Labour, Globalisation & The New Economy

The Editors: György Széll is professor of sociology at the University of Osnabrück, and now also at Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo. He is co-chair of the international network Regional & Local Development of Work & Labour.
Carl-Heinrich Bösling is a social scientist and Deputy Director of the Volkshochschule Osnabrück.
Johannes Hartkemeyer is a social scientist as well and Director of the Volkshochschule Osnabrück.

The dominant form of globalisation, i.e. financial globalisation, is the biggest challenge for employees and their representations of interest. If it remains largely unregulated, not only the natural resources will be destroyed, but also social sustainability will be prevented. The negative effects of this development are first of all to be felt on the local and regional level. It is here, therefore, where counter initiatives and strategies have to start. The quality of life and working-life has not necessarily increased through globalisation and the New Economy, though the possibilities of improved communication via email and Internet were positively acknowledged. The biggest challenge is the increasing inequality on a global scale, which is produced so far by the New Economy. As education contributes to enlarge this gap, it has to be adapted to the new social needs to overcome this polarisation. The ongoing development must be reversed: Real needs demand more spending for public than for private consumption. Intermediate organisations can play a positive role in this process.

Contents : György Széll/Carl-Heinrich Bösling/Johannes Hartkemeyer: Foreword - Hans-Gert Pöttering: European Perspectives - Opening Speech - Heinz-Hermann Witte: Lower-Saxonian Perspectives - Speech - György Széll: Labour, Globalisation and The New Economy - Kevin Doogan: Job Insecurity and Long-term Employment in Europe - Yunus A. Dauda: Labour Relations in a Changing Globalised World: The ECOWAS Experience - Debi S. Saini: Labour Power in the New Economy: Perspectives in the Global and Indian Contexts - Renate Schröder: Journalism in Europe and the Global Market - Richard L. Harris: The 'New Economy', Enron, and California's Energy Crisis - Julia Rozanova: Welfare State is Dead - Long Live Welfare Corporation? The Cases of Russian Companies - Francesca Degiuli: The Development of Temporary Work in Italy: Or How Flexibility Becomes Routine - Roy Green: Structural Reform and Labour Markets in Europe: The Case of Ireland - Jan de Leede/Jan Kees Looise: Decentralisation and Individualisation of Employment Relations? The Dutch Example - Dietrich Brandt/Stefan Frank/Francesco Garibaldo/Ellen Olbertz: Initiating Knowledge Management, Learning and Innovation Processes - Experiences of the All-German Project SENEKA in its European Context - Anup Dash: The Social Economy of Self-help Groups - Liana Carleial/Maria Lucia de Figueiredo Gomes Filha/Lafaiete Santos Neves: The Role of Institutions in the Preparation of Industrial Workforce in the Automotive Sector of the State of Parana (Brazil): Limits and Possibilities - Maria Matey-Tyrowicz: The Tripartite Social Dialogue in Poland after the Law of July 2001 on the Tripartite Commission - Stephan Cludts/Olaf Fisscher/Jan Kees Looise/André Nijhof: Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility; a Self-evaluation Method of Embedding Codes of Conduct - Volker Telljohann: The European Works Councils - Levels of Interaction and Problems of Functioning - Stefan Rüb/Torsten Müller: From European to World Works Councils? The Development of World Works Councils and other Forms of Global Employee Representation in Transnational Undertakings - Heiner Köhnen: The Role of Transnational Workers' Co-operation in the Field of Codes of Conduct - Göran Brulin/Eskil Ekstedt: Forming Relations and Cluster Dynamics - Rainer Dombois/Erhard Hornberger/Jens Winter: Transnational Labour Regulation in the NAFTA - A Problem of Institutional Design? The Case of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation between the USA, Mexico and Canada - Kevin P. O'Kelly: Financial Participation: Seeking a European Consensus - Otto Jacobi: In Search of Concepts - The World Social Forum in Porto Alegre - Juan Monreal: Training, Management Culture and Regional Development - Carmina Pérez Pérez: Education/Training in the Society of Knowledge and Technological Innovation - Antônio Inácio Andrioli: Collective Labour and Education: A Study on Co-operative Experiences with Pupils in Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil - Reinhard Sliwka: Local Strategic Methods for the Integration of Migrants in Osnabrück - Juan Monreal: Politics, Economy and Society in the Era of Globalisation.