"As industrialisation expands at a rapid pace with emphasis on profit maximisation, conflict between management and workers is inevitably on the rise. And for workers who have no control over means of production, collective bargaining has always played the key strategy in safeguarding the workers' interest as versus to that of management In many developing countries especially where industrialisation takes place, the countries' mode of production carries similar features to the United States?so called Fordism, neo-Fordism and post-Fordism. Such approaches emerged out of the scientific management theory known as Taylorism. The aim of this paper is to discussthe role of trade unionism under Fordism, neo-Fordism, and post-Fordism. It attempts to provide clarifications on the paradigms, the labour process and more importantly, the role of trade unions under each paradigm.
Under Fordism, trade unions are more concerned with defending interest of the members, unions are perceived as confrontative forces in their attempts to protect jobs, as well as to ensure improvement of working conditions and substantial increase in wages. Under neo fordism, there are two dimensions of union role: One is that trade unions remain the defensive rote as that under Fordism. Not understanding, if trade unions facing challenges brought by technological change, and instead of trying to resist the change but perceiving the positive side of it, then they play the co-operative role. Contrasted to that suggested by Fordism and neo-Fordism, the post-Fordists see no other ways out for trade unions to remain their influence unless they completely change their view and belief concerning the struggle against the bosses, and that they adopt the new technology, and impose a certain kind of work organisation. The post-Fordists argue that with this method, the common interests between unions and management can be protected.
It is worth noting that the Fordist, neo-Fordist and post-Foidist paradigms co-exist, and sometimes even in the same product market. The shift from Fordism to neo-Fordism and post-Fordism imposes greater challenges to trade unions as labour relations is forged to transform itself; and hence, challenges and obstacles facing trade unions are even greater and more difficult to tackle once they enter into post-Fordism paradigm.
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