Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 120).

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Master / Master of Economics

There is a general conformity in employment discourses that informal employment is not welcomed in the employment circles regardless of how well marketed it could be. The government of South Africa on its state owned projects in the construction industry introduced policies that promoted local labour procurement of employees a process that has resulted with heavy contestations due to its application. This study examines the impact of local labour procurement policy on locally recruited employees and those who got retrenched purely for the purpose of accommodating the policy requirement. This is done through the use of Kusile power station as a case study. It adopts qualitative research approach using interviews and document analysis. The study also examines this policy in conjunction with the current labour legislation and the effects it has on the existing labour and the proposed amendment labour bills. It also examines the motive behind the introduction of the policy and who has benefited from it. However the findings reveal that there is inconsistence in the application of the policy. The purpose why the policy was introduced is to reduce unemployment poverty in the areas where these projects are being constructed. Further also the study reveals that in as much as the policy promotes informal employment, this type of informal employment is different from the commonly well-known informal employment purely on the aspect of remuneration and benefits compared to the common one.

Historiography tends to seek patterns of inevitability, attempting to explain a decided course rather than incorporating other evident, though unfulfilled possibilities. In the case of historiography on the Allied Occupation of Japan, this is particularly obvious. Occupation scholarship appears absorbed by the overarching US presence in Japan during this period, reflects the dominant paradigm of the Cold War and when it does venture past the US remains focused on the US-Japan dichotomy. Australia also participated in the Occupation, also held a vision for a Pacific future and developed a relationship with Japan. Often the Australian perspective did not coincide with that of the US especially on the terrain of ideological and historical experiences and interpretations. The potential for conflict between the two nations’ approaches to post-surrender Japan is particularly evident in labour reform policy and issues of social and economic justice – the focus of this thesis. Australian policies towards labour reform under the Chifley Labor Government are examined in this thesis within the context of the Australian labour movement’s historical legacy, Orientalism and racial stereotypes, the Cold War, US hegemony, idealism and pragmatism and overall Australian policy towards Occupied Japan as a dual-paradigm structure. This thesis investigates attempts to turn labour reform polices and ideals into practice, via the diplomatic control machinery established for the Occupation namely the Allied Council for Japan and Far Eastern Commission and as articulated by Australian government representatives including Dr H.V. Evatt, William Macmahon Ball, Patrick Shaw and Sir Frederick Eggleston. The thesis contests the predominant simplistic harsh peace label given to Australian policy in the current literature. By examining Australian policy towards Occupied Japan from a micro perspective, what emerges is a more complex foreign policy mosaic to which the research in this thesis is a contribution / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study is about the Mongolian circus performers who work in Taiwan. Do their skills influence the outcome of their work conditions in Taiwan? This qualitative research carries out with interviews and participation observations. It explores Mongolian circus performers¡¦ working conditions, and the problems they face in different environments. The author has made several fieldwork trips to three places, and interviewed 17 performers. It contends that Mongolian circus performers are not in a disadvantaged industrial relations position due to, first, they are skilled labor; second, there is no clear rule regarding circus performers by Taiwan government; and third, the contract is clearly written about working contents, which makes the conflict less likely between migrant workers and employer.

Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Universität Oldenburg, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [353]-381).

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Business / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Arriving in the United States as an immigrant in 1881, James J. Davis worked as an iron puddler and tin worker before entering upon a business career early in the twentieth century. In 1906 he joined the Loyal Order of Moose and as Supreme Organizer built up that nearly defunct fraternal order to over half a million members by the end of World War I. This achievement led to his appointment as Director General of the Moose in 1919. Davis's national reputation in fraternal circles and his brief experience as a labor leader placed him in contention for the Labor Department portfolio in 1920. However, even though he was a staunch Republican and had actively supported Warren G. Harding in the presidential campaign, his selection as Secretary of Labor was not expected.James J. Davis served as Secretary of Labor for nearly ten years. His first few months were difficult because there was a nationwide depression and several labor disputes occurred during this period. Davis demonstrated a measure of ability and tact in heading off a threatened strike in the meatpacking industry and then proceeded to deliver innumerable speeches for the remainder of 1921 in an attempt to create a climate of optimism to counter the negative atmosphere resulting from the economic slump. During this time Davis functioned primarily as a public relations agent for the Harding Administration.Secretary Davis played a significant role in helping the Administration settle a major coal strike in 1922 and also contributed in a lesser degree to the ending of a nationwide railroad strike which occurred the same year. At this time, however, Davis labored in the shadow of the more influential Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover. This subordinate status became even more evident after Calvin Coolidge became President in 1923.Throughout his career as Secretary of Labor, James J. Davis expended most of his energy on the subject of immigration. He supported the Quota Act of 1921 and waged a personal campaign to make the 1924 Immigration Act reflect a more selective immigration policy. Davis was only partially successful in these efforts. When Coolidge was in the White House Secretary Davis continued to push for selective immigration. His advocacy of some measures brought Davis into disagreement with the foreign policy aims of Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes and then his successor, Frank B. Kellogg. Davis's fight for selective immigration also placed him in conflict with such congressmen as Fiorello H. La Guardia who opposed the resrictionist measures of the decade.Although Secretary Davis was unable to persuade Congress to adopt many of his legislative proposals on immigration, he did bring about considerable change in the operation of the Immigration Service. Under Davis the Bureau of Immigration was reorganized and streamlined to meet the demands of the changing immigration policy of the United States during the 1920's.James J. Davis got along well with the three presidents whom he served. His relations with Harding were especially cordial. Coolidge, too, found Davis to be amenable and called on him to campaign for the party ticket in 1924 and 1928. Davis was used by Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover as an emissary to labor groups. These Republican Presidents counted on Davis to placate labor.After the 1929 stock market crash Davis was pressed into service defending the efforts of the Hoover Administration to cope with the ensuing depression. In 1930 Secretary Davis became a candidate for the United States Senate from Pennsylvania by winning the Republican primary election. He then gained that office with a landslide vote. After weathering a challenge of his credentials because of alleged excessive campaign expenditures, Davis took his seat as the junior United States Senator from Pennsylvania.