We are moving to a new website - and the second issue of 2013 has just been published !
The new website is called: www.nordicwl.com. It has a new design, where, the articles not only will be presented with the issue in which they are published, there will also be a thematic breakdown of all articles. Relevant articles can be found by searching on specific topics. Right now the content of both websites is quite identical, but soon this old website will be closed down, and if you log in to it, you will automatically be transferred to www.nordicwl.com.
Vol 3, Issue 2 is the eighth issue of the Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies. Thus we now have published two full volumes. We have found that indeed there is a need for this journal. There are an increasing number of authors who are submitting articles to us. The articles are read: Once an article has been published in one year there are between 500 and 1000 unique downloads of it. We can expect the number of readers to increase even more when the journal becomes better known.
The current issue is a product of the Nordic Working Life Conference, which was held in Elsinore, Denmark in April 2012. The conference had a stream on Work in the Public Sector. This stream has formed the basis for this issue. The next Nordic working conference will be held in June 2014 in Gothenburg, see below.
The Nordic Working Life Conferences and the journal together creates visibility, coherence and cooperation in the Nordic working life research, and thereby it is contributing to maintain and develop the characteristics of Nordic working life.
The journal is no longer hosted at Copenhagen Business School, but at Roskilde University. We have been very satisfied with the cooperation with Copenhagen Business School, but we find that it is more convenient to transfer to Roskilde University, where edition is located. Many thanks to Copenhagen Business School for the great work they have done for the journal.
Helge Hvid
Chief Editor
Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies
www.nordicwl.dk
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Special issue on Globalization and International Labor Solidarity
Trade union and working class struggles were early on based on ideas of international labor solidarity. International solidarity was understood as a necessary condition to organize, for instance to make strike actions effective. But splits in the labor movement since the first and second international and during the cold war changed concepts of unity and solidarity. In most countries trade unions were split by political, religious or cultural/national belonging. Growing employment in service, knowledge and administrative sectors has changed conditions of industrial unionism from a leading universal principle to organize unions to a rather exceptional reality. Differences in income, salaries and working conditions within nations and between North and South have been increasing during the last several decades of globalization making solidarity more urgent for labor but maybe also more difficult. The question is if the traditional concept of international labor solidarity needs to be redefined due to globalization, changes in employment or state-capital relations. Are present day solidarity questions transferred from union collectives to public welfare-state and legislation issues, nationally implementing ILO conventions or EU regulation on human rights and equal labor standards – or just considered a voluntary ethical choice for individual consumers and companies?
Internationally a discussion on possible labor reactions to neoliberal globalisation is going on, some with more optimistic views on international labor solidarity – others with more pessimistic views. A long period of deregulation, off-shoring, outsourcing, increased inequality, unemployment and lost union battles have changed conditions for labor. The current crisis causes unemployment globally and governments cut in social welfare with austerity programs. How is working life and unions affected in the North and the South, in different regions and countries to this increase in insecurity, and decrease in union influence on collective agreement, labor contracts and labor market regulation? Will eventually a revitalization of labor struggle and international solidarity come as a result of neoliberal economic policies or is labor losing ground. There have been a strong social movement labor agenda in Latin America and currently against EU austerity policies in Southern Europe. Companies have put corporate social responsibility (CSR) on their agenda. How are labor, NGOs and unions reacting and co-operating in the age of global labor market flexibility and insecurity?
This special issue on Globalization and international labor solidarity welcomes article contributions and literature reviews in all fields of labor and working life studies – history, sociology, international development, economy, political science, business studies, industrial relations etc. Below is some examples of possible themes and case-studies for articles:
- Analyses of international trade union co-operation in historical perspective, on rank and file or top organizational level.
- Union-NGO co-operation. International campaigns and solidarity movements. E.g. Clean Clothes Campaign, Asian Living Wage Alliance.
- CSR and labor solidarity. Voluntary company regulation of labor rights and employment relations (Global Compact, Nordic and EU models of CSR). Social enterprises.
- Migrant labor and trade union solidarity. Multicultural workforce, competition for work, casualization and informalization of labor.
- Women and international solidarity. Role in campaigning and organizing against discrimination.
- Labor solidarity and state regulation or de-regulation of employment relations. E.g. fair labor standards, minimum wages, new rules for social and environmental accountability.
- Different labor reactions and strategies to globalisation. E.g. union to union, European work councils, International solidarity networks, International Framework Agreements.
It will be possible to submit abstract for articles to get an editorial comment. The deadline for articles is 15. August 2013.
For this thematic issue the journal editors are assisted by associated professor Daniel Fleming, Roskilde University, professor Bernt Schiller, Goteborg University and associated professor Christer Thörnqvist, Linköping University
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