Question

Struggles of labour essay

Answer 1

In order to understand why labour movements in the global south may play a prominent role in struggles against neoliberal globalisation, this essay will first consider the nature of neoliberal reforms and the consequences they entail for organised labour.  The idea of a fatally undermined labour movement will then be problematised, and an outline of the forms of worker resistance emanating from the global south will be offered within the context of encroaching informalisation.  The characterisation of social movements as representing a particularly viable form of resistance activity to neoliberal globalisation will be considered, alongside a critical analysis of whether this really points to the usurpation of the labour movement.  Evidence of Social Movement Unionism in the global south will then be used to analyse its efficacy as a new model for labour organising, with the challenges and potential solutions to the issues highlighted sketched from wide-ranging empirical evidence.  At the core of this essay lies an emphasis on the continued vitality and importance of labour movements in struggles against neoliberal globalisation.  No illusions to an emergent counter-hegemonic movement will be offered, but analytical realism will be merged with cautious optimism in regarding the adaptive ability of labour movements in the global south as indicative of why they may continue to play a prominent role in struggles against neoliberal globalisation.