Graciela Bensusán

Organizing Workers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico: The Authoritarian-Corporatist Legacy and Old Institutional Designs in a New Context

In what way do the corporatist and authoritarian legacies that modelled some Latin American labor institutions influence the opportunities for and restrictions on organizing workers in a new context? To what extent did institutional designs, together with other economic and political factors, influence the characteristics that currently distinguish the union organizations in the countries of the region? Taking into consideration the existence of a broader debate about the consequences of globalization and political democratization for unions, the contribution of historical institutionalism and previous research, in this Article I compare the institutional and organizational dynamics of unions in four countries with authoritarian legacies and corporatist traditions (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico). The Article argues that in spite of these shared traditions, the differences in the institutional designs — which have scarcely been considered in the specialized literature — have historically imposed distinctive features on the associational power of workers and unions. These features not only persist to the present day, but also translate into dissimilar trajectories of the labor movement and opportunities for organizing workers in the last decade.

Labour relations policies in multinational companies: A three-country study of power dynamics:

It is generally assumed that multinational companies will, to some extent at least, adapt their practices to host country environments. However, recent work suggests that this process of adaptation is yet more complex and uneven. It is our contention that subsidiary policy on labour relations is not simply the product of adaptation from and to home and host institutional environments but is in fact shaped by the multiple power relations that characterize multinational company subsidiaries. This three country comparison between Argentina, Canada, and Mexico shows that a policy of strong engagement with trade unions requires the presence of actors that can mobilize power resources. It is when both management and workers have power resources that subsidiaries are more likely to develop a policy of strong engagement with trade unions.

Relaciones laborales en Chihuahua: un caso de abatimiento artificial de los salarios

Institutional factors preventing economic and productivity growth from leading to better wages in the maquiladora industry are examined in this paper. Taking the case of Chihuahua as a starting point, it shows the need to adopt new politics and develop institutions and organizations promoting new competitive advantages and fostering a fare share of the benefits generated by trade liberalization, foreign investment and flexibilization in labour relations

Labour law, inclusive development and equality in Latin America

This book is an exploration of arguments about the economic and social effects of the regulation of labour, and whether it is likely to be helpful or harmful to development. Authored by contributors from a variety of fields, primarily legal as well as development studies, economics and regulatory studies, the book presents both empirical and theoretical analyses of the issues. With authors from several continents, this collection is unique in that it focuses on labour regulation in poor and middle-income countries rather than industrialised ones, therefore making it a significant contribution to the field.

Democracia sindical y capacidad estratégica: entre las reformas económicas y la transición política

The market-oriented reforms adopted in several Latin American countries during the last two decades have dramatically changed the context in which they were operating unions. One of the most significant changes was the smallest margin of maneuver for governments to define their internal policies and keep old commitments to workers, characteristic of systems dominant in some countries of the region cut corporate labor relations. the result was the growing imbalance in the bargaining power of labor and capital, which resulted in a inequitable distribution of costs and benefits of economic change.