Workers, Unions, and Global Capitalism

Rohini Hensman

Rohini Hensman

Workers, Unions, and Global Capitalism

Lessons from India

Columbia University Press | 2011

https://doi.org/10.7312/hens14800

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About this book

While it's easy to blame globalization for shrinking job opportunities, dangerous declines in labor standards, and a host of related discontents, the "flattening" of the world has also created unprecedented opportunities for worker organization. By expanding employment in developing countries, especially for women, globalization has formed a basis for stronger workers' rights, even in remote sites of production.

Using India's labor movement as a model, Rohini Hensman charts the successes and failures, strengths and weaknesses, of the struggle for workers' rights and organization in a rich and varied nation. As Indian products gain wider acceptance in global markets, the disparities in employment conditions and union rights between such regions as the European Union and India's vast informal sector are exposed, raising the issue of globalization's implications for labor.

Hensman's study examines the unique pattern of "employees' unionism," which emerged in Bombay in the 1950s, before considering union responses to recent developments, especially the drive to form a national federation of independent unions. A key issue is how far unions can resist protectionist impulses and press for stronger global standards, along with the mechanisms to enforce them. After thoroughly unpacking this example, Hensman zooms out to trace the parameters of a global labor agenda, calling for a revival of trade unionism, the elimination of informal labor, and reductions in military spending to favor funding for comprehensive welfare and social security systems.

Author information

Rohini Hensman is a writer and independent scholar based in Bombay. She has published extensively on issues of worker's rights, women's rights, and the rights of minorities and is the coauthor of Beyond Multinationalism: Management Policy and Bargaining Relationships in International Companies.

Reviews

A well-researched book on the subject of global capitalism and workers' rights...

Overall, the author makes a comprehensive and persuasive case for global labor reform.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	vii
Preface Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	ix
Abbreviations Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	xiii
Introduction Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
1. Emancipatory Action Research Into Workers’ Struggles Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	9
2. Defining Globalization Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	25
3. Four Sources of the Global Crisis of 2008 Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	63
4. Capital, the State, and Trade Union Rights Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	86
5. Employees’ Unions: An Experiment in Union Democracy Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	115
6. Informal Labor: The Struggle for Legal Recognition Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	163
7. Working Women and Reproductive Labor Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	209
8. Employment Creation and Welfare Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	244
9. International Strategies Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	278
10. Conclusion: Toward Global Solidarity Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	320
Notes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	337
References Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	349
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	405

Workers, Unions, and Global Capitalism

Lessons from India

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