Trade unions caught between modernisation and globalisation
Many publucations in the 1980s and 1990s analysed the crisis in the
trade unions, and some authors even predicted their demise. Such
predictions proved unrealistic. Trade unions in Germany – but
also in other European countries – have so far shown themselves
to be highly stable and effective. Yet the enormous challenges
confronting the trade unions , along with employers` organisations and
political parties, should not be underrestimated. In Jürgen
Hoffmann`s latest book, his analysis centres on two social policy
phenomena which exemplify these challenges and the important
consequences for the trade unions and their policies.
First, he investigates the extent to which, in an increasingly diverse
capitalist society, the trade unions will be able to update their
traditional notion of solidarity into a modern form of interst
representation. The improvement in working and living conditions
results not least from trade union policies, which have to a
considerable extent led to a diversification of workers` interests and
preferences and to a plurality of lifestyles and sociocultural groups.
This diversification process has contributed , among other
developments, to a haemorrhaging of trade union membership. What is
more, labour has become increasingly casualised in recent years,
affecting not only `atypical employment relationships` but to a grwing
extent also `normal employment relationships`, as is apparent from the
rise in low-skill and low-wage jobs even in tradi6tional industries. A
collectivist solidarity norm is becoming ever less capable of
encompassingall the different types of interests. J. Hoffmann therefore
advises trade unions to develop a pluralist concept of solidarity. He
sees this as the only way of reintegrations these diverse interests
into a political project which protects those at risk while at the same
time holding out the prospect of organising those who preceive the
current upheavals as an individual and social opportunity (p. 75). This
is no easy undertaking for trade unions, since as membership
organisatins they have obligations towards their members on the one
hand and, on the other, must be open to unorganised workers, both the
highly skilled beneficiaries of modernisation and the casualised, often
poorly skilled employees. Hoffmann acknowledges that the trade unions
have for some years been seeking to go down new roads, for example in
respect of collective bargaining and industrial policy. However, he is
sceptical about mergers and the emergence of multi-sector trade unions,
which in his opinion fail to address the unions` main organisational
problems and have led to a weakkening of the DGB as an umbrella
organisation.
The second main theme of this volume is an examination of the prospects
for “Rhineland capitalism” in a climate of ongoing
globalisation. In a social sense, rhineland capitalism, i.e.
coordinated market economies, is the more successful model. Whether or
not it will be able to hold its own in the long term against the
Anglo-American model of liberal market economies, which is
characterised by far greater social segmentation and inequality, is by
no means certain in J. Hoffmann`s opinion. He nevertheless continues to
companies, for example owing to a high degree of certainty about the
future in an increasingly unstable and uncertain economic environment.
Under pressure from globalisation, the different types of capitalism
are compelled to strengthen and axploit their own advantages in a
context of global competition (p. 127). This is precisely why the
Lisbon strategy is attractive to trade unions and affords them fresh
opportunities: it aims not only to turn the European Union into the
most competetive knowledge-based economic region in the world but at
the same time to promote more and better jobs, a high degree of social
chesion and environmentally sustainable development. For all the
criticism of the strategy` s implementation on the ground, its basic
approach is to strengthen the European social model amidst the global
competition between different types of capitalism.
Unlike many critics of globalisation, J. Hoffmann argues for a nuanced
appraisal and warns against exaggerating the risks of globalisation.
Referring to numerous empirical findings, he emphasises that Germany in
particular and the EU as a whole have (so far) benefited from
globalisation, and that globalisation alone cannot be held responsible
for the employment crisis in Europe. One of the author`s key points is
that, rather than being a “ leveller”, globalisation is in
fact a powerful catalyst of the economic and social change. To his
mind, the biggest dangers for coordinated market economies lie in the
new international “financial architecture” and the
assosiated shareholder value strategies, which are driven by the
capital markets and no longer attach prime importance to a company` s
long-term development or even to job creation. Good stock market
“performance”, the value of companies` shares or dividends
and the capital gains made on disposal are becoming the sole yardsticks
of business activity. This trend is accompanied by substantial changes
in companies´ corporate governance structures, where the loyalty
of management to the company is ulimately replaced by loyalty to the
financial markets (p.161).
In summary, J. Hoffmann concludes that the future development of
Rhineland capitalism – and hence of the European social model
– will be determined not just by global trends but also, and
above all, by civil society and political players. For the trade
unions, this meansnorhing other than facing the challenge head-on.
Trade union policy, as an organisational endeavour, is hugely important
to the future of the European level. These are not easy times for
Europe´s trade u8nions to bridge the gap between modernisation
and globalisation. But they will no doubt have no other option than to
address themselves actively to this task.
In: transfer, 2007/no.2, P.:320.
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