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Discusses the papers on the labour history of Australia and Canada presented in the volume. Argues that more attention should have been paid to the factors that enabled union incorporation in Australia half a century in advance of Canada as well as to the labour aspects of both countries' export economies. Compares the Argentinean experience (the author is a Latin America specialist) with that of Canada and Australia. Concludes that, in the era of the neoliberal new world order, comparative studies like these are valuable since the labour movement is vital to the health of democracy.

Cet article examine le fonctionnement de quelque dix-sept comités paritaires de formation professionnelle mis en place aux niveaux local et sectoriel au Québec. La question posée est de savoir si de tels comités paritaires participent d'une évolution des relations du travail davantage axées sur la coopération dans un domaine, celui de la formation de la main-d’œuvre, normalement exclu du champ de la négociation collective ? Si la réponse est positive en ce qui concerne les comités sectoriels, au niveau des comités locaux les résultats de l'étude dégagent plutôt trois figures de relations du travail dont la plus importante demeure celle de relations mixtes faites à la fois de coopération et de conflit.

Describes the 10,000 pages of primary resources on the Mackenzie~Papineau Battalion dating from the Spanish Civil War (1936-38) and the 22,000 pages of materials on the Communist Party of Canada , the Comintern, and other internationals from the 1920s and 30s on microfilm at the Public Archives of Canada. The documents, which are mostly in English, were acquired in 1994-95 from the Russian Centre for the Preservation and Study of Records of Contemporary History, which preserves the archives of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The organization follows the original structure and description of the fonds; subdivisions of records are identified, each with a separate file list. Included in the trove are eight substantial files, about 1,200 peges in all, on union activity and labour in Canada and Soviet-Canadian relations during the years 1943-1979. Concludes by noting that, had the Public Archives the funds, there are far more resources on the Canadian left and Soviet-Canadian relations that could be acquired from Moscow.

The article reviews the book "Taylored Lives: Narrative Productions in the Age of Taylor, Veblen and Ford," Martha Banta.

The aim of this paper is to identify and explain the main differences in the structures and strategies of the national union movements in Australia and Canada during the 20th century. Parallel historical narratives reveal that the differences between the two union movements ebbed and waned. They were most similar to each other in the 19th century and after the 1960s, while there was more convincing evidence of divergence in the intermediate period. Following Ross Martin, the explanation offered for these trends emphasises the relationships between unions, political parties and the state. The earlier growth of mass unionism and the political strategies adopted in Australia after their defeats in the 1890s produced more sympathetic state policies (specifically compulsory arbitration from around the turn of the century), which allowed Australian unions to prosper in ways which Canadian unions did not begin to enjoy until the 1940s. At the same time, differences in the types of state policies in the two countries subsequently affected both the structure of unions, Canadian unions being more fragmented at national level than their Australian counterparts, and the strategies they employed, Canadian unions relying more on decentralized collective bargaining compared to the more centralized arbitration approach of Australian unions.

Les auteurs tentent, à partir des résultats d'une recherche présentés dans un article récent de la revue, d'expliquer pourquoi la conciliation volontaire n'est pas plus efficace que la conciliation obligatoire. La comparaison des objectifs, des comportements et des tactiques adoptés par les parties dans chacun des régimes fait ressortir des conclusions inattendues. Parmi celles-ci, les deux plus surprenantes sont les suivantes. Tout d'abord le changement de régime légal exerce une influence sur le comportement des parties non pas durant le processus mais au moment de son enclenchement. Ensuite il a engendré certains effets contre-productifs sur l'efficacité du processus par rapport au but visé par le législateur.

The article reviews the book, "La vie dans les organisations: des indicateurs de succès," by Roch Laflamme.

A paper discusses hours of rest for Canadian shipping employees on the basis of statutory regulations, the research literature, and consultations with representatives of the shipping industry during 4 workshops held in different parts of Canada. Topics include analyses of current regulations, operational practices and research on work and rest and on time of day and rest, and recommendations for change. The analyses found that current regulations do not distinguish between sleep and recreation during rest periods and fail to take into account time of day effects in relation to quality of sleep. The proposed changes in the regulations require the use of non-rotating 24-hour duty schedules providing for minimum rest periods and maximum work periods.

The article reviews the book "Hope and Deception in Conception Bay: Merchant-Settler Relations in Newfoundland 1785-1855," by Sean T. Cadigan.

Introduces Pritchard's unpublished memoir of his speaking tour of rural Alberta on behalf of the avowedly Marxist Socialist Party of Canada during the bitterly cold winter of 1915-16.

Shortly after its formation in 1949, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) became hamstrung by disagreements over cold war issues. General Secretary Oldeubroek's caution was criticized by the Americans, and Charles Millard, Canadian Director of the Steelworkers, was appointed Regional Director, a post established to counterbalance Oldenbroek's influence and to revitalise the organization. However, Millard's zeal was insufficient to compensate for his shortage of international experience, and lack of guile left him vulnerable to opponents among the movement's power brokers. At odds with both the American and British union leaderships, he resigned in 1961, a victim of the constraints placed on labour internationalism by the Cold War.

A study reports on personnel practices in unions operating in Canada. The analysis is based on survey data collected from a representative sample of 60 labor organizations. The findings indicate that for the overall sample, formal, written personnel policies are the exception and not the rule in Canadian unions. The data also reveal, however, that personnel practices are conducted on a more formal, sophisticated basis for Canadian unions with over 50,000 members. The results confirm findings of an earlier study of US unions that there is a relationship between size and sophistication of administrative practices in at least this one area. The "economy of scale" effect has important ramifications for the efficient operation of unions and for the future structure of the labor movement in North America.

Review of: Marie Guillot de l'émancipation des femmes à celle du syndicalisme by Slava Liszek.

The article reviews the book "Forging Industrial Policy: The United States, Britain and France in The Railway Age," by Frank Dobbin.

Research deals with recent innovations in cooperative forms of collective bargaining. The wide range of highly cooperative approaches to negotiations are reviewed. A fairly comprehensive model is presented which is termed "target-specific bargaining." The research also examines some of the cross-cultural implications associated with applying the new forms of bargaining outside the North American context in 2 very different countries, Poland and South Africa.

The article reviews the book, "Playing for Dollars: Labor Relations and the Sports Business," 3rd edition, by Paul D. Staudohar.

The Employment Relationship in Australia by Tom Keenoy and Di Kelly is reviewed.

Planning is fundamental to all organizations, including unions. A study presents a research framework and discusses future directions of academic research into union planning. The researchers' findings indicate that union planning is manifested in various forms. Further, the researchers propose that to capture that phenomenon adequately, researchers must approach it from a "union context," rather than building solely upon a management, economics or business policy framework.