Planning Labour

Impoverished, indebted, and underdeveloped at the close of World War II, Romania underwent dramatic changes as part of its transition to a centrally planned economy. As with the Soviet experience, it pursued a policy of “primitive socialist accumulation” whereby the state appropriated agricultural surplus and restricted workers’ consumption in support of industrial growth. Focusing on the daily operations of planning in the ethnically mixed city of Cluj from 1945 to 1955, this book argues that socialist accumulation was deeply contradictory: it not only inherited some of the classical tensions of capital accumulation, but also generated its own, which derived from the multivocal nature of the state socialist worker as a creator of value, as living labour, and as a subject of emancipatory politics.

Allmendinger presents a thorough analysis of the planning system throughout the years of the Labour government, and what this means for the future of UK planning policy.

The interconnections of natural resources, empire and labour run through the most central and conflict-ridden crises of our times: war, environmental degradation, impoverishment and plutocracy. Crucial to understand and to change the conditions that give rise to these crises is the critical study of resource development and, more broadly, the resources question, which is the subject of this volume. Intended for researchers, students and activists, the chapters in Resources, Empire and Labour illuminate key aspects of the resources question from a variety of angles through concrete analyses and histories focused on the extractive industries (mining, oil, gas) by examining such issues as: resource-dependency at the international, country and regional levels; the neglected role of metropolitanization; environmental impacts and limits; the colonial basis of and imperial patterns in today's globalized resource exploitation system; lessons of Indigenous and working-class resistance to corporation resource extraction; the importance of democratic control and public ownership; new avenues in shifting the debate on resources and hinterlands.

This textbook, organised into two parts and comprising 20 chapters, maintains the fundamental concepts of industrial relations and labour legislation in a chronological order. The text apprises the reader with the intricacies of the various concepts, theories, tools and techniques, approaches, methods, legislations and interventions and other concerned mechanisms that are relevant to the maintenance of good industrial relations. While the beginning and middle chapters are based on anatomy of industrial relations, viz. various concepts and approaches to IR, industrial disputes, collective bargaining, trade unions, workers’ participation in management, discipline, grievance handling procedure, wage fixation, technological changes, industrial safety, health and hygiene, workers’ education, quality circles, structuring of jobs, fringe benefits, labour policy of the Government of India, and so on, the remaining chapters give an analysis of the issues pertaining to the ILO and its impact on Indian labour legislation, the machinery of labour administration in our country, labour reforms being undertaken since the NDA Government came in power, and labour legislation, including protective and employment legislation, regulatory legislation and social security legislation. The book is intended for the postgraduate students of industrial relations and labour legislation/human resource management/personnel management and industrial relations/business economics/social work/human resource and organisation development/personnel management/public administration and also for the students pursuing postgraduate diploma courses in labour laws, labour welfare and personnel management/labour law and administrative law/personnel management and industrial relations/human resource and management. It is also of immense use to the students opting for executive programme in ‘industrial, labour and general law’ (offered by ICSI), and similar courses at undergraduate and diploma level.

The legacy of Blair and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan continue to loom large for the Labour Party, whether in opposition or in government, giving rise to fierce debates over Labour's attitude and posture towards the wider world. This book considers the idea of Labour's international identity, examining how world events and Labour's response to them have helped to shape ideology, political culture and domestic agendas from the 1920s until the Iraq War. It provides a fascinating and original exploration of Labour both on the world stage and at home - from the influence of the Soviet Union on political thought in the interwar years to the international student revolts of the 1960s, and from media in the 1990s to Kosovo and New Labour Interventionism. This is essential reading for scholars of modern British politics, as well as anyone interested in the motivations and influences behind the Labour Party's actions on the world stage.

Rural policy has presented some of the most difficult and unexpected challenges to the New Labour government. From the Foot and Mouth crisis to the rise of the Countryside Alliance, from farm protests to concerns about rural crime, rural issues have frequently seized headlines and formed the basis of organized opposition to the government. Yet, the same government, elected with a record number of rural MPs, has also proactively sought to reform rural policy. This book critically reviews and analyses the development and implementation of New Labour's rural policies since 1997. It explores the factors shaping the evolution and form of New Labour's rural agenda, and assesses the impact of specific policies. Contributions examine discursive restructuring of the rural policy agenda, the institutional reforms and effects of devolution, the key political debates and challenges around hunting, agricultural reform, Foot and Mouth, housing development and the 'right to roam', and review policy developments with respect to crime, social exclusion and employment in the countryside, rural community governance and national parks. New Labour's Countryside will be of interest to students of contemporary British politics and of rural studies, and to anyone involved in the government and politics of the countryside.