Papers by Peter Fairbrother
Trade unions face many challenges, and in the context of deindustrialisation and regeneration the... more Trade unions face many challenges, and in the context of deindustrialisation and regeneration the challenge is to become part of the process of economic and social revival. In the main the literature on this subject has focused on the conditions for involvement. Here attention is given to the way trade unions may be marginalised in these circumstances and why. Through an examination of the last decade in the North West Tasmanian region, we explore the ways in which such policies are developed in ways that marginalise the trade unions in the area. The result is partially developed proposals and responses. Part of the problem is that unions have first to address their own resources and capacities, if they are to become actors in these processes. Otherwise, workers become objects within this process, with the dangers that a state and employer led regeneration will lay the foundations for union marginalisation and emerging pockets of poverty and inequality within regions.
The role of government in regional development is contested. Governments increasingly prefer thei... more The role of government in regional development is contested. Governments increasingly prefer their engagements to take the form of 'limited' but 'strategic' intervention (Collits 2004: p.89). To date, the overarching approach has been to devolve responsibility for decision-making to regional agencies, while simultaneously emphasising that market forces provide the underpinning for regional revitalisation. This approach contributes to the empowerment of the local economic elite, and the disenfranchisement of local political leaders and other actors. The question is how can other local political and economic actors become part of this revitalisation process - Via a study of Victoria's Latrobe Valley, the argument is made that regional development is yet to become a genuinely inclusive and participatory project, undermining the efforts of this region to prepare for the transition to a low carbon economy.
For much of the recent history of trade unionism, organisation has been the focus of debate withi... more For much of the recent history of trade unionism, organisation has been the focus of debate within and about trade unions. The foundation for union organisation is the workplace, where members work and are employed. Equally, unions organise for purpose, seeking to protect members' economic and political interests as well as promoting a more just and equitable society. To interrogate the interaction between union purpose and organization, and how that relates to union capacity in an increasingly precarious employment landscape, we examine unions in the film and television production sector. The focus is on the international film and television industry, although principle reference is to the Canadian and US labour markets as the foundation for the employment precarity in the industry. The complexity of ownership structures, work practices and employment models in the film and television production sector make it an exemplary case to draw out the contemporary challenges facing uni...
The world is undergoing enormous change involving politics, the economy and society, however the ... more The world is undergoing enormous change involving politics, the economy and society, however the position and place of the state and the significance of state policy in this process is heavily contested. Globalisation, State and Labour presents a timely ...
Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2015
Many traditional regions are undergoing change and transformation as industries restructure. The ... more Many traditional regions are undergoing change and transformation as industries restructure. The development of ‘green economies’ and the transition to a low-carbon economy offers areas experiencing industrial decline an opportunity to innovate around policies for regeneration. In this process, there is a necessary emphasis on skills development and the creation of decent jobs, but institutional context mediates such processes in different places in different ways. This article argues that an effective transition policy is more likely to emerge where a mutually reciprocal relationship is developed between the state qua government and the social groups that comprise the region, including employers and workers and their representatives. Utilising a ‘varieties of capitalism’ typology in relation to areas of industrial decline in Germany and the UK, the article illustrates the ways in which transition policies are elaborated and implemented, with an explicit focus on decent job creation.
A common feature of economic restructuring over the last two decades has been the reorganisation ... more A common feature of economic restructuring over the last two decades has been the reorganisation of the state. In the United Kingdom, from the 1980s onwards, this took the form of a major reorganisation of the public sector, resulting in the fragmentation of the state via internal reorganisation of the state apparatus and the redefinition of state boundaries via privatisation. The argument is that state sector restructuring has brought about not only widely acknowledged changes in organisation but also changes in the labour process and class relations. In the process of this restructuring, state sector unions face a set of challenges which both threaten and open up opportunities for them. The question faced by unions is how to respond to these developments. Since 1980, the British state as an employer has changed in complex and contradictory ways. In the context of increasing difficulties with private capital accumulation, growing trade union militancy in the state sector and a shif...
International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 2014
Purpose– This paper aims to present on-going research on the role of social networks in community... more Purpose– This paper aims to present on-going research on the role of social networks in community preparedness for bushfire. Social networks are significant in helping communities cope in disasters. Studies of communities hit by a catastrophe such as landslides or heatwaves demonstrate that people with well-connected social networks are more likely to recover than others where their networks are obliterated or non-existent. The value of social networks is also evident in bushfire where information is passed between family, friends and neighbours. Social interactions are important in creating opportunities for residents to exchange information on shared risks and can lead them to take collective actions to address this risk.Design/methodology/approach– This paper presents on-going research on social networks of residents living in fire-prone areas in Australia to investigate how knowledge related to bushfire might flow, either in preparation for, or during a hypothetical emergency. A...
... Similar to the Netherlands, the Turkish population lives in a relatively closed residential a... more ... Similar to the Netherlands, the Turkish population lives in a relatively closed residential area adjacent to the ... in some countries, which it might be argued lays the foundations for there-composition of ... Gender based bullying and mobbing was a feature of women's employment, ...
Labor Studies Journal, 2007
The current circumstances of trade unions are subject to extensive debate. As a contribution to t... more The current circumstances of trade unions are subject to extensive debate. As a contribution to these debates, three sets of issues are ad dressed : how unions organize and operate in relation to members, how unions reposition and rebuild themselves against changing forms of ownership and different managerial practices, and how unions attempt to face the challenges of multinational capital. Unions have sought to renew and revitalize themselves by changing organizational practices or changing aims and ambitions, as well as by recomposing past rela tionships, especially between unions and state bodies. These themes are addressed via three case studies chosen to exemplify particular aspects of union organization and activity. The study concludes with a comparative evaluation of the three cases in terms of the principles of union renewal.
Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2008
The debate about social movement unionism is long overdue. Of course, as noted in each of the con... more The debate about social movement unionism is long overdue. Of course, as noted in each of the contributions to the symposium, there are twists and turns to the discussion that raise difficult questions to consider. An initial pause for thought comes from Richard Hyman (2001) who reminds us of the origins of trade unions, in almost all countries. Trade unions are social movements that arose out of a questioning of the "principles of the prevailing social and economic order" (p. 60). Hyman locates his analysis in terms of a distinction between trade unions as social institutions or social movements (pp. 60-62) and he goes on to observe that "almost universally trade unions emerged as social movements" (p. 60). Too often we forget the point made in most of Hyman's writing that trade unions are more or less always caught on a tension between two competing pressures, towards "businesslike service organisation" and "expression and vehicle of the historical movement of the submerged laboring masses" (Herberg 1943: 406, cited in Hyman 2001: 61) or "sword of justice" or "vested interest" (Flanders 1970: 15-16, cited in Hyman 2001: 61). The argument is that this dualism, in some form or other, is universal, and clearly something that we all need to take into account. The implication is that by arguing for social movement unionism per se the argument overlooks the specific features that define trade unionism as well as the relations in which unions are locked and located-and because of this where they have potential. However, before coming back to some of the other aspects of trade unionism that we need to consider it is worth recapping the analysis of social movement unionism, as
Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2008
Social movement unionism has become part of the lexicon about trade unionism over the last two de... more Social movement unionism has become part of the lexicon about trade unionism over the last two decades. With increasing concern in the North about the current position of trade unions and future prospects, it has become common to promote the idea of social movement unions, based on a critique of prevailing forms of unionism (e.g., Moody 1997a, b, c). Concurrently, parallel debates argue for a distinct form of unionism that addresses the specificities of the South, while also presenting a critique of the Northern forms of unionism just mentioned (e.g., Waterman 2001). These Northern forms of unionism are often characterised as economistic, with narrowly focused and limited views of emancipatory politics, a feature of "business unionism" or in the British case, "responsible unionism." Such unions are usually organized in top down ways, with low membership participation rates, and a commitment to policies associated with economic instrumentalism and compromise. Nonetheless, in the advanced capitalist states, these unions have not been without some degree of success, having provided "workers a voice on the shopfloor, delivered a steadily rising standard of living, and served the purposes of these liberal democratic states by helping give workers an organized (though moderate) voice in national politics" (Lopez 2004, 1). However, such unionism is limited and many would argue selfdefeating (e.g., Fantasia and Voss 2004). Social movement unionism, in contrast, has a local focus, is more engaged, embedded in the workplace and equally importantly the community, where a distinctive and transformative union identity may be forged and promoted. Though few in number, social movement unions are seen by some as providing a hopeful challenge to the dominance of business unionism (Lopez 2004, 1; see also Fantasia and Voss 2004). One can argue that this is a form of social power that periodically has been able to challenge the seemingly overwhelming power of corporations and governments, for example, "in Britain in the 1890s, Germany in 1918-1920, the United States in the 1930s, and Italy after 1969" (Turner 2003, 50). The implication is that these forms of unionism arise periodically, at times when there is an "upsurge" in the conditions for such struggle (see also Clawson 2003).
Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2012
Worker and union responses to mass redundancy announcements are complex. This article explores a ... more Worker and union responses to mass redundancy announcements are complex. This article explores a mass redundancy announcement with the purpose of shedding light on the way collective responses are shaped at such times. The article focuses on steelworker redundancies in South Wales (United Kingdom) in 2001 and 2002, which occurred at the Corus plc steelworks at Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent and Llanwern, Newport, and argues that management handles such announcements in strategic ways to neutralize collective responses. Further, the article contends that the way trade unions organize and operate can result in union members being demobilized, thereby restricting alternative courses of action. Central to the analysis are understandings of the ways information, in the form of rumour and through more formal channels, flows between management, union and the membership/workforce.
Capital & Class, 1997
On 19 August 1996, thousands of trade unionists and others stormed the Australian Parliament prot... more On 19 August 1996, thousands of trade unionists and others stormed the Australian Parliament protesting against the Coalition Government's Work place Relations Bill. In a very visible departure from the years of cooperation and compromise with the previous Federal Labor Government, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) called on trade unionists and their supporters to demonstrate their opposition to the proposed legislation. This outbreak of anger might be thought to herald a reaction to heightened attacks on the Australian working class, ushered in by the election of the Coalition Government on 2 March 1996, which ended thirteen years of Labor rule under leaders Bob Hawke (1983-1991) and Paul Keating (1991-1996). However, while indicating a renewed activism by a disenchanted and alienated working class, this outburst of anger was not attributable to a sudden shift in the overall direction of government policy. Rather, it was an expression of a profound disenchantment wi...
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Papers by Peter Fairbrother