Documents Froud, Julie 3 results

"This article focuses on the changing role of trade unions in relation to ‘the foundational economy' – the infrastructures and services that provide the basis for everyday life. While such initiatives have sometimes been considered as falling beyond the traditional remit of union action, examples of trade union engagement in and for the foundational economy are historically and currently evident across countries. The article argues that these are important in the realm of trade union strategies with attempts to widen engagement and participation in broader economic issues, particularly in post-2008 economic austerity and after the pandemic and the cost-of-living crises. The article explores these issues based on the intersection between different dimensions and levels of union action."

"This Debates and Controversies contribution introduces the notion of an employment portfolio to explore how economies create combinations of employment. It is not simply the number of jobs but the factor share distributed to labour and the sectoral mix and composition that matter. Three case studies of employment portfolio (Australia, California and the UK) are used to show how previous attempts at structural reform failed to deliver sustainable employment, even though economies need to offer a portfolio of jobs as a hedge against an uncertain future. The article argues that new ideas and non-standard policies are required to help create employment of sufficient quality and quantity in the current difficult conditions."

"The unprecedented geopolitical shift resulting from Brexit reflects deep socio-economic fault lines within and beyond the UK. In many ways foreshadowing the US presidential election of Donald Trump, Brexit brought to the surface and gave a public voice to socio-economic divisions that were deeply embedded, sometimes illogical, but until now had either been ignored or hushed out of ‘respectable' public debate. This Discussion Forum emanates from a spontaneous seminar organized 2 days after the Brexit vote on June 25, 2016 as part of the SASE conference held in University of California–Berkeley and followed by an open call for papers by Socio-Economic Review. The papers here draw attention to the origins of the Brexit vote in deep-seated socio-economic divisions (O'Reilly), widening differences in economic performance across sectors and regions of the UK (Froud, Sukhdev and Williams) and the growth of poor quality jobs (Warhurst). Meanwhile, the political dynamics of the Brexit vote were also shaped by the fractured nature of UK business elites (Morgan), divisions between locals and cosmopolitans (Grey) and creative but muddled actions of elites that arguably generated consequences they themselves failed to fully anticipate (Wood and Wright). From the perspective of Europe, Brexit reflects a history of dysfunctional economic policy in Europe that prioritized market competition in ways that neglected and ultimately undermined solidarity (Boyer). Here, Brexit reflects a political strategy to both renationalize and recommodify solidarity in the face of fears over migration, and which are likely to have major consequences for social solidarity in Europe more generally (Frerichs and Sankari). However, Brexit is unlikely to provide a durable social and political solution to the wider tensions between globalization and democracy, which also affect all countries throughout Europe (Rona-Tas). Ultimately, the Brexit vote underlines social divisions that combine class inequalities with regional ones, not just in Britain but throughout Europe (Le Galès)."