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[The article focuses] on a particular conflict in South Africa — the strike this past winter of several thousand Volkswagen workers in Uitenhage, outside of Port Elizabeth, a region known as "the Detroit of South Africa" — and [places] it within the context of a worsening material situation for most South Africans and growing political contusion and tension within the ruling "Triple Alliance" of the African National Congress (ANC), the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), and the South African Communist Party (SACP). At this moment, there is an intensifying struggle over privatization and restructuring, a pending battle between pubhc employees and the ANC-run state; and growing enmity between COSATU and the ANC, driven by dissent within COSATU affiliates, over these issues of privatization, the pay of public employees, and a call for the revisions of labour laws in place since 1994, These particular conflicts and the overall situation rest, of course, on South Africa's location within the global economy and the different ways that internal forces are responding to it. In examining these internal forces we can learn more about not only the challenges of economic globalization but also the prospects for challenging it. --From author's introduction

Managing the Multinational: An International Study of Control Mechanisms, by Anne-Wil Kathie Harzing, is reviewed.

In 1933, an American entrepreneur offered the people of St. Lawrence, a small town on the south coast of Newfoundland, the prospect of escaping rampant unemployment and meager public relief by starting a mine to extract the area's vast deposits of fluorspar, which is used in the manufacture of steel, aluminum, and various chemical products. Coming in the context of the Great Depression and the collapse of the fishing industry, the mining industry was eagerly embraced by residents of St. Lawrence and surrounding communities. Several mines were subsequently established, by both the original American company, the St. Lawrence Corporation of Newfoundland, and later by the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan). The fragile prosperity that accompanied the industry from the 1930s until closure of the last Alcan mine in 1978, however, exacted a heavy price. Many St. Lawrence workers lost their lives to industrial diseases caused by dust and radiation in the mines. -- This thesis explores the history of industry, labour, and health and safety at the St. Lawrence mines. This study focuses on the struggle by workers and their union for recognition of workplace hazards, improved working conditions, and adequate compensation for industrial disease victims and their families. The thesis argues that, rather than being passive victims of an unavoidable tragedy, workers at St. Lawrence were aware of the adverse health impacts of their work from the very early years of mining, and fought constantly over several decades to have their concerns addressed. Furthermore, the thesis argues that the disaster which ultimately unfolded at St. Lawrence was primarily the result of industry and government authorities ignoring or downplaying legitimate concerns and thereby shirking their moral and legal responsibilities.

Managing Competitive Crisis: Strategic Choice and the Reform of Workrules, by Martyn Wright, is reviewed.

The Tyranny of Work examines the institution of work from the perspective of alienated labour, a perspective that many conventional approaches to the subject have ignored or misrepresented. Completely updated to reflect current trends in the labour force and research in the field of labour studies, The Tyranny of Work begins with a thorough discussion of work as a social problem and the sources of alienation. The book then examines the development of industrial capitalism in Canada, the white-collar and blue-collar worlds, and, finally, solutions to the problem of alienated labour. All statistics and data have been updated to reflect the most current research. Information from the 2001 Census has been integrated throughout the text. The Tyranny of Work examines the institution of work from the perspective of alienated labour, a perspective that many conventional approaches to the subject have ignored or misrepresented. --Publisher's description, 5th edition (2005).Contents: 1. Work as a social problem -- 2. Alienation and its sources -- 3. Alienation and the development of industrial capitalism in Canada -- 4. Post-industrial society and white-collar worlds -- 5. Blue-collar crime -- 6. Restructuring organizations and work -- 7. Solutions to alienated labour. Includes bibliographical references (pages 218-245) and index;

The article pays homage to Marcel Pepin for his lifetime of service and commitment to the labour movement.

The article reviews the book, "Women on the Defensive: Living through Conservative Times." by Sylvia Bashevkin.

This paper consider the potential for union revival in Canada and the US. Although unions have devoted considerably energy and resources to new initiatives, the overall evidence leads to generally pessimistic conclusions. The level and direction of union density rates indicates the 2 labor movements lack the institutional frameworks and public policies to achieve sustained revival. Significant gains in union membership and density levels will require nothing less than a paradigm shift in the industrial relations systems - a broadening of the scope and depth of membership recruitment, workplace representation and political activities.

The article reviews the book, "Class Action: Reading Labor, Theory and Value," by William Corlett.

The article reviews the book, "Le temps de travail de ceux qui ne le comptent pas," by Bernhard Brunhes Consultants, edited by Danielle Kaisergruber.

New Paths in Working Time Policy, edited by jean-Yves Boulin and Reiner Hoffmann, is reviewed.

The Killing of Karen Silkwood: The Story Behind the Kerr-McGee Plutonium Case, 2nd edition, by Richard Rashke, is reviewed.

Constitutional reform dominated the Canadian public policy agenda during the 1980s and early portion of the 1990s. As a pressure group operating within a federal system, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has been unable and unwilling to confront the issue of constitutional reform. The CLC's confederal structure, combined with its political relationship with the New Democratic Party (NDP), has prevented the CLC from acting as a progressive force for positive constitutional change. Ideological and philosophical differences between the Quebec Federation of Labour and the NDP convinced the CLC to remove itself from the patriation debate in the early 1980s. Labour's short-sighted non-involvement in the process of patriating the Constitution eliminated the possibility of having collective rights enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Subsequently, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the right to strike and bargain collectively were not constitutionally protected. The Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords provided organized labour with a renewed opportunity to promote a pro-union, class-based, constitutional rights discourse, but the CLC's internal cleavages over language, region, and identity, once again, proved too powerfiil a force to overcome. The Canadian labour movement's vision of social justice and economic equality has been obstructed by its unwillingness to adequately confront divisive constitutional issues. However, in an era of rights discourse and neo-liberalism, constitutional reform may provide organized labour with the best opportunity to have its voice heard.

The article reviews the book, "A Darwinian Left: Politics, Evolution and Cooperation," by Peter Singer.

In recent years, poverty-level minimum wages have been the focus of considerable debate across the various provincial jurisdictions and at the federal level in Canada. Similar interest has been expressed in the United States as evidenced by many successful campaigns to raise the minimum wage. Some economists argue that raising the minimum wage will kill low wage jobs, hurting the very people it was intended to assist by pricing them out of the job market. Still others, primarily concerned with poverty and inequality, see raising the minimum wage as an important policy tool for eliminating poverty and promoting equality. How can the latter group engage with others so as to raise the minimum wage above the poverty line? How can they ensure that a person or family earn a decent living - what is commonly termed a “living wage”? -- Publisher's description

L’auteur livre quelques réflexions personnelles sur la spécificité de la réponse européenne à la question sociale telle qu’elle se pose aujourd’hui. Davantage qu’une émanation de la politique de l’Union européenne, il voit dans le modèle social européen un patrimoine commun aux peuples de l’Europe en matière d’emploi et de travail. Ce concept traduit une triple réalité : une régulation sociale fondée sur la concertation ; un régime élaboré de protection sociale et l’existence de services publics à finalité sociale, ainsi qu’un interventionnisme actif de l’État en matières industrielle, économique et sociale. Si ce modèle doit faire face à des critiques et à des difficultés, l’évolution semble davantage aller dans le sens de son adaptation que dans celui de sa disparition.

Globalization and Labour in the Asia Pacific Region, edited by Chris Rowley and John Benson, is reviewed.

The Quality of Work: A People-Centred Agenda, by Graham S. Lowe, is reviewed.

The article reviews the book, "Colonial Industrialization and Labor in Korea: The Onoda Cement Factory," by Soon-Won Park.

Economic Conditions and Welfare Reform, edited by Sheldon H. Danziger, is reviewed.