Research of a wide range of primary sources informs this work, including hitherto unstudied local union records, oral testimony, contemporary newspapers, government and employer reports. Conclusions reached in this dissertation are that while the founders of the local trade union movement shared a vision of improving the lot of workers in their employment and in the wider social context, and they endeavoured to establish effective structures and organisation to this end, their efforts were of mixed success. They succeeded eminently in improving and protecting the employment conditions of workers to contemporary expectations through effective exploitation of political and institutional channels and through competent and conservative local leadership. However, the additional and loftier goal of creating a better life for workers outside the workplace through local combined union action were much less successful, foiled not only by overwhelming economic difficulties, but also by a local sense of working-class consciousness which was muted by the particular social and cultural context of Rockhampton.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1987.

RÉSUMÉ Le gouvernement du Québec a adopté en novembre 1999 le projet de loi 47, relatif à la Loi concernant les conditions de travail dans certains secteurs de l’industrie du vêtement et modifiant la Loi sur les normes du travail (1999, c. 57). Son entrée en vigueur eut pour effet d’abroger au 30 juin 2000 les quatre (4) décrets sectoriels de convention collective qui régissaient les conditions d’emploi d’approximativement 23 000 travailleurs affectés à la production de vêtements (gant de cuir, chemise pour hommes et garçons, confection pour hommes et pour dames). Cette recherche démontre que bien qu’inscrit dans une logique étatique de dérégulation du travail visant à favoriser la compétitivité, le maintien de normes de substitution aux décrets dans le cas du vêtement québécois ne dérive pas pour autant d’une déréglementation strictement néolibérale. Au plan plus théorique, l’émergence et le sort du régime de conditions d’emploi étudié dévoilent la nature politique du processus d’élaboration des règles salariales, qu’il soit d’origine législative ou contractuelle. Cette dynamique repose sur le caractère mouvant des relations de pouvoir et d’influence des agents engagés dans la régulation institutionnelle, où l’État est appelé à jouer un rôle de catalyseur ─ et non de tiers arbitre indépendant ─ à l’endroit des tensions qui procèdent du rapport salarial et du mode de production au sein duquel il s’inscrit. / ABSTRACT In November 1999, the Government of Quebec has adopted the bill 47 related to the Act respecting conditions of employment in certain sectors of the clothing industry which amended the Act respecting labour standards (1999, c. 57). On June 30 2000, after the bill came into force, the four (4) sectoral decrees regulating the terms of employment of approximately 23,000 workers in apparel production were repealed (leather glove, men’s and boy’s shirt, men’s wear and ladies’s garment). This research demonstrates that even if in line with the deregulation logical of the government aiming to foster competitiveness, the continuation of replacement standards for the decrees in the Quebec’s clothing industry does not stem for all that from a fully neo-liberal deregulation. In a more academic view, the surveyed labour standards plan’s emergence and fate reveal the political nature of the wage rule determination process, legislative or contractual. This dynamics is based on the changeable characteristic of the power relationship and influence of the institutionnal actors involved in the legislative regulation where the State is destined to play an enabler role – and not as an independent referee – in regard of the pressures resulting of the wage labour relationship and the production mode in which this one is embedded.

During the early 1970's two trends emerged in the South African business environment. The first trend was that the number of diversified enterprises started increasing, and the second trend was that there was a steady increase in the activities and power of trade unions. These two trends were considered during the evaluation of prior research on the topic of segment reporting. Prior research on segment reporting focused on the usefulness of segment reporting, the problems associated with segment identification, the objections to providing segment information, and the extent to which diversified companies disclose segment information. Using the trends identified and the prior research, the research problem developed was as follows: are the segment disclosures of South African listed companies sufficient to meet the information needs of trade unions in South Africa, and if not, what additional information do trade unions require? The research problem was limited to listed companies as it was identified that trade unions may experience difficulty in obtaining information which is not available to the general public. In addressing the problem, the following three objectives were formulated: (i) to determine if trade unions use segment information, (ii) to determine what their requirements are in respect of segment information, and (iii) if trade unions do not use segment information, to determine why segment information is not used. In order to achieve these three objectives, it was necessary to conduct a survey of trade unions on their use of segment information. This survey was undertaken as a series of replicative case studies with the primary data being obtained by means of interviews. Generalisations were then made about the use that trade unions make of segment information. The main conclusions to this research were: (i) trade unions use segment information unless they are part of a national bargaining forum, (ii) trade unions consider segment information to be at least as useful as consolidated information, and (iii) trade unions use segment information primarily to form the basis for wage negotiations and to assess overall company performance. Once these conclusions had been drawn, the results were compared to results of a survey of investment analysts in South Africa, and evaluated against proposals contained in the International Exposure Draft (E51) on segment reporting. There were similarities between the segment itnformation needs of trade unions and investment analysts, although the trade unions required more information regarding employees and the remuneration of management. Trade unions also indicated that the proposals contained in the exposure draft would be acceptable, although the unions would require more employee information on a segment basis to be disclosed. Thus, the research project achieved its objectives. In addition, areas for further research within the area of segment reporting were identified. / Thesis (M.Acc.)-University of Natal, 1997.

This thesis considers the history of stevedoring work and workers in Durban between 1959 and 1990. In particular I focus on the two distinct themes of "labour management" and "technological change" in order to denlonstrate the transformations that have occurred in the port. In examining the dranlatic technological changes in the harbour I analyze the particular difficulties that the industry faced in coping with the deluands of the changes in the structure ofthe global shipping industry. In discussing the different reginles of labour adnlinistration in the harbour I show the relationships between the implementation ofApartheid and the practice of stevedoring work in Durban. Finally I show how these thenles are related in carefully considering the positions of these workers at the nloments of technological change, retrenchment and unionization. I suggest that we cannot understand these processes of change without understanding the specific kinds of control under which these workers laboured during Apartheid. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal,Durban, 2002.

From the 1940s to the 1970s the communist left in British Columbia used debates and perceptions of environmental change as a means to engage in a critique of capitalist society. In engaging in these debates, communists articulated a Marxist understanding of the connections between capitalism and environmental change. However, these articulations were heavily connected to broader occurrences that situated the communist left alongside a diverse group of social actors. Beginning in the 1940s the communist left situated their critique of provincial forest policy into a wider social debate over the management of forest resources. During the 1950s and 1960s, concerns over environmental change were transformed into debates over the effects of nuclear weapons and industrial pollution. From the late 1960s through to late 1970s elements of the communist left once again engaged with the environmental changes taking place in the forest sector, as renewed concerns developed over the status of the forest economy and the preservation of wilderness areas. To investigate the communist left’s perceptions and politicization of these issues this thesis focuses on the activities of communist controlled unions such as the International Woodworkers of America as well as the B.C. section of the Communist Party of Canada/Labour Progressive Party. In addition to these organizations, this thesis also follows the experiences of Erni Knott. As a woodworker, a founding member of the IWA, a member of the Communist Party, and an active environmentalist, Knott’s experiences highlight the complex way in which communist politics merged and conflicted with perceptions of environmental change.

Pour comprendre les origines du système français de relations professionnelles, cette thèse revient sur l’un des épisodes majeurs de sa construction : la négociation des conventions collectives du Front populaire. Inscrite dans une perspective de moyenne durée allant du début du siècle jusqu’au vote de la loi de 1950, l’étude porte une attention particulière au contenu des conventions collectives, mais aussi aux pratiques des acteurs du système de relations industrielles. Enfin, elle adopte une perspective comparative, croisant l’étude de divers secteurs et de trois espaces : la Seine, le Nord et la région lyonnaise. En ce qu’il étend les conventions collectives à l’ensemble des secteurs, le Front populaire apparaît bien comme un moment fondateur. Mais les mutations à l’œuvre en 1936 sont également le produit d’un apprentissage qui révèle une implication précoce et croissante de l’Etat et des syndicats et d’une réflexion sur la réforme des relations professionnelles qui se noue autour du rapport Laroque en 1934. Trois registres s’en dégagent. La convention collective doit permettre d’établir un contrôle sur la gestion patronale de l’usine, d’organiser la profession, de pacifier et stabiliser les relations sociales. Loin de correspondre à ces attentes, les conventions du Front populaire sont avant tout des instruments de protection et de hiérarchisation des travailleurs. Toutefois, selon les secteurs, le sens accordé aux conventions collectives, leur contenu ne sont pas les mêmes, ce qui suggère l’importance des dynamiques sectorielles à l’œuvre dans la construction d’un modèle français de relations professionnelles. / To help understand the origins of the French system of industrial relations, this thesis focuses on one major phase of its building, namely the negotiation of collective agreements under the Popular Front. Covering a span of moderate length this study pays special attention not only to the content of collective agreements but also to the practices of parties in the industrial relations system. Last, it takes a comparative approach, cross-checking studies on several sectors in three major industrial areas: the Nord and Seine departments and the Lyon region. Inasmuch as it extends collective agreements to all sectors, the Popular Front must indeed be seen as a founding period. But structural shifts implemented in 1936 are also the result of a developing practice which testifies both that the Government and unions were involved quite early and ever more so, and that thorough consideration was given to ways of reforming industrial relations right after the Laroque report came out in 1934. Three aspects stand out: a collective agreement should permit to exercise control over the business management of a factory, to organize the profession, to pacify and stabilize labour relations. Far from achieving these aims, collective agreements brought into effect by the Popular Front were first and foremost devised to protect the workers and establish a hierarchy among them. Yet, depending on the sector, the meaning granted to these collective agreements and their content may vary, which suggests the important part sector dynamics play when it comes to building a French model of industrial relations.

There is an emerging consensus amongst economic policy makers that amongst the most important development problems facing South Africa today are the extremely high unemployment levels (estimated at 40% of the formal labour force) and the need to satisfy the basic needs of South Africa's population (ie, food, shelter, clothing and footwear etc). There is also agreement that in order to achieve these twin objectives it is necessary to obtain positive and increasing economic growth rates. The question of how these high and sustainable economic growth rates can be achieved has spawned an intense debate about South Africa's future growth path. This debate about South Africa's economic future after Apartheid is based on differing evaluations of the opportunities offered by the country's current resource endowments and the constraints inhibiting growth (Moll, 1991a, 1991b; Kaplinsky, 1991; Jordan, 1991, Levy, 1991). Some writers1 have argued that a low wage, labour intensive export strategy is the only way that South Africa can rapidly create employment and meet the needs of international competition (Moll, 1991a). Moll therefore argues that increasing the demand for unskilled labour will benefit the poor most. To compete successfully internationally on the basis of low wages (as Moll suggests) is only possible by increasing relative poverty, resulting in increases in absolute poverty, it has been argued (Kaplinsky, 1992). The recent literature (Amsden, 1989; Wade, 1990) on the success of the East Asian NICs (particularly South Korea and Taiwan) strongly refutes the neo-classical view (Little, 1979; Lai, 1983) that developing countries should grow by exploiting their static Comparative Advantage (CA), that is, exploiting the availability of abundant cheap labour. These writers (Amsden, 1989; Wade, 1990) argue that developing countries can move up the value added chain - making it possible for them to pay relatively higher wages - by selective intervention in the market A recent World Bank study (Levy, 1991) analyses the potential of South Africa's manufacturing sector to move on to a dynamic labour-demanding growth path. In analysing the potential of the Garment Sector (the most labour-intensive sector), Levy (1991) argues that South Africa's international comparative advantage lies in the mid- to-upper end of the world garment industry and expanding expons from this sector will increase employment and allow "moderate increases in real wages". In this paper we develop Levy's proposition - that a labour-demanding expon strategy is possible in South Africa for the Garment subsector - for the Footwear subsector. This study will focus on the Footwear subsector for the following reasons. This is a mature industry which is well-established in South Africa. It still remains labour-intensive and well suited like the garment subsector for a labour demanding growth strategy (Levy, 1992). It has a well developed infrastructure in South Africa. However the relative performance of this sector in comparison to that of countries at similar levels of development (the NICs) has been poor (discussed below). It is striking that Footwear has been a leading export sector for the most dynamic, Developing, as well as, Southern European economies during the 1970s and 1980s (Taiwan, Korea, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Portugal, China). Two sets of questions arise from the above discussion. Firstly, like the manufacturing sector as a whole, the performance of the South Afi can Footwear subsector has been unspectacular during the 1970s and 1980s. Why has ihis been so? What is the capability of the Footwear sector to supply the domestic market and to compete internationally ie, export? What are the implications of this for industrial policy? What incentives have been supplied to support the development of this sector and how effective have they been? What incentives will be required to advance the restructuring and development of this sector? What institutions exist in support of this industry and how can these institutions be developed and extended? Secondly, as South Africa develops a more outward oriented manufacturing strategy, it will have to understand the changing nature of international markets and international competition. How have these markets changed? What is the new basis of international competitiveness? What are the implications for South Africa? The objective of this study is to attempt to answer these two sets of questions. The second set of questions will not be answered in any detail in this study, but will draw extensively on a study undertaken by the author (see Ismail, 1992). Previous attempts at developing an analyses and strategy for the industry have been inward oriented (see Van Wyk's IDC Report, 1988) and ad hoc (BTI, 1990). Whilst Sid Cohn's Strat Plan 2000 has gone furthest in developing a systemic approach to the footwear industry, his focus on subcontracting as the main (labour) cost cutting measure has only served to gloss over the underlying inefficiencies of the industry in the management of raw materials and production. We provide a brief summary and critique of these strategies below before presenting a summary of our argument.

O acesso à justiça corresponde a um dos direitos humanos fundamentais. Somente com o pleno acesso à justiça é que se garante, através da prestação jurisdicional efetiva, a observância da relevante parcela de direitos que não são observados espontaneamente pela sociedade. A sociedade e economia de massas trouxeram juntamente com seus benefícios uma série de novos conflitos, em especial os envolvendo coletividades, para os quais são insuficientes os meios processuais tradicionais, concebidos para a solução de conflitos individuais. A substituição processual é um instituto jurídico onde um sujeito diverso do titular do direito material é legitimado a ingressar em juízo, em nome próprio, pleiteando direito alheio. Apesar da conceituação básica semelhante e da mesma nomenclatura, a substituição processual civil apresenta grandes diferenças em relação à trabalhista. A substituição processual trabalhista tornaria possível que o trabalhador tenha seus interesses defendidos em juízo sem que sofra represálias por parte do empregador, permitindo o questionamento judicial ainda no curso do contrato de trabalho. Contribuiria para a redução do número de conflitos e evitaria a prolação de decisões díspares em casos semelhantes. O Supremo Tribunal Federal sinaliza pela aceitação da substituição processual trabalhista de forma irrestrita. A falta de regulamentação legal e a deficiência do modelo sindical pátrio, no entanto, impedem a aplicação ampla e segura do instituto. Dotada de um arcabouço jurídico específico e conferida somente a entidades com a devida representatividade, a substituição processual trabalhista pode constituir poderoso elemento na busca pelo incremento do acesso e efetividade da Justiça do Trabalho. / Access to justice is a fundamental human right. As a matter of fact, full access to justice is essential to guarantee, by means of effective judicial decision, the observance of rights which society as a whole does not spontaneously respect. The development of a mass economy and mass society, besides their benefits, generated a series of new conflicts, specially those emerging from collectivities, for which traditional procedural devices do not suffice, inasmuch as they were conceived for individual disputes resolution. SUBSTITUIÇÃO PROCESSUAL is a procedural device by which a party to the lawsuit is permitted to represent, by his legitimate litigation, the interests of someone who will be affected by the action´s final outcome. Despite the similarity in terminology and conceptualization with the SUBSTITUIÇÃO PROCESSUAL of civil procedural law, in labour procedural law the same device has many differences. SUBSTITUIÇÃO PROCESSUAL in labour procedural law makes possible for an employee, inclusively during the validity of the employment contract, to have his interests defended in thelawsuit without retaliation from his employer. That procedural device not only contributes to the reduction of judicial conflicts, but also prevents similar cases to be decided in opposite ways. Brazilian Supreme Court seems to widely accept SUBSTITUIÇÃO PROCESSUAL in labour procedural law. However, the lack of legal regulation and the deficiency of Brazil´s Labor Union system severely hinder the wide and reliable use of that procedural device. Provided with particular procedural framework, as well as conferred on parties with adequacy of representation, SUBSTITUIÇÃO PROCESSUAL in labour procedural law may represent a powerful way of improving the access and effectiveness of Labour Justice in Brazil.

During the first decades of the post-war era, Sweden experienced a rapid increase in labour immigration. Many of these migrants found employment in the industrial sector, where they became concentrated. This concentration varied between different industries, but was amongst the highest in the metal and engineering industries. The aim of the thesis is to explain why migrant workers were concentrated in the Swedish metal and engineering industries during the post-war period, circa 1946-67. For this aim the thesis uses case studies, one on the regional level and another at the company level, in order to investigate and differentiate between different explanations. A varied set of different direct, as well as underlying causes and circumstances have been suggested in previous research to explain this uneven distribution of migrant workers on the labour market. Different explanations arising from these perspectives have been used in prior research with some success, but they rarely confront explanations from other perspectives, thus creating different narratives driven by different circumstances, causes, processes and intentions. The ambition of this thesis has been to seek explanations for a complex and changing historical process in post-war Sweden. In order to study this, explanations from previous research have been used to find the reasons and causes behind the concentration of foreign workers in the metal and engineering industries during the post-war era. At the same time, the results of these empirical studies are used to problematize and question these established explanations. The results have led to a somewhat different picture of the circumstances and reasons that shaped the labour immigration and the distribution of foreign employees on the Swedish labour market during the post-war period. The thesis particularly stresses that the possibilities and capabilities of the employers had a significant impact on the distribution of foreign workers.