Cut from a different cloth: Employee relations, job design and control of the labour process in Nordic-owned garment factories in the Baltic States

Call for Papers: Hierarchies of domesticity – spatial and social boundaries. Deadline for submissions is 30^th September, 2024. Full details can be read here.

Articles to be no longer than 6,000 words (excluding footnotes and bibliography) and submitted in two forms: an anonymised version in which all references to the authors’ institution and publications are omitted; and a full version including the authors’ titles and institutional affiliations. For complete instructions on style, formatting, etc., please consult: https://www.plutojournals.com/wp-content/uploads/WOLG-Instructions-for-Authors2023.pdf

scite_

Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Volume 4, Issue 1

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Cut from a different cloth: Employee relations, job design and control of the labour process in Nordic-owned garment factories in the Baltic States

research-article

Author(s): Markku Sippola

Publication date (Print): Spring 2010

Journal: Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Bookmark

Abstract

This paper focuses on labour market segmentation between the Nordic and Baltic parts of the production process. The Baltic segment of the Nordic clothing firms' value chain is examined through an analysis of employee relations, work design and control over the labour process. Although the Nordic mode of the labour process is not analysed in this study, it is regarded as mirroring the general features of the ‘Nordic regime’ with high wages, decent working conditions and a relatively high degree of worker autonomy and control over the labour process. The study draws on interview data gained from three small or medium-sized garment factories, located in post-Soviet Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). The headquarters of these three subsidiary firms are located in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The findings imply that the labour process in the Baltic garment industry has been easily ‘locked in’ to a downgraded position — both relatively, compared to that of Nordic countries, and absolutely, in real terms. This suggests that Nordic manufacturers opt for a ‘low road’ to investment and labour management in the Baltic subsidiaries even whilst following a ‘high road’ path at home.

Content

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169

Journal ID (publisher-id): workorgalaboglob

Title: Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 1745641X

ISSN (Electronic): 17456428

Publication date (Print): Spring 2010

Volume: 4

Issue: 1

Pages: 71-83

Article

Publisher ID: workorgalaboglob.4.1.0071

DOI: 10.13169/workorgalaboglob.4.1.0071

SO-VID: 6131f0ce-b87d-4839-96ef-dc88cbe5f5f5

License:

All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

ScienceOpen disciplines: Sociology,Labor law,Political science,Labor & Demographic economics,Political economics

References

Amable, B. (2003) The Diversity of Modern Capitalism , Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Antila, J. & P. Ylöstalo (2003) Working Life Barometer in the Baltic Countries, 2002 , Helsinki: Finnish Ministry of Labour
Bluhm, K. (2001) ‘Exporting or Abandoning the ‘German Model’?: Labour Policies of German Manufacturing Firms in Central Europe’, European Journal of Industrial Relations 7(2):153–173
Burawoy, M. (1979) Manufacturing Consent: Changes in the Labor Process under Monopoly Capitalism , Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Burawoy, M. (1985) The Politics of Production , London: Verso
Cough, J. (1996) ‘Not flexible accumulation – contradictions of value in contemporary economic geography: 1. Workplace and interfirm relations’, Environment and Planning A 28:2063–2079
Dörrenbächer, C. & J. Gammelgaard (2004) ‘Subsidiary Upgrading? Strategic Inertia in the Development of German-owned Subsidiaries in Hungary’, CKG Working Paper No. 8
Eamets, R., R. Raal & J. Masso (2005) ‘Estonia: Towards a Rather Mixed World of Work’, D. Waughan-Whitehead (ed), Working and Employment Conditions in New EU Member States: Convergence or Diversity? Geneva: ILO Publications: 99–160
Edwards, P. K. & H. Scullion (1982) The Social Organization of Industrial Conflict. Control and Resistance in the Workplace , Oxford: Basil Blackwell
Eliasson, K. & M. Johansson (1994) ‘Labour force as a location factor and the new spatial division of production’, in H. Ćwikliński and J. W. Owsiński (eds), Nordic-Baltic Europe is Restructuring: Looking for the Integration Fits , Warsaw: The Interfaces Institute
Fröbel, F., J. Heinrichs & O. Kreye (1980) The new international division of labour:Studies in modern capitalism , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Hall, P. A. & D. Soskice (2001) ‘An Introduction to Varieties of Capitalism’, PA Hall & D Soskice (eds) Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage , New York: Oxford University Press:1–68
Hartley, J. F. (1994) ‘Case Studies in Organizational Research’, in C. Cassell & G. Symon, Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research: A Practical Guide , London: SAGE Publications: 208–229.
Hazans, M. (2005) ‘Latvia: Working Too Hard?’, D. Waughan-Whitehead (ed), Working and Employment Conditions in New EU Member States: Convergence or Diversity? Geneva: ILO Publications:161–212
Heliste, P., R. Kosonen & M. Mattila, (2007) Suomalaisyritykset Baltiassa tänään ja huomenna: Liiketoimintanormien ja –käytäntöjen kehityksestä , Helsingin Kauppakorkeakoulun julkaisuja B-81
Kallaste, E. & K. Jaakson, K. (2005) Töötajate kaasamine Eestis: Juhtimisuuringutele põhinev analüüs , ETTK / PRAXIS, Tallinn
Kasvio, A. (1985) Teollisen tuotannon kansainvälistyminen ja uusi kansainvälinen työnjako . Sarja D 75/1985, Yhteiskuntatieteiden tutkimuslaitos. Tampereen yliopisto
Lane, T. (2002) ‘Lithuania: stepping westward’, D. J. Smith, A. Pabriks, A. Purs & T. Lane (eds.), The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania , London: Routledge
Milberg, W. (2004) The changing structure of international trade linked to global production systems: what are the policy implications? Working Paper No. 33, Policy Integration Department, World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, Geneva: International Labour Office
Milkman, R. (1998) ‘The New American Workplace: High Road or Low Road?’, P. Thompson & C. Warhurst (eds) Workplaces of the Future: Critical Perspectives on Work and Organisations , Basingstoke: MacMillan Business:25–39
Nikula, J. (1997), From State-Dependency to Genuine Worker Movement? The Working Class in Socialism and Post-Socialism , Academic dissertation, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tampere
Nissinen, M. (1999) ‘Latvia's Transition to a Market Economy: Political Determinants of Economic Reform Policy’, Studies in Russia and East Europe , School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London, London: Macmillan
Piispa, L. (1998) ‘Taylorismi ja joustavuus työn organisoinnin periaatteina – yhteistyön puitteet’, T. Heiskanen, R. Lavikka, L. Piispa & P. Tuuli (eds.) Joustamisen monet muodot. Pukineteollisuus etsimässä tietä huomiseen , Sarja T-julkaisuja, Työelämän tutkimuskeskus 17, Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto,
Piore, M. & C. Sabel (1984) The Second Industrial Divide , New York: Basic Books
Ryner, J. M. (2002) Capitalist Restructuring, Globalisation and the Third Way: Lessons from the Swedish model , London: Routledge RIPE Studies in Global Political Economy
Scase, R. (2003) ‘Employment Relations in Small Firms’, P. Edwards (ed.) Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice , 2nd edition, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing
Schiller, B. (1993) ‘The Future of the Nordic Model of Labour Relations’, in B. Schiller, H. Ågotnes, N. Bruun, R. Nielsen & D. Töllborg (eds) The Future of the Nordic Model of Labour Relations - three Reports on Internalization and Industrial Relations , Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers, Nord 1993:36
Thompson, P. (1983) The Nature of Work: An Introduction to the Debates on the Labour Process . London: MacMillan
Whitley, R. (1995) ‘Transformation and Change in Europe: Critical Themes’, E. J. Dittrich, G. Schmidt & R. Whitley (eds) Industrial Transformation in Europe , London: Sage
Whitley, R. (1999) Divergent Capitalism: The Social Structuring and Change of Business Systems , Oxford: Oxford University Press
Woolfson, C. (2007) ‘Labour Standards and Migration in the New Europe: Post-Communist Legacies and Perspectives’, European Journal of Industrial Relations 13(2):199–218

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Amable, B. (2003) The Diversity of Modern Capitalism , Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[2] Antila, J. & P. Ylöstalo (2003) Working Life Barometer in the Baltic Countries, 2002 , Helsinki: Finnish Ministry of Labour

[3] Bluhm, K. (2001) ‘Exporting or Abandoning the ‘German Model’?: Labour Policies of German Manufacturing Firms in Central Europe’, European Journal of Industrial Relations 7(2):153–173

[4] Burawoy, M. (1979) Manufacturing Consent: Changes in the Labor Process under Monopoly Capitalism , Chicago: University of Chicago Press

[5] Burawoy, M. (1985) The Politics of Production , London: Verso

[6] Cough, J. (1996) ‘Not flexible accumulation – contradictions of value in contemporary economic geography: 1. Workplace and interfirm relations’, Environment and Planning A 28:2063–2079

[7] Dörrenbächer, C. & J. Gammelgaard (2004) ‘Subsidiary Upgrading? Strategic Inertia in the Development of German-owned Subsidiaries in Hungary’, CKG Working Paper No. 8

[8] Eamets, R., R. Raal & J. Masso (2005) ‘Estonia: Towards a Rather Mixed World of Work’, D. Waughan-Whitehead (ed), Working and Employment Conditions in New EU Member States: Convergence or Diversity? Geneva: ILO Publications: 99–160

[9] Edwards, P. K. & H. Scullion (1982) The Social Organization of Industrial Conflict. Control and Resistance in the Workplace , Oxford: Basil Blackwell

[10] Eliasson, K. & M. Johansson (1994) ‘Labour force as a location factor and the new spatial division of production’, in H. Ćwikliński and J. W. Owsiński (eds), Nordic-Baltic Europe is Restructuring: Looking for the Integration Fits , Warsaw: The Interfaces Institute

[11] Fröbel, F., J. Heinrichs & O. Kreye (1980) The new international division of labour:Studies in modern capitalism , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

[12] Hall, P. A. & D. Soskice (2001) ‘An Introduction to Varieties of Capitalism’, PA Hall & D Soskice (eds) Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage , New York: Oxford University Press:1–68

[13] Hartley, J. F. (1994) ‘Case Studies in Organizational Research’, in C. Cassell & G. Symon, Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research: A Practical Guide , London: SAGE Publications: 208–229.

[14] Hazans, M. (2005) ‘Latvia: Working Too Hard?’, D. Waughan-Whitehead (ed), Working and Employment Conditions in New EU Member States: Convergence or Diversity? Geneva: ILO Publications:161–212

[15] Heliste, P., R. Kosonen & M. Mattila, (2007) Suomalaisyritykset Baltiassa tänään ja huomenna: Liiketoimintanormien ja –käytäntöjen kehityksestä , Helsingin Kauppakorkeakoulun julkaisuja B-81

[16] Kallaste, E. & K. Jaakson, K. (2005) Töötajate kaasamine Eestis: Juhtimisuuringutele põhinev analüüs , ETTK / PRAXIS, Tallinn

[17] Kasvio, A. (1985) Teollisen tuotannon kansainvälistyminen ja uusi kansainvälinen työnjako . Sarja D 75/1985, Yhteiskuntatieteiden tutkimuslaitos. Tampereen yliopisto

[18] Lane, T. (2002) ‘Lithuania: stepping westward’, D. J. Smith, A. Pabriks, A. Purs & T. Lane (eds.), The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania , London: Routledge

[19] Milberg, W. (2004) The changing structure of international trade linked to global production systems: what are the policy implications? Working Paper No. 33, Policy Integration Department, World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, Geneva: International Labour Office

[20] Milkman, R. (1998) ‘The New American Workplace: High Road or Low Road?’, P. Thompson & C. Warhurst (eds) Workplaces of the Future: Critical Perspectives on Work and Organisations , Basingstoke: MacMillan Business:25–39

[21] Nikula, J. (1997), From State-Dependency to Genuine Worker Movement? The Working Class in Socialism and Post-Socialism , Academic dissertation, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tampere

[22] Nissinen, M. (1999) ‘Latvia's Transition to a Market Economy: Political Determinants of Economic Reform Policy’, Studies in Russia and East Europe , School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London, London: Macmillan

[23] Piispa, L. (1998) ‘Taylorismi ja joustavuus työn organisoinnin periaatteina – yhteistyön puitteet’, T. Heiskanen, R. Lavikka, L. Piispa & P. Tuuli (eds.) Joustamisen monet muodot. Pukineteollisuus etsimässä tietä huomiseen , Sarja T-julkaisuja, Työelämän tutkimuskeskus 17, Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto,

[24] Piore, M. & C. Sabel (1984) The Second Industrial Divide , New York: Basic Books

[25] Ryner, J. M. (2002) Capitalist Restructuring, Globalisation and the Third Way: Lessons from the Swedish model , London: Routledge RIPE Studies in Global Political Economy

[26] Scase, R. (2003) ‘Employment Relations in Small Firms’, P. Edwards (ed.) Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice , 2nd edition, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing

[27] Schiller, B. (1993) ‘The Future of the Nordic Model of Labour Relations’, in B. Schiller, H. Ågotnes, N. Bruun, R. Nielsen & D. Töllborg (eds) The Future of the Nordic Model of Labour Relations - three Reports on Internalization and Industrial Relations , Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers, Nord 1993:36

[28] Thompson, P. (1983) The Nature of Work: An Introduction to the Debates on the Labour Process . London: MacMillan

[29] Whitley, R. (1995) ‘Transformation and Change in Europe: Critical Themes’, E. J. Dittrich, G. Schmidt & R. Whitley (eds) Industrial Transformation in Europe , London: Sage

[30] Whitley, R. (1999) Divergent Capitalism: The Social Structuring and Change of Business Systems , Oxford: Oxford University Press

[31] Woolfson, C. (2007) ‘Labour Standards and Migration in the New Europe: Post-Communist Legacies and Perspectives’, European Journal of Industrial Relations 13(2):199–218