L’institution au prisme de la relation

La notion d’institution possède une longue et riche carrière en sciences sociales. Pour diverses raisons, elle a perdu du crédit en sociologie ces dernières années. En marchant sur les brisées d’Émile Durkheim, mais à l’écart néanmoins de toute tentation déterministe, cet article propose de réhabiliter l’institution en tant que processus multipolaire. Le programme relationnel s’avère à cette fin particulièrement heuristique. La décomposition de toute institution en quatre fonctions élémentaires, autonomes et donc potentiellement conflictuelles invite à repenser les faits sociaux les plus variés dans une perspective ouverte et dynamique. À ce titre, l’institution peut se définir comme un ensemble de relations de relations.The notion of institution has a long and rich history in social sciences. For many reasons, it has lost credibility in recent years. In keeping with Émile Durkheim’s work, while steering clear of determinism, this article proposes to rehabilitate the institution in terms of a multi-polar process. In this perspective, the relational program proves itself to be particularly revealing. The decomposition of all institutions into four basic functions which are autonomous and, therefore, potentially conflicting invites us to rethink how we see the varied social processes in an open and dynamic perspective. In this regard, the institution can be defined as a collection of relations of relations

Globalización ¿qué podemos decir de ella?

In this text, I will first tr y to circumscribe some of the most visible traits of what we usually call economic globalisation where, from an industrial r elations standpoint, the changes currently under way are perhaps the most determining. But globalisation cannot merely be reduced to that sole dimension. I will therefore move on to speak about politics and culture in order to suggest the cr ux of my thesis, that the dynamics operating in these different segments cannot solely be reduced to the logic of economics. In other words, globalisation is a term that must be used in the plural. In order to more explicitly relate globalisation, employment and industrial relations, and after a brief theoretical parenthesis, as a conclusion, I will put forward some questions that I feel are still pending.En este texto intentaré primero circunscribir algunos de los rasgos más visibles de lo que solemos denominar globalización en el campo de la economía, registro en el que, desde la óptica de las relaciones laborales, los cambios son quizá más determinantes en la actualidad. Sin embargo, la globalización no se reduce a esa única dimensión. Así que me interesaré después por los campos de la política y la cultura para sugerir --y esa será la hipótesis central de esta contribución-- que las dinámicas que actúan en esos diferentes segmentos no se pueden reducir a una única lógica, la que caracteriza el campo económico en el caso que aquí nos interesa. Dicho de otro modo, globalización es un término que debe utilizarse en plural. Con el fin de relacionar de modo más explícito globalización, empleo y relaciones laborales, y tras un rápido paréntesis teórico, formularé, a modo de conclusión, algunos interrogantes que, a mi modo de ver, siguen pendientes

El empleo de los sociólogos: construcción de un objeto, desarrollo

Sin resume

Status and Contracts in Industrial Relations : "La Refondation sociale", a new Bottle for an old (French) Wine?

"Seit 1999 betreibt der französische Arbeitgeberverband (Medef) eine radikale Umwandlung des institutionellen Rahmens der industriellen Beziehungen und des Wohlfahrtsstaats. Diese Initiative wird als soziale Neugründung bezeichnet. Um die Bedeutung dieses Vorgangs würdigen zu können, wird in dem Papier zunächst ein kurzer historischer Überblick über die Institutionen der industriellen Beziehungen in Frankreich gegeben. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird dabei den schändlichen korporatistischen Mechanismen geschenkt, die Arbeit und Kapital die Aufgabe übertragen, staatliche Normen in diesem Bereich anzuwenden, zu konkretisieren oder in definierten Fällen auch zu modifizieren. Die Autoren hinterfragen anschließend die Annahmen und Motive hinter dem Anspruch der sozialen Neugründer, die kollektive Autonomie der Sozialpartner gegenüber staatlichen Gesetzen zu stärken, indem sie zeigen, dass die dichotomische Konzeption von Gesetz und Vertrag nicht mit der komplexen institutionellen Wirklichkeit übereinstimmt. Abschließend wird die Annahme begründet, dass das wichtigste von Medef angestrebte Ziel in der Förderung der Vertragsfreiheit auf der untersten, der betrieblichen Ebene der industriellen Beziehungen besteht, um die dezentralen Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten der Unternehmen zu erweitern. Dies würde allerdings eine Rückkehr zum individualistischen Begriff des Einzelvertrags im bürgerlichen Recht als Basis der industriellen Beziehungen implizieren, also zum Gegenteil dessen, worauf Arbeitsrecht und industrielle Beziehungen seit dem späten 19. Jahrhundert aufgebaut wurden." (Autorenreferat)"Since 1999, the main French employers organisation (Medef) has been promoting a radical transformation of the institutional framework of industrial relations and the welfare state. This initiative, known as the Social Re-foundation agenda, has started to be implemented through a new cycle of inter-sectoral negotiations with the unions, on major issues such as the reform of the social security and unemployment insurance schemes: the ways and means for the development of collective bargaining , etc. Echoing the trends observed in many national industrial relations systems in Europe and also at the UE level, the Social Re-foundation represents the most ambitious attempt ever made in France at redefining the boundaries between legal and contractual rules in the regulation of employment relations. In order to assess the issues at stake with the Social Re-foundation , the paper first provides a brief historical overview of the French industrial relations institutions, focusing on the shameful corporatist mechanisms through which labour and capital were authorised to apply, spell out, in some cases also modify state regulations in this field. Then the authors question the assumptions and the motives of the social re-founders when they claim to promote the collective autonomy of social partners against state law, by showing how their dualistic conception of law and contract is not in accordance with the complex institutional reality. Finally, it is suggested that the main aim of the Medef s strategy is to favour contractual autonomy at the lowest levels of collective bargaining, so as to develop firms self-regulation. This would also mean a return to the individualist contractual philosophy of civil law, i.e the very opposite conception on which labour law and industrial relations institutions have been built up since the late 19th century." (author's abstract

Status and Contracts in Industrial Relations: "La Refondation sociale", a new Bottle for an old (French) Wine?

"Seit 1999 betreibt der französische Arbeitgeberverband (Medef) eine radikale Umwandlung des institutionellen Rahmens der industriellen Beziehungen und des Wohlfahrtsstaats. Diese Initiative wird als soziale Neugründung bezeichnet. Um die Bedeutung dieses Vorgangs würdigen zu können, wird in dem Papier zunächst ein kurzer historischer Überblick über die Institutionen der industriellen Beziehungen in Frankreich gegeben. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird dabei den schändlichen korporatistischen Mechanismen geschenkt, die Arbeit und Kapital die Aufgabe übertragen, staatliche Normen in diesem Bereich anzuwenden, zu konkretisieren oder in definierten Fällen auch zu modifizieren. Die Autoren hinterfragen anschließend die Annahmen und Motive hinter dem Anspruch der sozialen Neugründer, die kollektive Autonomie der Sozialpartner gegenüber staatlichen Gesetzen zu stärken, indem sie zeigen, dass die dichotomische Konzeption von Gesetz und Vertrag nicht mit der komplexen institutionellen Wirklichkeit übereinstimmt. Abschließend wird die Annahme begründet, dass das wichtigste von Medef angestrebte Ziel in der Förderung der Vertragsfreiheit auf der untersten, der betrieblichen Ebene der industriellen Beziehungen besteht, um die dezentralen Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten der Unternehmen zu erweitern. Dies würde allerdings eine Rückkehr zum individualistischen Begriff des Einzelvertrags im bürgerlichen Recht als Basis der industriellen Beziehungen implizieren, also zum Gegenteil dessen, worauf Arbeitsrecht und industrielle Beziehungen seit dem späten 19. Jahrhundert aufgebaut wurden." (Autorenreferat)"Since 1999, the main French employers organisation (Medef) has been promoting a radical transformation of the institutional framework of industrial relations and the welfare state. This initiative, known as the Social Re-foundation agenda, has started to be implemented through a new cycle of inter-sectoral negotiations with the unions, on major issues such as the reform of the social security and unemployment insurance schemes: the ways and means for the development of collective bargaining , etc. Echoing the trends observed in many national industrial relations systems in Europe and also at the UE level, the Social Re-foundation represents the most ambitious attempt ever made in France at redefining the boundaries between legal and contractual rules in the regulation of employment relations. In order to assess the issues at stake with the Social Re-foundation , the paper first provides a brief historical overview of the French industrial relations institutions, focusing on the shameful corporatist mechanisms through which labour and capital were authorised to apply, spell out, in some cases also modify state regulations in this field. Then the authors question the assumptions and the motives of the social re-founders when they claim to promote the collective autonomy of social partners against state law, by showing how their dualistic conception of law and contract is not in accordance with the complex institutional reality. Finally, it is suggested that the main aim of the Medef s strategy is to favour contractual autonomy at the lowest levels of collective bargaining, so as to develop firms self-regulation. This would also mean a return to the individualist contractual philosophy of civil law, i.e the very opposite conception on which labour law and industrial relations institutions have been built up since the late 19th century." (author's abstract

France confronts the crisis: economic symptoms exacerbate social inequality

International audienceThe economic crisis at the end of the 2000s was costly for the French economy. The number of employees in the non-agricultural market sector fell by 187,000 between the start of 2008 and the end of 2009. Never in the past forty years had job losses been so high. Overall, 412,000 jobs were eliminated in 2009. But this crisis does not boil down solely to job losses, nor even to a collapse in the growth rate (economic activity slumped by 2.2 per cent in 2009 alone): it is also rooted in economic and social inequality. And the responses provided by France’s political authorities, in turn, had a distinct effect on the scale of this inequality. All of which conspires to permanently weaken the bedrock of the welfare state, and more generally the French model. We should like to demonstrate this by looking, first, at how this model evolved before the crisis. Next we shall examine the way in which France reacted to the crisis, in particular as concerns its labour market. Lastly we shall attempt to learn lessons from, and consider the implications of, the economic crisis three years after it erupted

Decent working time: New trends, new issues.

Includes selected papers from the 9th International Symposium on Working Time, Paris (2004), looking at the increasing use of results-based employment relationships for managers and professionals, and the increasing fragmentation of time to more closely tailor staffing needs to customer requirements (e.g., short-hours, part-time work). Moreover, as operating/opening hours rapidly expand toward a 24-hour and 7-day economy, the book considers how this has resulted in a growing diversification, decentralization, and individualization of working hours, as well as an increasing tension between enterprises' business requirements and workers' needs and preferences regarding their hours. It addresses issues such as increasing employment insecurity and instability, time-related social inequalities, particularly in relation to gender, workers' ability to balance their paid work with their personal lives, and the synchronization of working hours with social times, such as community activities. In addition, the book offers suggestions on how policy-makers, academics, and the social partners can together help further develop effective policies for advancing "decent working timeRéduction du temps de travail; Aménagement du temps de travail; Horaires de travail; Labor laws and legislation; Developed countries; Trend; Arrangement of working time; Flexible hours of work; Hours of work;

Héros et anti-héros ? Intérêts de connaissance et nouvelles rationalisations institutionnelles

La posture réflexive à laquelle invite toute discussion sur le mode de production des connaissances en sciences sociales n’est pas aisée à tenir. L’un des arguments les plus classiques qui explique ce nécessaire inconfort tient à la place singulière qu’occupe le sociologue dans le champ d’observation. L’effort qu’exige une investigation sociologique sur la sociologie peut se teinter de toutes les couleurs de l’objectivation, le discours n’en demeure pas moins « situé ». Qu’il ait été travaill..

Le système de relations professionnelles allemand à l'épreuve de la réunification

Comme dans de nombreux autres pays industrialisés, l'on assiste en Allemagne, depuis une dizaine d'années, à une nouvelle donne des relations professionnelles sous l'influence notamment des politiques de flexibilité du travail. La réunification entamée en 1989 a également contribué, pour sa part, à modifier les relations collectives de travail. Centré sur les mutations en cours, cet article met en évidence les limites du transfert institutionnel du système de relations professionnelles de l'Ouest vers l'Allemagne oriental et montre, qu'en dépit de telles difficultés, la réunification a contribué à accentuer le processus de décentralisation des négociations collectives qui était déjà perceptible en R.F.A. avant 1989.The aim of this article is to study the impact of reunification in a specifie area of German society, namely industrial relations. The following two hypotheses are tested: firstly, in spite of the active role of the main union confederation of workers (the DGB), reunification has not yet given rise to a complete homogenization of industrial relations Systems; and, secondly, in the former regions QLander), reunification has intensified the already perceptible trend towards decentralization of collective bargaining.To test these hypotheses, we draw upon a series of interviews with union and management representatives of the former and new Lander, as well as German industrial relations researchers. Moreover, a review of union and management literature published on the subject since reunification was carried out. The German industrial relations System is based essentially on regional and sectoral negotiations, in tandem with the principle of non-conflictual action and negotiation at the level of the firm. Among numerous indicators, two significant laws (the 1952 law on works councils and the 1972 law that reformed the councils) justify the thesis that for more than thirty years, a "neo-corporatist" architecture has framed the social relations of work in Germany. However, since the 1980s, the imperatives of work time flexibility, the emergence of new forms of work rationalization and strategies to externalize certain productive activities have undermined the principle of branch bargaining and justified the existence of decentralized bargaining. Reunification of the two Germanys has also had a significant impact on the industrial relations System. Although the unification process has varied considerably from one federation to another, the DGB was quick to push for the dissolution of the former East German confederation and to seek to transfer the West German model of industrial relations to the new Lander. However, the transfer of institutions encountered many obstacles. Besides the difficulties in harmonizing bargaining demands (e.g., was it necessary to equalize salary levels between the East and West?), the honeymoon between West German trade unionists and workers in the East quickly came to an end. In the face of massive layoffs, many works council members in the new Lander soon felt that the union offered little help in fighting massive unemployment or in promoting modemization of enterprises.This resulted in a loss of support for the D.G.B. (which had benefited from a large wave of memberships in the East following on the heels of reunification) and a strong preference for enterprise-level negotiations. More generally, economie differences between the West and East within the same industry made it difficult to apply the same collective agreement from one region to another.Bearing in mind, as well, new management strategies aimed at denouncing certain social agreements and the explosion of agreements on models of work organization, reunification will therefore have contributed to accentuating the decentralization of industrial relations, and perhaps more fundamentally modifying the rules of the game of the bargaining System which emerged in Germany during the past decades

Le genre des trajectoires

Comme en témoignent les contributions publiées depuis sa naissance par une revue comme Formation Emploi, les sciences sociales françaises ont à cœur, depuis de nombreuses années déjà, d’ériger les transitions professionnelles au rang d’objet pertinent et digne d’investigation scientifique. Aujourd’hui, une telle affirmation paraît affreusement banale. Elle ne l’était pas pourtant au début des années 80, lorsque se multiplient les évidences empiriques relatives aux transformations des modes d’..