Work and unionism in the globalization era

Abstract

This paper analyses, by means of the approach of the New Social World-Objects (NewSWO), the impact of the globalization process on industrial relations. Traditional industrial relations systems, acting on a national scale, are currently insufficient to manage a productive activity which is getting through an accelerated process of offshoring. It is in this scenario that a new global labor system is taking shape, as a result of the interaction between the actors concerned (multinational corporations, international organizations, governments, unions and other groups of interest). Facing the new circumstances of globalization, democratic unionism attempts to transform the rethorical discourse of old internationalism into a new repertoire of practical resources able to defend labour rights globally. Those resources include new global mechanisms of self-regulation in labour relations (such as codes of conduct and international framework agreements). Although still in a minority, these mechanisms show a significant potential. The conclusions discuss the outlook for development of this emerging global labour system.