Trade unions in a constrained environment: workers' voices from a New Industrial Zone in India

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Date
2010Author
Abstract
Challenges to unions worldwide are often framed in a strategic tension between
enterprise unionism on one hand, and mobilisation for unions’ continued relevance
under neoliberal global capitalism on the other. However, research in a New Industrial
Zone (NIZ) in India reveals a complex picture: a variety of unions across firms
that are not always explained by existing definitions and models. Alongside political
and enterprise unions, a third dimension emerges out of new forms of grassroots
community links rooted in the living areas of workers. This paper argues for a
socio-historical institutional analysis of union–worker–firm–state relations under the
new political economy of a NIZ, with a focus on workers’ experiences and living
areas, in order to explain the varied structures and strategies of unions.
Description
The file attached to this record is the authors final peer reviewed version. The publisher's final version of record can be found by following the DOI link.
Citation : Hammer, A. (2010) Trade unions in a constrained environment: workers' voices from a New Industrial Zone in India. Industrial Relations Journal, 41 (2), pp. 168-184
ISSN : 0019-8692
Research Institute : People, Organisations and Work Institute (POWI)
Peer Reviewed : Yes