Documents Jenkins, Jean 4 results

"This article draws on investigations of worker response to two factory closures to develop recent discussions around mobilization theory. With many shared characteristics between the factories, both located in the garment manufacturing sector, and with similar workforces and union organization, certain key distinguishing features between the two provide insights into why worker protest became effectively mobilized and sustained in one case but failed to materialize in the other. The findings point to the value of assigning greater weight in studies of worker mobilization to the impact of prior existing social structures within a population, and the interaction between that population, its leaders and wider society."

"This article sheds new light on neglected areas of recent ‘work-life' discussions. Drawing on a study of a largely female workforce made redundant by factory relocation, the majority subsequently finding alternative employment in a variety of work settings, the results illustrate aspects of both positive and negative spillover from work to non-work life. In addition, the findings add to the growing number of studies that highlight the conditions under which part-time working detracts from, rather than contributes to, successful work-life balance. The conclusion discusses the need for a more multi-dimensional approach to work-life issues."

'This article analyses the motivations and dynamics of union -management partnership at two manufacturing plants located in the industrial region of South Wales in the UK. Each plant was a subsidiary of an international parent corporation: one in the aluminium sector and one in autocomponents manufacture. For meaningful partnership to be achieved, it is assumed that both union and management partners engage in reciprocal elements of risk in the hope - or gamble - that mutually beneficial outcomes will be forthcoming. But this article will argue that the causal association between partnership and substantive outcomes is contested. It suggests that analysis of partnership should focus on the context in which it is found, the motivations of key actors, and the nature of reciprocal risk for labour and management, in order to gain optimum insight into modern industrial relations and illuminate the political implications for the collective representation of labour's interests in contemporary capitalist society.'

" This article critiques a case of modern prison-labour by exploring prisoners' attitudes towards the prison-work they undertake while incarcerated. The study is based at a privatised male prison in the UK, assigned the pseudonym ‘Bridgeville'. Bridgeville contracts with private-sector firms in providing market-focused prison-work – so-called real work – for inmates in some of its workshops. In exploring prisoners' perceptions of this privatised prison-work, it is found that it mainly comprises mundane, low-skilled activities typical of informalised, poor-quality jobs that are socially, legally and economically devalued and categorised as forms of ‘invisible work'. At Bridgeville, such privatised prison-work largely fails in engaging or upskilling inmates, leaving them pessimistic about its value as preparation for employment post-release. Its rehabilitative credentials are therefore questioned. The article contributes to the debate around invisible work more generally by problematising this example of excluded work and the cycle of disadvantage that underpins it."