Introduction An important aspect of sociology is the study of society and processes of social change. Only in a few cases has the discipline, or a section of it, gone beyond merely studying society and sought to influence processes of change by engaging with actors outside the discipline and the academy. South Africa is one such case where some members of the discipline were intimately involved in debates and struggles for change and social justice. Although there are numerous examples, the broad sub-discipline of labour studies provides probably the best
PART I Global Labour Studies: Conducting Research on the Side of Workers
The normative gap in global labour studies Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels famously ended the Manifesto of the Communist Party with a call to arms – ‘ Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt euch! ’ [Proletarians of all countries, unite!] ( 1959 : 493; emphasis in the original). Ever since, the issue of transnational solidarity and labour internationalism has formed part of the debates on the strategies and aims of labour movements. And through the ages, these debates have been of concern to scholars, who have not just discussed the prospects for solidarity
relation, then we suggest that South African labour studies have much to offer wider labour process debates. These strands come together conceptually through a notion of racial capitalism, which we return to in the conclusion. Enduring themes: old and new forms of control of work Fuelled by the emergence of mass strikes in the 1970s and the growth of militant industrial unions among the recently proletarianised black working class, the study of work took a radical turn when South African sociologists fell under the spell of Harry Braverman’s classic study ( Braverman
the digital platform economy. In addressing this question, we contend here that a more effective integration between the approaches adopted by social movement studies and labour studies is necessary. Indeed, such a sharp disciplinary distinction does not do justice of the interwoven character that social mobilizations often adopt in their development. A separation between the two fields of studies seems especially untenable today given the return and proliferation of struggles on labour issues, where bottom-up forms of worker organizing and social movement types of
Evidence has shown that individuals leaving school without qualifications are four times more likely to be unemployed than those with qualifications. Preventing and combating unemployment therefore requires active measures both in the labour market and in the institutions responsible for preparing the future workforce - educational institutions. Attempts to remedy this problem have so far largely neglected children from socially excluded families - one of the most vulnerable groups in education.
The right to learn explores a wide range of strategies, both at the policy level and in the field, to improve educational success among such disadvantaged children, taking stock of good practice in a selection of EU member states, chosen to reflect the diversity in systems and policies that currently exist.
The book suggests that a number of strategies are effective and feasible. The authors recommend that a sufficiently powerful opinion movement is needed to promote the transfer of experience and action on different levels. They conclude with several suggestions for good practice - not just equal opportunity and equal treatment but also equal outcomes strategies.
The right to learn is important reading for teachers, school administrators, educational researchers, policy makers, NGOs, parents’ associations, those engaged in youth services and teacher training, and in formulating policies to secure the social integration of the young generation.
of work and employment, and the reformation of the Chinese working class ( Shen, 2006 ). Against this backdrop, there has been a burgeoning literature on the changing work and labour relations in China, including a growing number of empirical studies directly engaged with LPT. Based on a careful review of the engagement of LPT in China labour studies, this article suggests that the LTP has provided important insights and a theoretical framework for scholars to understand the empirical reality of the changing nature of work and employment in China in transition
RESEARCH ARTICLE Breaking the heartland: creating the precariat in the US lower rust belt Joseph J. Varga* Labor Studies Department, Indiana University Bloomington, Eigenmann Hall, 1900 East Tenth Street, 10th Floor Room 1031, Bloomington, IN 7405-3085, USA This article uses the context of the struggle over antiunion legislation in Indiana to explore the decomposition of the New Deal working class, and the emergence of a more precarious class of workers in the lower rust belt of the United States Midwest. Through an examination of workers in three economic
The economic crisis has revealed the dark side of deregulation in the labour market: rising unemployment, limited access to social security and, due to low wages, no savings to count upon in bad times.
This book casts light on the empirical relationship between labour market deregulation through non-standard contracts and the three main dimensions of worker security: employment, income and social security. Focusing on individual work histories, it looks at how labour market dynamics interact with the social protection system in bringing about inequality and insecurity. In this context Italy is put forward as the epitome of flexibility through non-standard work and compared with three similar countries: Germany, Spain and Japan. Results show that when flexibility is carried out as a mere cost-reduction device and social security only relies on insurance principles, deregulation leads to insecurity.
‘The political economy of work security and flexibility’ is essential reading for academics, students, practitioners and policy makers interested in the outcomes of labour market developments in advanced economies over the past twenty years.
from the Global South can attempt to ‘catch up’ with the North, deconstruct (or provincialize) Northern theory or form counter-hegemonic strands. She defines counter-hegemonic strands of sociology as ‘original, autonomous sociologies at the periphery’ ( Keim, 2011 : 130) and cites South African labour studies as an example of this. In her analysis, SWOP’s researchers, in the context of South African labour studies, constantly engaged Northern theory but adapted these theories to local contexts and succeeded in building up a significant and dense body of publications
