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Book Details
Abstract
This is a collection of essays by an array of contributors from the Global Labour Column, which highlights and examines class struggle as the core of resistance against capitalism today.
It provides insights into the dynamics of neoliberalism and its persistence and stimulates debates about the continued impact of the economic crisis, focusing on labour as both a victim and a crucial social force which can push for an alternative.
Examples of the subjects it covers include the Indonesian Sportswear Industry, Chinese construction companies in Africa, mining in South Africa, job quality in Europe, globalised 'T-shirt economics' and the marketisation and securitisation of UK international aid, amongst many others.
The Global Labour Column, managed by the Corporate Strategy and Industrial Development research programme at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, is part of the Global Labour University.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cover | ||
| Contents | vii | ||
| List of Figures | x | ||
| Acknowledgements | xi | ||
| Introduction - Nicolas Pons-Vignon and Mbuso Nkosi | xii | ||
| Section 1: Understanding the Crisis | 1 | ||
| 1. Planet Earth is Wage-led! A Simultaneous Increase in the Profit Share by 1 Per Cent-point in the Major Developed and Developing Countries Leads to a 0.36 Per Cent Decline in Global GDP - Özlem Onaran | 3 | ||
| 2. From Financial Crisis to Stagnation: The Destruction of Shared Prosperity and the Role of Economics - Thomas I. Palley | 8 | ||
| 3. State Funding of Research and the Narrowing of Economics in the United Kingdom - Frederic Sterling Lee | 14 | ||
| 4. Globalisation and Taxation: Trends and Consequences - Ilan Strauss | 18 | ||
| 5. T-shirt Economics: Labour in the Imperialist World Economy - Tony Norfield | 23 | ||
| Section 2: Europe in Turmoil | 29 | ||
| 6. Greece in the Deadlock of the Troika's Austerity Trap - Giorgos Argitis | 31 | ||
| 7. The ECB's Misleading Understanding of the Euro Crisis - Carlo D'Ippoliti | 36 | ||
| 8. Europe's Lost Decade: Paths out of Stagnation - Hansjorg Herr | 42 | ||
| 9. The Crisis, Structural Reform and the Fortification of Neoliberalism in Europe - Christoph Hermann | 47 | ||
| 10. The Economic Crisis and Job Quality in Europe: Some Worrying Trends and Worse May be to Come - Janine Leschke and Andrew Watt | 52 | ||
| Section 3: Exploring Alternatives | 59 | ||
| 11. Tackling Unemployment and Growing Public Debt - Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Anis Chowdhury | 61 | ||
| 12. Tax for Equity (T4E): Getting Wages Back on Track - Frank Hoffer | 66 | ||
| 13. The State as the Employer of Last Resort - Cédric Durand and Dany Lang | 71 | ||
| 14. 'We are Steaming Ahead': NUMSA's Road to the Left - An Interview with Karl Cloete | 75 | ||
| 15. Alternatives to Neoliberalism: Towards a New Progressive Consensus - João Antônio Felício | 80 | ||
| Section 4: Resisting Exploitation and Neoliberalism | 87 | ||
| 16. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Outcome? - Carol Jess | 89 | ||
| 17. Right to Work and Michigan Labour - Roland Zullo | 94 | ||
| 18. A Site of Struggle: Organised Labour and Domestic Worker Organising in Mozambique - Ruth Castel-Branco | 99 | ||
| 19. Constructing an anti-Neoliberal Analysis to Arrive at Truly Alternative Alternatives - Salimah Valiani | 103 | ||
| 20. The 2012 Strike Wave, Marikana and the History of Rock Drillers in South African Mines - Paul Stewart | 108 | ||
| Section 5: Good Samaritans? Institutional Responses to Labour Right Abuses | 115 | ||
| 21. Where is Decent Work in DfID Policy? Marketisation and Securitisation of UK International Aid - Phoebe V. Moore | 117 | ||
| 22. The National Pact to Eradicate Slave Labour in Brazil: A Useful Tool for Unions? - Lisa Carstensen and Siobhán McGrath | 121 | ||
| 23. Better WOrk or 'Ethical Fix'? Lessons from Cambodia's Apparel Industry - Dennis Arnold | 127 | ||
| 24. Putting Workers' Agency at the Centre in the Indonesian Sportswear Industry - Karin A. Siegmann, Jeroen Merk and Peter Knorringa | 132 | ||
| 25. Rana Plaza: Private Governance and Corporate Power in Global Supply Chains - Tandiwe Gross | 136 | ||
| Section 6: 'Workers of the World, Unite': Challenges and Opportunities of Transnational Solidarity | 143 | ||
| 26. Rank and File Participation and International Union Democracy - Vasco Pedrina | 145 | ||
| 27. Trade Unions, Free Trade and the Problem of Transnational Solidarity - Andreas Bieler | 150 | ||
| 28. Modelling a Global Union Strategy: The Arena of Global Production Networks, Global Framework Agreements and Trade Union Networks - Michael Fichter | 155 | ||
| 29. Trade Unions, Globalisation and Internationalism - Ronaldo Munck | 160 | ||
| 30. Chinese Construction Companies in Africa: A Challenge for Trade Unions - Eddie Cottle | 165 | ||
| Notes on Contributors | 171 | ||
| Index | 176 |