Towards a Transnational Texture of Labour Regulation?

Professor Ludger Pries, Ruhr-University-Bochum, Germany

Date: Thurs 12 March 2009

Time: 3-5pm

Venue: C5C 498

Presentation notes

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Abstract

The general framework of labour regulation is changing fundamentally and challenges trade unions to broaden their scope of issues and to rethink their understanding of members' interests. The main and contested subjects of negotiation and regulation are shifting from a discourse on occupational health and safety, working time and wage levels towards topics like fairness, recognition, diversity, sustainability and corporate responsibility. This does not mean that wage levels or working time expansion are no longer hot topics in labour regulation. But they have to be resituated in a different framing of discourse and legitimation.

The dynamics of mobilizing resources, power and influence are changing and mainly differentiating dramatically. During the 20th century unions were used to mainly put into effect pressure on employer organisations and the state, mainly by mass mobilisation and strike or by corporatist arrangements. In the 21st century, they will still use these instruments, but, in addition, they have to develop their abilities to influence public opinion, to build coalitions with social movements and to play on the entire keyboard of political opportunity structures.

The deep wave of economic internationalisation does neither lead to the end of the nation states nor to the end of trade unions. But it also will not end up in a simple continuous and sequential internationalisation of trade unions. On the one hand, there is not and there will not be any homogeneous supranational or global union confederation. On the other hand, there is not and there will not be any homogeneous supranational or global employer confederation.

Mainly there is emerging a complex, multidimensional and multilevel texture of transnational labour regulation where different types of regulation have to be conceptualised not as mutually exclusive and competing arenas but as threads of an interwoven texture of global and transnational labour regulation. By analysing each type of labour regulation separately each could be regarded as weak and fragile. But by looking at each of these different regulation logics as one thread or wire of a complex texture or woven fabric, the emerging multidimensional and multilevel texture of transnational labour regulation could prove to be very strong.

About the speaker

Ludger Pries is a Professor of Sociology at the Organisation, Migration and Participation Centre at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. His research centres on the comparative sociology of work, organizations and migration in Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and USA.

His most recent publications include Rethinking Transnationalism: The Meso-link of organisations (2008,Routledge) and Representation of Interests at the Workplace in Germany: Between democratic participation and economic efficiency (2008, Campus)

For further information

Contact Dr. Selvaraj Velayutham

Email: selvaraj.velayutham@mq.edu.au

Phone: 02 9850 4426