Rene Ofreneo, Melisa Serrano and Stephen Frost
Trade unions across Asia are in decline. Membership numbers have plunged and as a result unions are no longer able to effectively defend workers’ rights. The ability of workers to bargain collectively and negotiate with management over conditions of work and pay have been steadily eroded. Throughout the region there is weak enforcement of labour laws, and in some cases complete disregard. Labour standards are under threat and unions have had little success in preventing the roll-back of regulations. There are of course bright spots throughout the region where union numbers have grown and battles have been fought and won. However, in the face of changing systems of production, management, communication, and transport, unions have by and large found themselves limited in the level and extent of organising workers.
The immediate causes underlying trade union fragility can be summarised as follows:
Some of the deeper causes accounting for the weakening of the trade union movement are:
Given this brief and gloomy assessment we believe that there needs to be a whole new agenda for research into trade unions in Asia. This research should be conducted in consultation with trade unions where possible, and provide examples and models that can be copied or provide lessons. There is little usable work in each of the 12 areas below, and our call is for all activists, scholars, researchers, and writers committed to trade unions and their role in Asia to consider these broad areas as the foundations for future possible projects. Trade union leaders and members require well written, short accounts on all of these areas. Research can play an important role in developing strategies, but only if it can be used effectively and engages with issues currently concerning unions. The major gaps across the region are as follows.
We think that researchers and trade unions should – if conditions allow – determine urgent research priorities together. It is important that workers’ voices be heard, and that quality research underpins trade union strategies that reflect workers’ interests and aspirations. That there is almost no research conducted in any of the above areas relevant to the Asia-Pacific suggests also that there is almost no engagement between researchers and trade unions.
Information is crucial for trade unions to develop responses and strategies. Research that provides clear analysis of trends that impact on workers’ lives can play an important role in that process. Without solid research, trade unions – which often have limited capacity to carry out extensive research – may be unable to form a clear overview of what is happening around them. Likewise, research about workers lives that is not linked to the concerns of organisations representing them, runs the risk of making no difference in people’s lives.
By Rene Ofreneo, Melisa Serrano,3 and Stephen Frost.4
Notes
1 This is a summary of a paper presented at the fourth Asian Regional Congress of the International Industrial Relations Association, Manila, 20-22 November 2001.
2 The Washington Consensus holds that good economic performance requires liberalised trade, macro-economic stability, and getting prices right. Once the government deals with these issues (that is, once the government ‘gets out of the way’), private markets will allocate resources efficiently and generate strong growth.
3 Melissa and Rene are both from the Center for Labor Justice – School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SOLAIR), University of the Philippines.
4 Asia Monitor Resource Center, Hong Kong.
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