Globalisation has put national labour movements under severe pressure, due to the increasing transnationalisation of production, with the production of many goods being organised across borders, and the informalisation of the economy.
Through a range of case studies, this volume examines the possibilities and obstacles to transnational solidarity of labour in a period of global restructuring and changing global political economy. It brings together a range of international and transnational case studies, examining successful and failed transnational solidarity covering inter-trade union co-operation as well as co-operation between trade unions and social movements within the formal and informal economy, and the public and private sector. It is structured in six parts and examines:
Globalisation and the new challenges for transnational solidarity
Inter trade union co-operation across borders.
The dynamics of co-operation between trade unions and social movements across borders, looking at developing and developed countries.
The struggles to defend the public sector against private service providers.
The possible ways forward towards transnational solidarity of formal and informal labour in the global economy.
This book will be of interest to students and scholars of International Political Economy, International Relations, Industrial Relation, Globalisation, Geography and History.
Part I: Introduction and Conceptual Considerations 1. Globalisation and the new challenges for transnational solidarity: an Introduction Andreas Bieler and Ingemar Lindberg 2. Trade unions, global competition and options for solidarity Richard Hyman Part II: Trade union solidarity across borders? 3. West-East European Labour Transnationalism(s): Rivalry or Joint Mobilisation? Magdalena Bernaciak 4. Detours of Solidarity: Experiences from Ericsson in Colombia Jonas Sjölander 5. Building Rank and File Activism: A Study of the Global Action Day Campaign in the History of the International Transport Workers' Federation Mac Urata Part III: Transnational solidarity involving trade unions and social movements 6. Informal work and transnational organizing Ilda Lindell 7. What Does Transnational Labour Organizing and Solidarity Mean for Sri Lankan Free Trade Zone Women Workers? Samanthi Gunawardana 8. Victory through solidarity? The story of a women workers' strike in Turkey's Antalya Free Zone Tore Fougner and Ayça Kurtoglu 9. Cross-border Wage Struggles in the Global Garment Industry: The campaign for an Asia Floor Wage Jeroen Merk Part IV: Transnational solidarity in defence of the public sector 10. Challenging privatisation and access to health care services: the role of trade unions Jane Lethbridge 11. Thinking through transnational solidarity: The case of SINTREAMCALI in Colombia Mario Novelli Part V: Trade union social movement co-operation in the developed world 12. How new social alliances changed politics in Norway Asbjørn Wahl 13. Trade union and social movement co-operation in the defence of the European public sector(and a postscriptum with Jan Willem Goudriaan) Andreas Bieler Part VI: What strategies towards transnational solidarity? 14. Making connections: Transnational solidarity through the internet Bruce Robinson 15. Varieties of solidarity: an analysis of cases of worker action across borders Ingemar Lindberg 16. Conclusions: A variable landscape of emerging transnational solidarities Andreas Bieler and Ingemar Lindberg
