Alessandro Stanziani, Bondage. Labor and rights in Eurasia from the sixteenth to the early twentieth centuries

Book revie

National and international labour relations in oil and gas trans national corporations in Kazakhstan

The paper examines labour relations in Kazakhstan’s oil and gas TNCs, contributing to recent debates on the Global Union Federations’ (GUFs) and national unions’ roles in building a global system of industrial relations. These debates suggest a need for GUFs to involve national unions in organisation within and dialogue with TNCs. The GUF considered here judged them insufficiently capable of this and they therefore had only limited involvement in GUF-led activities. Theories of an emerging ‘global system of industrial relations’ must recognise such issues deriving from trade unionism’s global heterogeneity and the weak spots it creates within the emergent system. Keywords: Asia; labour relations; oil and gas industry

Can Better Working Conditions Improve the Performance of SMEs? An International Literature Review

[Excerpt] It is widely recognized that competitive private enterprise is the principal source of economic growth and wealth globally and makes a substantial contribution to poverty reduction. Although large and multinational enterprises have the higher public profile, the majority of businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). They are estimated to be responsible for over 50 per cent of the new jobs created globally and, in most developing and emerging countries, they also employ more people than do large enterprises. Given their importance as employers, SMEs clearly have the potential to contribute to the social and economic progress for workers and their communities. However, many SMEs – particularly those in developing and emerging countries – are not achieving this potential. Frequently, their employment is in low-quality and low-skilled jobs that offer low wages under poor and unsafe working conditions. In addition, SMEs often fall short in terms of productivity, competitiveness and market share. The ILO has long been convinced that, by improving working conditions, safety and skills in SMES, productivity and profitability can also be improved: a win-win scenario that is good for workers, enterprise owner, communities and economies. In June 2012, specialists from four ILO departments came together to implement a joint programme of work to explore how to help and encourage SMEs to achieve this. This independent research review was commissioned by ILO in order to contribute to establishing a solid empirical basis for future research and interventions. It reviews the empirical relevance of the assumption that a win-win scenario exists in SMEs, especially in the context of developing economies. It also seeks to identify the factors or conditions that influence its emergence. More broadly, the report builds upon a thorough review of international literature to present responses to a range of enquiries relating to the links between working conditions, safety and health, skills and productivity. Not surprisingly, the answers contained in this report are often conditional and are far from categorical. Although the report suggests that a win−win scenario may exist, in certain circumstances, it also underlines that more empirical research is needed, particularly in developing and emerging economies

Communist politics and shop stewards in engineering, 1935-46

This thesis is about the activities of Communist militants within the engineering industry between 1935 and 1946, and attempts to show the importance of these militants to the history of industrial relations in this period in which shop stewards as we know them today first emerged as ran important group. The work is primarily concerned with examining the relative importance of political and industrial factors in determining the relationships obtaining between shop stewards and their constituents during World War II. The importance of Communist politics to Communist and non- Communist shop stewards is examined, but the main area of research is into the way in which different local industrial contexts influenced shop stewards' behaviour. The importance of methods of wage payment, local agreements, types of technology and rates of technological change, and a whole range of other industrial considerations was often greater in the minds of even come left-wing shop stewards than the latest left-wing discussions. Also, the way in which shop stewards took up (or failed to take up) the problems arising for their members out of a war in which munitions workers were almost as much in the front line as were servicemen and women themselves is touched upon. The thesis is divided into two main sections. The first group of chapters deals in a general and introductory way with the topics mentioned above. The second and rather more important section builds on the first in that it deals with the problems in a deeper (though necessarily narrower) way. It comprises four local studies of major engineering districts during the period 1939-1946

Ethnicity and labour in Mauritius: assessing a cinematic account

We assess the sole substantial film documenting the history of socio-economic relations in Mauritius, a history stamped by long experiences of slavery and bonded labour. We argue that it represents an important crystallisation of a triumphalist ethnic interpretation of Mauritian history. We show the filmic devices used to underline the ethnic narrative and the marginalisation of slave descendants’ voices. We demonstrate that the film ignores the early and strong development of values of equity across racial groups. It obscures the linked creation of a significant labour movement and its contribution to Mauritian society in securing the degree of equitable success which the film makers celebrate

Awareness of the minimum wage in the hairdressing industry : an evaluation of the DTI/HMRC targeted campaign : a research report for the Low Pay Commission

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) commissioned Professors White and Croucher to carry out an evaluation of the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) and HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) pilot targeted National Minimum Wage enforcement campaign in the hairdressing sector. The aim of the project was to evaluate the effectiveness of DTI/HMRC’s first targeted enforcement campaign to raise awareness of the minimum wage and tackle non-compliance in the hairdressing sector. The project was to focus on the awareness side of the campaign. Specifically, the research should identify: · Whether the level of awareness of the minimum wage, amongst both workers and employers, has increased as a result of the campaign. · The aspects of the campaign that were most effective, and those that have had least impact. · Particular areas of the minimum wage provision where there is confusion or misunderstanding. · Levels of awareness of the NMW Helpline and how to make a minimum wage complaint. · Any changes that could be made to future campaigns to increase their impact. · Any evidence arising on the campaign’s effectiveness in tackling noncompliance