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Can democracy only survive if it is participatory? Is participatory democracy a prerequisite for sustainable development? Are trade unions the most appropriate body through which such aims can be implemented? These critical questions are tackled in Gérard Kester's book, Trade Unions and Workplace Democracy in Africa, which applies an unparalleled depth of research to these issues as they impact African nations, including: Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Rigorously structured, it sets the background of the research and the underlying theory, before presenting the learning experiences within different countries and the the broad implications of the research findings for policy making on democratic participation.
We are currently witnessing some of the greatest challenges to democratic regimes since the 1930s, with democratic institutions losing ground in numerous countries throughout the world. At the same time organized labor has been under assault worldwide, with steep declines in union density rates. In this timely handbook, scholars in law, political science, history, and sociology explore the role of organized labor and the working class in the historical construction of democracy. They analyze recent patterns of democratic erosion, examining its relationship to the political weakening of organized labor and, in several cases, the political alliances forged by workers in contexts of nationalist or populist political mobilization. The volume breaks new ground in providing cross-regional perspectives on labor and democracy in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Beyond academia, this volume is essential reading for policymakers and practitioners concerned with the relationship between labor and democracy.
In this book, top scholars look at the efficacy of trade union and worker protest in overthrowing authoritarian governments in Africa. The analytical introduction and case studies from major African countries argue that unions were often the most important single social force in the democratization process.
Can democracy only survive if it is participatory? Is participatory democracy a prerequisite for sustainable development? Are trade unions the most appropriate body through which such aims can be implemented? These critical questions are tackled in Gérard Kester's book, Trade Unions and Workplace Democracy in Africa, which applies an unparalleled depth of research to these issues as they impact African nations, including: Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Rigorously structured, it sets the background of the research and the underlying theory, before presenting the learning experiences within different countries and the the broad implications of the research findings for policy making on democratic participation.
Publisher description
Labour Beyond Cosatu is the fourth volume in the series Taking Democracy Seriously – a ground-breaking, textured and nuanced study on workers and democracy – which was established in the 1990s. The series looks at members of trade unions affiliated to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and provides a rich database of trade union members and research conducted over the past twenty years. It is one of the very few such resources available to researchers anywhere in the world. Labour Beyond Cosatu paints a complex picture. The 12 chapters of the volume explore various rebellions and conflicts in the trade union sector, starting with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and rivalries between Cosatu affiliates. Unpacking the conflicts between state-sector and private-sector workers, contributors look at the impact of generational and educational shifts, seen by some commentators as proof that Cosatu is now ‘middle class’. The book also raises the issue of gender in the unions by usefully locating the controversy around charges levelled at Zwelinzima Vavi in 2013 in the larger context of serious problems in the gender politics within parts of Cosatu. Refuting the image of a union federation solidly committed to the ANC, Labour Beyond Cosatu presents evidence of a sharp decline in support for the ANC within Cosatu, and growing scepticism towards the Alliance. It shows that attempts to understand the labour movement in South Africa in the future will need to include research of smaller, independent unions and social movements. The volume’s contributors make a major contribution to key debates on labour and democracy, providing new material that can potentially shift the discussion in important ways. This book will be of great value to students and researchers in Industrial Sociology, Political Studies, Industrial Psychology and Economics and Management.
This is an edited collection of items on unionism worldwide, recognising the crisis that an informatised and globalised capitalism implies for work, workers and the trade-union movement. It considers radical alternatives for labour organisation and action in the 21st century. The book includes contributions by informed academics and unionists and proposes alternative union policies or models in relation to the working class(es), to women, democracy, ecology, internationalism.
The unfolding economic crisis has unequivocally proved that neoliberal policies were no better for growth than for social progress. As poverty and inequality are rising to alarming levels in Europe, the old continent seems at a loss to respond. Political leaders seem content to liquidate the social gains made by workers' struggles. A small minority, possibly even smaller than 1 per cent, associated with the financial sector, stands to benefit from a deepening of neoliberalism. This new anthology of essays from the Global Labour Column explores Europe's turmoil and challenges the deep-rooted consequences of neoliberalism in the North and the South. It sheds light on new movements and ideas which are emerging to defend and mobilise workers, and points to encouraging new policies and directions which could lay the foundations of a new order that would put decent work and life at its core. A number of these come from the South, from which the North may have much to learn. [ILO website]
'Sakhela Buhlungu pulls no punches. His bleak prognosis is sure to fire debate and controversy...a must-read for anyone interested in the fate of the South African labour movement.'ùMichael Burawoy, Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley --
Africa's Informal Workers is a vigorous examination of the informalization and casualization of work, which is changing livelihoods in Africa and beyond. Gathering cases from nine countries and cities across sub-Saharan Africa, and from a range of sectors, this volume goes beyond the usual focus on household ‘coping strategies’ and individual agency, addressing the growing number of collective organizations through which informal workers make themselves visible and articulate their demands and interests. The emerging picture is that of a highly diverse landscape of organized actors, providing grounds for tension but also opportunities for alliance. The collection examines attempts at organizing across the formal-informal work spheres, and explores the novel trend of transnational organizing by informal workers. Part of the ground-breaking Africa Now series, Africa’s Informal Workers is a timely exploration of deep, ongoing economic, political and social transformations.