Markku Kivinen

The New Middle Classes and the Labour Process

Starting from a critical evaluation of earlier work, this article proposes a new kind of Marxist theory on the new middle classes. The centre-piece of this new theory is the analysis of different forms of mental work, which are outlined on the basis of power resources and strategies at the level of ’politics of production’. This means that class criteria are derived from an analysis of the processes of class relations. The theory is illustrated by an empirical analysis of the class situation of Finnish wage-earners, in which it is concluded that a distinction must be made between the core and marginal groups of

THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM AND THE WORK SITUATION: A COMPARISON OF FINLAND AND ESTONIA

The article compares the work situations of five occupational groups in Finland and Estonia: industrial workers, clerical employees, technicians, teachers and managers. The main concern is with the structuration of the work situation, of which four aspects are given central attention: 1) objective characteristics, 2) the reproduction situation, 3) the nature of work, and 4) developmental aspects of work and the subjective experiences of qualification requirements. The main differences between the two countries are summarised as follows: 1) Wage differentials between occupational groups are greater in Finland than in Estonia. The differences between genders are greater in Estonia. In Estonia relative incomes are highest among industrial workers, in Finland among managers. 2) In all occupational groups Estonian workers have a higher educational level than colleagues in Finland. 3) All occupational groups experience more mental and physical stress in Finland than in Estonia. 4) Finnish managers have more decision-making authority than their Estonian colleagues, but Estonian workers have supervisory and task authority more often than do Finnish workers.