{"title":"Review of: Matthew T. Huber (2022) Climate Change as Class War. Building Socialism on a Warming Planet","authors":"S. Schaupp","doi":"10.15173/glj.v13i3.5242","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v13i3.5242","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44737,"journal":{"name":"Global Labour Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42278788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Utilising elements of Coordination and Context-Appropriate Power Theory (CCAP) as a framework, this article assesses the efforts of the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers’ Union (GTPCWU) in Ghana to defend the rights of workers in the oil industry. Whether the GTPCWU has been able to effectively employ structural, institutional and conditional forms of power is examined within the CCAP framework. The analysis is informed by first-hand knowledge of trade union policies and practices, as one of the authors is a GTPCWU official. The research also draws on interviews and email communications with other Ghanaian trade unionists and an academic specialising in labour issues. The findings indicate that the structured labour regime, in which the GTPCWU is embedded, makes it hard for the union to employ structural, institutional and conditional forms of power fruitfully. Nevertheless, agency on the part of union officials and members is significant. This is evidenced by the success of individual union actions, indicating that the GTPCWU possesses a degree of structural power. Utilising institutional power effectively is difficult for the union, as enforcement of labour legislation is weak, and lengthy legal processes ensue when cases do reach court. It is also burdensome for the GTPCWU to exercise conditional power, based on obtaining support from non-union individuals and groups, since its members are widely perceived to have well-paid employment in the formal sector. The GTPCWU’s need for assistance in supporting its members through the transition away from fossil-based systems of energy production is outlined. Capacity-building initiatives, including the construction of a training and conference facility, and recruitment campaigns, focusing on attracting more women and youth members, are discussed. KEYWORDS: Ghana; trade unions; oil industry; Coordination and Context-Appropriate Power Theory (CCAP); structural, institutional and conditional forms of power
{"title":"Oil in Ghana: The Work of the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers' Union (GTPCWU)","authors":"M. Mcquinn, F.M.K. Sallah","doi":"10.15173/glj.v13i2.4557","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v13i2.4557","url":null,"abstract":"Utilising elements of Coordination and Context-Appropriate Power Theory (CCAP) as a framework, this article assesses the efforts of the General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers’ Union (GTPCWU) in Ghana to defend the rights of workers in the oil industry. Whether the GTPCWU has been able to effectively employ structural, institutional and conditional forms of power is examined within the CCAP framework. The analysis is informed by first-hand knowledge of trade union policies and practices, as one of the authors is a GTPCWU official. The research also draws on interviews and email communications with other Ghanaian trade unionists and an academic specialising in labour issues. The findings indicate that the structured labour regime, in which the GTPCWU is embedded, makes it hard for the union to employ structural, institutional and conditional forms of power fruitfully. Nevertheless, agency on the part of union officials and members is significant. This is evidenced by the success of individual union actions, indicating that the GTPCWU possesses a degree of structural power. Utilising institutional power effectively is difficult for the union, as enforcement of labour legislation is weak, and lengthy legal processes ensue when cases do reach court. It is also burdensome for the GTPCWU to exercise conditional power, based on obtaining support from non-union individuals and groups, since its members are widely perceived to have well-paid employment in the formal sector. The GTPCWU’s need for assistance in supporting its members through the transition away from fossil-based systems of energy production is outlined. Capacity-building initiatives, including the construction of a training and conference facility, and recruitment campaigns, focusing on attracting more women and youth members, are discussed.\u0000KEYWORDS: Ghana; trade unions; oil industry; Coordination and Context-Appropriate Power Theory (CCAP); structural, institutional and conditional forms of power","PeriodicalId":44737,"journal":{"name":"Global Labour Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43300594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Review of: Jane Holgate (2021) Arise: Power, Strategy and Union Resurgence","authors":"M. Atzeni","doi":"10.15173/glj.v13i2.5148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v13i2.5148","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44737,"journal":{"name":"Global Labour Journal","volume":"87 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67245561","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"African Trade Unions: An Introduction","authors":"M. Mcquinn","doi":"10.15173/glj.v13i2.5194","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v13i2.5194","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:p>n/a</jats:p>","PeriodicalId":44737,"journal":{"name":"Global Labour Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45410119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"African Trade Unions and the Politics of Gender","authors":"M. Cojocaru, M. Mcquinn","doi":"10.15173/glj.v13i2.5195","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v13i2.5195","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:p>na/</jats:p>","PeriodicalId":44737,"journal":{"name":"Global Labour Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49515750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Review of: Andreas Bieler (2021) Fighting For Water: Resisting Privatization in Europe","authors":"A. Muehlebach","doi":"10.15173/glj.v13i2.5157","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v13i2.5157","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44737,"journal":{"name":"Global Labour Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46717357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article investigates the ongoing efforts of trade unions in Kenya and Tanzania to enlarge their constituency by reconceptualising the notion of workers to include people in the informal economy. How this process plays out is of immense importance as it challenges established understandings of who a worker is; this in turn poses very difficult questions about rights, representation and the distribution of power both internally in the union movements and in society at large. Based on original interview data, the article unpacks this highly contested and politicised process. The article shows how union efforts reflect different ways of tackling the need to constitute people working informally as workers and union members in order to increase the social base, and thereby increase political clout. However, these processes are juxtaposed with the urge to maintain traditional boundaries and protect established privileges and power structures, both internally in the unions and externally in the fragile compromise inscribed in the existing tripartite structures. KEYWORDS: informal workers; informal economy; trade unions; Kenya; Tanzania
{"title":"What is a Worker? Framing People in the Informal Economy as Part of the Trade Union Constituency in Kenya and Tanzania","authors":"L. Riisgaard","doi":"10.15173/glj.v13i2.4597","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v13i2.4597","url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates the ongoing efforts of trade unions in Kenya and Tanzania to enlarge their constituency by reconceptualising the notion of workers to include people in the informal economy. How this process plays out is of immense importance as it challenges established understandings of who a worker is; this in turn poses very difficult questions about rights, representation and the distribution of power both internally in the union movements and in society at large. Based on original interview data, the article unpacks this highly contested and politicised process. The article shows how union efforts reflect different ways of tackling the need to constitute people working informally as workers and union members in order to increase the social base, and thereby increase political clout. However, these processes are juxtaposed with the urge to maintain traditional boundaries and protect established privileges and power structures, both internally in the unions and externally in the fragile compromise inscribed in the existing tripartite structures.\u0000KEYWORDS: informal workers; informal economy; trade unions; Kenya; Tanzania","PeriodicalId":44737,"journal":{"name":"Global Labour Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45213061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Based on interviews with trade union officials from different islands and the Inspector General of Labour, this article examines the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by labour organisations in Cabo Verde. Distributed discourse is used as a conceptual framework to provide insights into ways in which the ability of trade unionists to engage in debates and formulate initiatives is influenced by the pervasiveness and control of digital technologies. ICTs are premised as complementary tools and not as substitutes for existing face-to-face union communication strategies, a perspective substantiated by all the interviewees. The research reveals that frail communication channels are major problems for unions in Cabo Verde, which significantly impede their ability to defend the rights of members effectively. Despite localised improvements, involving particular organisations, ICTs are not being utilised systematically and equitably across all the Cabo Verdean islands to enhance the effectiveness of the work of unions. Limited financial streams, high levels of informality in the labour force, a dispersed geography, the uneven penetration of digital technologies across islands and economic sectors, and government policies are major barriers to trade union communication. Policy implications are put forward in the light of the main research findings. KEYWORDS: trade unions; Cabo Verde; ICTs; distributed discourse; labour democracy
{"title":"ICTs, Distributed Discourse and the Labour Movement in Cabo Verde: Why Weak Communications Remain a Crucial Barrier to Trade Union Effectiveness","authors":"M. Mcquinn, M. Cojocaru","doi":"10.15173/glj.v13i2.4980","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v13i2.4980","url":null,"abstract":"Based on interviews with trade union officials from different islands and the Inspector General of Labour, this article examines the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by labour organisations in Cabo Verde. Distributed discourse is used as a conceptual framework to provide insights into ways in which the ability of trade unionists to engage in debates and formulate initiatives is influenced by the pervasiveness and control of digital technologies. ICTs are premised as complementary tools and not as substitutes for existing face-to-face union communication strategies, a perspective substantiated by all the interviewees. The research reveals that frail communication channels are major problems for unions in Cabo Verde, which significantly impede their ability to defend the rights of members effectively. Despite localised improvements, involving particular organisations, ICTs are not being utilised systematically and equitably across all the Cabo Verdean islands to enhance the effectiveness of the work of unions. Limited financial streams, high levels of informality in the labour force, a dispersed geography, the uneven penetration of digital technologies across islands and economic sectors, and government policies are major barriers to trade union communication. Policy implications are put forward in the light of the main research findings.\u0000KEYWORDS: trade unions; Cabo Verde; ICTs; distributed discourse; labour democracy","PeriodicalId":44737,"journal":{"name":"Global Labour Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45985711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Update on Editorial Changes at the GLJ","authors":"M. Cook, A. Gallas, N. P., Ben Scully","doi":"10.15173/glj.v13i2.5191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v13i2.5191","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:p>n/a</jats:p>","PeriodicalId":44737,"journal":{"name":"Global Labour Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49385956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Despite a global trend of declining trade unionism, the Ethiopian trade union movement is resurgent. Having fought off a harsh labour bill and forced industrial parks to open to trade union organising in the past few years, it has scored some of its most momentous achievements, acquiring in the process momentum and leverage. Membership has grown substantially in the last few years, and a sharp increase in workplace-level collective action has occurred over the same period. This article seeks to examine the factors that have enabled the rapid resurgence of trade unionism in Ethiopia, and thus the seeming paradox of a buoyant trade union movement emerging in a context where structural vulnerabilities prevail, at a historical time of global decline in the power and influence of labour organisations. It does so by comparing contemporary trade union strategies to historical iterations. It identifies willingness and capacity to engage in class contestation as the most important factors, and finds that they are premised upon and propelled by pressures and activity from below. The article finds the situation of Ethiopian trade unions to be at once pregnant with possibilities of further advances and serious risks of sharp reversals. KEYWORDS: trade unions; labour movements; Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions
{"title":"Trade Union Resurgence in Ethiopia","authors":"S. Admasie","doi":"10.15173/glj.v13i2.4560","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v13i2.4560","url":null,"abstract":"Despite a global trend of declining trade unionism, the Ethiopian trade union movement is resurgent. Having fought off a harsh labour bill and forced industrial parks to open to trade union organising in the past few years, it has scored some of its most momentous achievements, acquiring in the process momentum and leverage. Membership has grown substantially in the last few years, and a sharp increase in workplace-level collective action has occurred over the same period. This article seeks to examine the factors that have enabled the rapid resurgence of trade unionism in Ethiopia, and thus the seeming paradox of a buoyant trade union movement emerging in a context where structural vulnerabilities prevail, at a historical time of global decline in the power and influence of labour organisations. It does so by comparing contemporary trade union strategies to historical iterations. It identifies willingness and capacity to engage in class contestation as the most important factors, and finds that they are premised upon and propelled by pressures and activity from below. The article finds the situation of Ethiopian trade unions to be at once pregnant with possibilities of further advances and serious risks of sharp reversals.\u0000KEYWORDS: trade unions; labour movements; Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions","PeriodicalId":44737,"journal":{"name":"Global Labour Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45493791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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