English
Autor: José Dari Krein, Eugenia Troncoso Leone e Pedro Henrique Evangelista Duarte (Orgs)
This book presents papers submitted to the VIII International Conference of the Global Labour University, held at the Campinas Institute of Economics at the State University of Campinas, in September 2012. The main theme of the Conference was “Sustainable Growth, development and work: progressive responses at the local, national and global level.” The event was an initiative of the Global Labour University (GLU), which brings together partners from 5 universities, the OIT and international labour movement.
It was a major international event which brought together academics, trade unionists and public policy makers to discuss development alternatives from labour’s perspective.
The Conference’s discussions were motivated by the global crisis and its aftermath, considering alternative forms of development with more social inclusion and environmental respect. The global economy showed signs of recovery after the initial impact of the crisis in 2007-2009, indicating that this could be the end of the neoliberal era. However, the weak recovery and the continued hegemony of the financial sector have frustrated these hopes.
Conservative forces are spreading the idea that governments should restrict their activities to a minimum, as both regulators and participants in economics, and not advance toward stricter operating regulations of financial markets. In this context, the 2012 GLU Conference focused on the analysis of development processes and policies and on concrete experiences that can help build local strategies, aiming to overcome national and global neoliberal orthodoxy in theory and in practice, creating conditions for inclusive development based on strong unions and a democratic state capable of regulating the economy.
Discussions took place in roundtable and breakout sessions. The latter were comprised of articles previously selected by a scientific committee. These articles bring together contributions from research carried out by professionals from different countries and disciplinary traditions that study labour and development. For the book’s composition, papers were selected from those presented during the Thematic Sessions of the Conference. All papers were based on new opinions and we selected 13 articles for the book.
The articles were grouped into four parts, each corresponding to the four Thematic Sessions of the Conference. The book’s first part, entitled “Sustainability”, addresses environmental issues in the development process.
This section consists of three articles. In the first article, Zahra Karimi Moughari discusses the need for public projects in Iran. These projects are necessary for Iran to avoid the effects of the global crisis on their economy and labour market, and to allow the development of the country’s infrastructure, while conserving their environment. In the second article, Jana Silverman analyzes the quality of green jobs generated by the production of biofuels. Considered an alternative to oil, biofuels have environmental and social benefits, in terms of representing a potential solution to the endemic problems of rural poverty, income inequality and lack of social dialogue. In the last article of this section, Bruno Dobrusin discusses the positions of Argentina’s labour movement during the debates of the National Strategy for Climate Change, which was established by the government in compliance with international commitments. Among the positions of the labour movement, this article highlights the most radical one that is based on the importance of using natural resources for Argentina’s economy as it underscores the need for a profound change in the systems of national consumption and production.
The second part of the book, entitled “Labour Conditions” addresses the situation of workers in developing countries in the context of globalization.
This section consists of two articles. In the first, Hao Zhang analyzes changes in China’s development model regarding the global crisis, in which greater emphasis on development of the domestic market vis-à-vis export of manufactured goods to developed countries may lead to a deepening East-West dualism within China, while simultaneously creating a rural-urban dualism.
The other article, written by Srinath Jagannathan, examines, based on a qualitative study of 50 everyday informal workers in India, workers’ discourses on politics and State actions that claim to improve their working and living conditions, suggesting pedagogy for generation of public policies in this regard.
The third part of the book, entitled “National and International Trade Unionism”, deals with trade unions’ responses to labour problems posed by development in the context of globalization. This section consists of four articles. In the first, Rita Petra Kallabis addresses the challenges of the European Union and European trade unionism in confronting the economic crisis that has provoked huge social unrest, as well as evaluating the strength of European trade unions in co-determining the way forward. The article highlights the contradiction of emphasis on the protection and preservation of financial wealth in Welfare States. The second article, written by Steven Toff and Jamie McCallum, addresses the concerns of workers in the United States around the “Occupy” movement, drawing lessons from the U.S. labour movement, which organizes only 11% of American workers. The third article, by Sue Ledwih, Eugenia T. Leone, Job Portilho, Marilane O. Texeira and Thomas Conti examines the position of women in Brazil’s labour market and its role in the unions, based on field research conducted in 2011. This article deals specifically with Brazil’s union leaders experience, and their manner of thinking and acting. In the fourth article, Karen Douglas and Carol Jess describe the possibilities of using a database with information from five countries: Australia, Ghana, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Zambia. This database would allow for further research into gender equality in unions.
Finally, the fourth part of the book entitled “Development and Labour in Brazil” treats various issues relating to workers’ situations in development under globalization, with specific reference to Brazil’s cases. This section consists of four articles. The first article, by Paul Hecker, analyzes the recent development of social and labour policies in Brazil. This paper argues that the introduction of new social welfare programs, such as Bolsa Familia, has been a cheaper alternative to the state than opening the existing welfare system to universal access for people without formal employment. This is true despite the fact that they increased the population’s access to welfare provisions. The second article, by Pedro Henrique Evangelista and Luciana Duarte Hachmann, discusses the economic, social and political significance of improved income and living conditions for an important segment of the social pyramid’s base with recent economic growth and improvement of social policies, and questions the assessment that a new middle class has arisen in Brazil. The third article, by Laura Moisa, reflects on the changes in economic and social policy introduced during President Lula’s presidency and their impact on the world of labour. The paper shows that in a favourable international economic situation, the changes made by Lula managed to reverse some of the negative trends caused by liberal reforms of the 90s in the working world. The fourth article, by Paul Malerba, addresses the situation of workers in Brazil’s financial sector, not only employees in financial institutions themselves, but also in the so-called correspondent banking and credit promoter’s sales areas. The article shows that the lack of adequate legal regulations allows for situations such as having many different people performing financial activities. Union representation is very fragmented with different capacities for organization and mobilization to push for workers’ rights.
The VIII International GLU Conference helped stimulate research, reflection and proposals for public policies that promote economic and social development. It also helped deepen exchanges between academics, union activists and policymakers from different continents.
Finally, we’d like to thank the entities helped through their support for the event and facilitate this publication: CAPEs, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), OIT, Petrobras, Central Workers Union, Solidarity Center of the AFL-CIO, International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD / Germany), the Institute of Economics at Unicamp and CESIT (Centre for Studies and Economics of Labour Unions).
José Dari Krein
Eugenia Troncoso Leone
Pedro Henrique Evangelista Duarte
