depth case studies, taking into account a broad range of perspectives across professional human resources managers, unions representatives, local and national civil servants, social workers and physicians. The authors examine strategic choices and practices in national and local contexts, showing that the practice of restructuring is not as heterogeneous as many previous studies have indicated or predicted. Systematic policy proposals for better economic and social management of restructuring are also prescribed. This team of well-known economists and social scientists have prepared a book that will appeal to consultants and human resource managers and employees, especially in transnational firms, as well as to students in industrial relations, in labour economics, and in sociology. It will also be of special interest to members of the European Commission and policymakers involved in employment and social affairs.

This book explores the impact of neoliberal globalization on labour markets and the state in the developed and developing world. It focuses especially on the United States and the economies of Asia – in particular, India. Liberalized trade and investment are thought by neoliberals to be the best levers for raising labour standards, provided labour market flexibility and capital market restructuring accompany them. Labour market flexibility and capital market restructuring, at a first glance, appear to be complementary and symmetric policies. In practice, however, they might have very asymmetric consequences. This book addresses these issues, and it presents a comprehensive analysis of the key questions such as: How far is globalization a ‘real’ threat to the conventional systems of wage fixation, employment pattern, and basic rights at work in both developed, as well as underdeveloped countries? Are casualization and informalization of the workforce direct outcomes of deregulation? How do labour organizations cope with the volatility of the labour market? Are the existing labour market conditions and forms of labour organizations misfits in the globalized business world? Is it at all feasible to choose a high road that combines some degree of labour market flexibility with better labour standards? This book will be of interest to academics working on International Development, Development Economics, Political Economy, Comparative Labour Studies and Asian Studies.

This book explores the impact of neoliberal globalization on labour markets and the state in the developed and developing world. It focuses especially on the United States and the economies of Asia – in particular, India. Liberalized trade and investment are thought by neoliberals to be the best levers for raising labour standards, provided labour market flexibility and capital market restructuring accompany them. Labour market flexibility and capital market restructuring, at a first glance, appear to be complementary and symmetric policies. In practice, however, they might have very asymmetric consequences. This book addresses these issues, and it presents a comprehensive analysis of the key questions such as: How far is globalization a ‘real’ threat to the conventional systems of wage fixation, employment pattern, and basic rights at work in both developed, as well as underdeveloped countries? Are casualization and informalization of the workforce direct outcomes of deregulation? How do labour organizations cope with the volatility of the labour market? Are the existing labour market conditions and forms of labour organizations misfits in the globalized business world? Is it at all feasible to choose a high road that combines some degree of labour market flexibility with better labour standards? This book will be of interest to academics working on International Development, Development Economics, Political Economy, Comparative Labour Studies and Asian Studies.