Research on the labor impact of privatization usually equates the process to other types of restructuring processes, such as downsizing, mergers or acquisitions. It is argued that not unlike other restructuring processes, privatization is likely to generate organizational changes that may lead to major alterations in employment quality. Few studies, however, have investigated the labor effects of privatization and other restructuring processes in a comparative manner, especially in developing countries. The overall purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to the understanding of the labor consequences of privatization in developing countries. This objective is undertaken through an exploration of the association between privatization and other restructuring processes occurring within the Brazilian banking industry and changes in employment quality, i.e., fluctuations in wages, non-wage benefits and job security. The most basic premise guiding this study's comparative framework is that the process of privatization is likely to affect labor in unique ways, that is, generating employment quality changes unlike those occurring at other sectors undergoing alternative restructuring processes. / The sample consists of 476 respondents: employees (survivors) and ex-employees (retrenched) of public, privatized and private banks. Data were collected in 1998 by using a method of triangulation, i.e., surveys and in-depth semi-structured interviews. The principal results for this study confirm that changes in employment quality are more significant for workers associated with the privatized sector when compared to workers affiliated with other sectors of the Brazilian banking industry. Both quantitative and qualitative data for this study suggest that significant transformations in employment quality occurred as a result of privatization. It is further argued that the decline in employment quality after privatization can be conversely understood as a negative commitment on the part of Brazilian employers. This lack of commitment can be ultimately associated with a new developmental model with a particular type of economic orientation and specific form of labor organization based on flexibility.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.38168 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Chapoval, Iêda. |
| Contributors | von Eschen, Donald (advisor), Tzeng, Jessie (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Sociology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001871887, proquestno: NQ78662, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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