Labor control in worker's perspectives

This article challenges the allegations in the existing literature concerning the effectiveness of the labor control system in Taiwan. The theoretical debates on the linkage between Taiwan's labor regime and the political/economic systems are critically reviewed. Mechanisms and practices of state and enterprise control of labor are analyzed. Utilizing data from an empirical survey, the effectiveness of the labor control system is evaluated by examining workers' perspectives on trade unions, labor dispute settlements, welfare practices, and employee participation. The results indicate that the alleged effectiveness of Taiwan's labor regime is in doubt, both at the state and enterprise level, and is subject to further empirical investigation.     

Meeting the Challenges of Industrial Restructuring: Labor Reform and Enforcement in Latin America

Despite a strengthening of collective labor rights in Latin America over the last 15 years, most labor movements in the region have lost power because neither the content nor the enforcement mechanisms associated with the labor reforms fully took into consideration the challenges presented by economic restructuring. Reforms facilitating union formation did not strengthen unions but instead increased union fragmentation. Collective bargaining structures did not respond to the exigencies of international outsourcing; and the initial round of reforms in the 1990s did not contemplate the need to strengthen labor law enforcement mechanisms at a time when heightened international competition created a need for greater state vigilance of labor standards. Recent reforms or proposed reforms hold more promise for labor, but truly union‐friendly labor relations regimes require deeper changes. A review of several Latin American cases is followed by a closer examination of Brazil and El Salvador.     

Resistance to Privatization: Why Protest Movements Succeed and Fail in Latin America

Why do some protest movements in Latin America succeed in rolling back privatizations while others fail? This article argues that protests against privatizations have tended to succeed under two conditions. First, privatization's opponents form linkages (or “brokerage”) across multiple sectors of society. Broad coalitions are more likely to achieve their goals, while groups acting alone, such as labor unions, are more easily defeated or ignored by governments. Second, civil rights are protected but political representation is weak. In that case, opponents have the legal right to protest, but are unlikely to have opportunities for communicating their concerns through formal institutions, which prompts them to channel their demands outside of existing political institutions. Using case examples and logistic regression, this study confirms these arguments and discusses the implications for democracy in the region.     

在俄华人灰色经营问题解析

灰色经营是指非正规但又被默许存在的经营活动。华人在俄进行灰色经营的领域主要有包棚种菜、在批发市场做买卖和带团旅游。华人在俄灰色经营活动之所以能够长期存在,在某种意义上是俄方有意为之的结果。俄罗斯社会缺乏安全感,对外资和外来移民充满戒心;在制定移民政策和引资政策时,总是更多地考量安全。这样就形成了如下矛盾心理:一方面对于外来移民的经营活动存在客观需求;另一方面又担心对外来移民的经营活动难以把控。对待在俄谋生的外来移民,俄方事实上的行为模式如下:先通过收严合法化空间使包括华人在内的外来劳务移民处于非法境地,然后,一方面默许其灰色经营方式的存在,另一方面在必要时进行检查和惩处。在这一背景下,如何化解灰色经营带来的危害,如何使经营方式由“灰”转“白”,就成为亟待探讨和解决的问题。     

Vetospieler und die Durchsetzbarkeit von Side‐Payments

Once an agreement is signed at the international level, it can no longer be modified during the domestic decision‐making process. However, it is possible to compensate potential veto players by a purely domestic legislative act. Under which circumstances do such side‐payments make sense, and what is the role played by political strategies? In order to be compensated, an actor needs to be considered a veto player. Furthermore, the defenders of the international agreement must have a sufficiently large interest in its ratification to be willing to offer compensations. These basic conditions fulfilled, the existence or not of side‐payments depends on the strategic interactions between the political actors. In the last ten years, Swiss citizens had to vote twice on an international agreement establishing free movement of persons. In both cases, the unions asked for flanking measures; while they failed in their attempt in the context of the European Economic Area, they succeeded in the case of the bilateral agreements. This difference in outcome is all the more surprising since in both cases the unions were in a veto player position and the export oriented economy had a strong interest in the ratification of the agreements. This article explains the different fate of the unions' claims by stressing the role of changes in actor strategies. The credibility of the threat to block the decision‐making process and the succession of the game sequences are in this perspective of paramount importance. By using strategically the veto threat, domestic groups such as unions are able to benefit from internationalisation.     

党内法规与国家法:关联、区别及其关系之协调

党内法规与国家法同属于法的范畴,都是制度理性的产物。二者具有类同性,既相互保障,又相互制约,同时又在制定主体与实施主体、效力来源、适用的对象与领域、规范逻辑以及对公开性的要求方面存在着明显区别。作为我国社会主义法治体系的共同支撑,党内法规与国家法作为社会治理规则而在社会治理方面发挥作用时,难免会因其不同而产生冲突或不协调,而这种不协调显然会对我国全面推进依法治国战略及全面从严治党战略带来负面影响。为此,需要协调二者之间的关系。     

Labor Reform and Dual Transitions in Brazil and the Southern Cone

The sequencing of transitions to democracy and to a market economy shaped the outcome of labor law reform and prospects for expanded labor rights in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Argentina and Brazil experienced democratic transitions before market economic reforms were consolidated in the 1990s. During the transition, unions obtained prolabor reforms and secured rights that were enshrined in labor law. In posttransition democratic governments, market reforms coincided with efforts to reverse earlier labor protections. Unable to block many harmful reforms, organized labor in Argentina and Brazil did conserve core interests linked to organizational survival and hence to future bargaining leverage. In Chile this sequence was reversed. Market economic policies and labor reform were consolidated under military dictatorship. During democratic transition, employers successfully resisted reforms that would expand labor rights. This produced a limited scope of organizational resources for Chilean unions and reduced prospects for future improvements.     

Hooking Workers and Hooking Votes: Enganche,Suffrage, and Labor Market Dualism in Latin America

Labor market dualism—the segmentation of workers between formal, legally protected employment and informal, unprotected status—has long drawn attention from scholars and policymakers in Latin America. This article argues that lasting patterns of economic and political segmentation of workers arose earlier in the region's history than has previously been understood, well before the classic “incorporation” period. Late‐nineteenth‐century practices for the recruitment and retention of workers shaped Latin America's first sets of labor laws, most notably those governing union organization and individual worker job stability. Subsequently, these first laws served as important templates for development, constraining and conditioning the labor codes adopted under mass‐based politics. Using historical data drawn from Chile, Peru, and Argentina, this article shows how differing recruitment practices and variation in the extension of effective suffrage rights and electoral participation shaped early legal labor market segmentation and inequality in Latin America.     

Forbidden Workers and the U.S. Labor Movement: Fuzhounese in New York City

Sweatshops exist when capital can exert maximum leverage over workers in setting wages, hours of work, conditions of labor, flexibility of hiring and firing, as well as in stopping workers from organizing and authorities from enforcing labor laws. In our globalized economy, these shops do not have to exist only in Third World countries. This article shows that sweatshops exist in the United States, especially in immigrant communities, where labor enforcement does not exist and employers have the upper hand. Employers like those in New York City's Chinatown are able to recruit illegal immigrants to work for them. Chinese illegals, having to pay their smuggling debts or face the possibility of physical violence, are willing to work under almost any circumstance just to meet their debt obligations. Employers take full advantage of this situation by lowering the working standard even further for everyone including legal immigrants under nineteenth century-like conditions. This will not change unless there is a rank-and-file U.S. labor movement that includes everyone regardless of color, nationality, and legal or illegal status. Only then will labor be in a position to rid the United States of sweatshops and lift up the condition of all U.S. workers.     

Exchange Rising? Karl Polanyi and Contentious Politics in Contemporary Latin America

Free‐market reforms in the last quarter of the twentieth century weakened the point of production—labor unions—as the source of effective nonparty political countermovement to liberal capitalism. Has another significant source of societal resistance arisen in association with the resurgence of market economics? Building on the work of Karl Polanyi, this article argues that circuits of exchange—the commodification of labor, land, and money—can be powerful sources of movement against contemporary forms of free‐market capitalism. It draws on the cases of Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador to explore how Polanyi's exchange‐based approach helps to elucidate three phenomena: the great variety of identities behind the myriad movements against free‐market capitalism, the emergence of community as a powerful locus for organizing, and the proliferation of new forms of transgressive and highly disruptive direct action to reinforce the debilitated effectiveness of the strike.     

An ounce of prevention? The reform of the German trade union Federation

This article investigates the causes and content of the ongoing reform of the German Trade Union Federation (DGB). We argue that problems predating German unification ‐ in particular, a skewed demographic profile, financial crisis and waning political clout ‐ are the central factors that led German unionists to undertake reform and have largely determined the reform's content. German unification acted simply as a catalyst rather than the cause prompting union reform. German unions can only retain their prominent economic and social position if they promote genuine democratic reform within their ranks. Otherwise unions will never attract employees from the high technology and service sectors that are essential to the union movement's survival in the coming century. German unions should also resist the temptation to take on all of the problems plaguing German society. They must instead concentrate on the essential tasks of all labour movements: discerning the ever‐changing wants of today's increasingly heterogeneous work force and fighting with employers and governments to obtain them.     

From Militancy to Clientelism: Labor Union Strategies and Membership Trajectories in Contemporary Chile

For the past 30 years, Chilean unionism has been shrinking. Through a comparison of the membership trajectories of 26 unions in two firms between 1990 and 2004, this article explains why some unions defied this trend and how their success affected overall union density in their firms. It argues that the unions that experienced the most favorable membership outcomes were those that, at key junctures of firm restructuring, earliest or most aggressively established a partnership relationship with management. However, in a context of great labor weakness, these cases of union accommodation took the form of exclusive patron‐client exchanges, which exacerbated collective action problems and further eroded union density.     

Inmigrantes laborales y flujo en tránsito en la Frontera Sur de México: dos manifestaciones del proceso y una política migratoria

This text presents a characterization of Guatemalan labor immigration into Mexico, its historical perspective and processes of change in relation to new places of destination, crossings and labor insertions. It also sets out the most fundamental traits of migrants who cross Mexican territory when in transit from Central America, new crossing trajectories and social costs in terms of human rights, within a framework of greater social vulnerability. It analyzes the role that the Mexican state has played in relation to the establishment of a new migration policy set forth in the last two administrations (2001–2012) by the Partido Acción Nacional (National Action Party), institutional and legislative arrandos gements, progress and unresolved matters with respect to the proclamation of human and labor rights. It is concluded that even though unprecedented progress has been made in terms of immigration regulations, these policies still have serious shortcomings with regards to Central American immigration into Mexico, be it labor immigration or migrants in transit. This migration has taken on new forms and has registered qualitative and quantitative changes in crossing, in an environment of greater risk in Mexican territory.     

Labour,neo-liberalism and the conflict over economic and monetary union: a comparative analysis of British and German trade unions

Trade unions have generally been neglected in the discussion of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the related neo-liberal restructuring of European social relations of production. This article helps to fill this gap through a comparison of British and German unions' position on EMU and European co-operation. It is demonstrated that there is a split between British transnational production sector unions, which support EMU and Europe-wide co-operation, and British national sector unions, which criticise the deflationary implications of EMU and focus on the national level in their policy-making efforts. In Germany, by contrast, EMU is generally accepted by unions with the exception of the construction workers' union. A division between internationally oriented and nationally oriented sector unions can only be identified in relation to the issue of Europe-wide co-operation, where the former are in favour and the latter reluctant. Importantly, however, unions in both countries strongly criticise neo-liberal economics, whether they support or oppose EMU. This may become the basis for a counter, neo-liberal strategy within the European Union.     

Indigenous African marriage and same-sex partnerships: Conflicts and controversies

ABSTRACT

In 2006 the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled the common law definition of marriage to be unconstitutional because it did not accord same-sex couples the same benefits and responsibilities as heterosexual couples. This defect was corrected by the legislature with the enactment of the Civil unions Act. The recognition of same-sex partnerships or marriages by the Act reflects and acknowledges the diverse nature of a changing South African society. A question triggered by this legal development is the impact that same-sex partnerships will have on the country's customary law on marriage. This article presents a critical analysis of a possible co-existence between same-sex partnerships and customary laws on marriage. The author explores the customs upon which customary laws of marriage are founded, and assesses their flexibility in accommodating same-sex partnerships.     

Majoritarian values and women’s rights: police and judicial behavior in Tajikistan and Azerbaijan

This paper analyzes judicial and police behavior in dealing with cases of family violence and divorce in Tajikistan and Azerbaijan. Police and judges deliberately violate existing legal provisions to prevent women from divorcing or filing charges against their husbands in cases of domestic violence. While the law does not recognize religious marriages in Tajikistan, judges often rule to protect women’s living space after the dissolution of such unions. Drawing on rich interview and archival data, this behavior is explained by showing that judicial and police behavior reflects their biases, which in turn are a reflection of majoritarian norms in these countries. Since current laws are derived from Soviet codes, which were never internalized by the population, police and judges bend them to fit their understanding of social justice.     

Champions of the poor or “militant fighters for a better pay cheque”? Teacher unionism in Mexico and South Africa, 1979–2013

There are some fascinating historical parallels between Mexico’s giant teacher union, the Mexican National Education Union, and the South African Democratic Teachers Union. Although both teacher unions played an important role in challenging political oligarchies at certain points in their history, they became increasingly protectionist. Through their close affiliation to ruling parties, they were able to wield substantial political influence. In both of these cases, the unions played a controversial role in preventing central government surveillance and intervention in schools. Arguably, this often allowed not only for corruption in appointments and promotions, but also the protection of negligent teachers. There is some evidence to suggest that in protecting their sectional interests, both unions have frequently alienated parents and students at the community level. This paper addresses broader debates about the impact of powerful teacher unions on the quality of public schooling.     

Professionalization and Probity in a Patrimonial State: Labor Inspectors in the Dominican Republic

Are international labor rights campaigns making a difference in Latin America? This article reveals that Dominican policymakers and bureaucrats are responding to foreign pressure by redoubling their commitment to a distinctively Franco‐Iberian model of labor law enforcement, in which skilled labor inspectors use their discretion to balance society's demand for protection with the economy's need for efficiency. In so doing, they provide an alternative to traditional collective bargaining practices—which at least partly decouples both the intensity of the enforcement effort and the degree of worker protection from the level of unionization—and an example for the rest of the region. The article therefore concludes by reconsidering the Central American experience in light of the Dominican findings and discussing their joint implications for our understanding of administrative reform, industrial relations, and globalization, not only in the so‐called CAFTA countries but in Latin America more generally.     

The regulation of party switching in Africa

The article presents a complete overview of existing regulations of party switching in Africa since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s. While most established democracies do not see any reason for sanctioning with legal restrictions the decision of members of parliament to change their party affiliation, in Africa many countries take a critical stance towards party switching. Frequent party switching is considered to weaken political parties, to hinder the institutionalisation of party systems, and to endanger the stability of government and the legitimacy of democracy. The article distinguishes legal regulations of party switching conceptually by what is prohibited and its enforcement. A preliminary analysis shows that anti-defection laws indeed matter for party system institutionalisation in Africa's emerging democracies.     

EXTRACTING LABOR FROM ITS OWNER

The Asian economic crisis in 1997 helped bring down Suharto's authoritarian regime in 1998. At the same time it paved the way for more measures of economic liberalization. Some of these measures have taken the form of labor market liberalization, which aims to increase the labor market's ability to adjust to changing economic conditions by clearing what are seen as burdensome regulations, or “rigidities” as they are known in economic parlance. An important instrument in this effort is the private employment agency, which the Manpower Act no. 13/2003 introduced in 2003. This article argues that the introduction of these agencies has created opportunities for various actors in society to take advantage of the less-protected workers in the uncertain waters of the post-Suharto labor regime. In the process, the nature of industrial relations has also been changed in a way that is more predatory than liberal. Ultimately the agencies help erode the hopes for a better life for workers and undermine the revival of labor political rights in Indonesia.