Globalising economy, localising labour

Theses:

• The gradual spread of market principles has led to wide inter-regional and inter-sectoral differences in the levels of economic activity. This has resulted in considerable variation in the nature of labour-management relations
• Consequently, an erstwhile 'national' IR system has given way to many 'local' IR systems. This phenomena emphasises the 'local' and the 'specific' in terms of sectors and regions/cities in the IR landscape, and a gradual decline in the national

Policy recommendation:

• An artificial attempt on the part of the central government to exogenously impose an anachronistic 'national' IR system, without the necessary level of consensus among the relevant parties, will probably be resisted and is likely to be unsuccessful

Political and economic predictions:

• Struggles over labouring conditions are like to be fought at the regional and local level
• Trade unions will be obliged to develop intimate links with an array of regional and local actors
• The phenomena of IR localisation will require 'public action', necessitating alliances between organised labour movements and other subaltern groups