TRADE-UNIONS AND NETWORKING IN THE CONTEXT OF CHANGE - EVALUATING THEOUTCOMES OF DECENTRALIZATION IN INDUSTRIAL-RELATIONS

This article addresses the fatalistic approach to trade unions in an e ra of supposedly decentralized production methods and in the context o f the new wave of managerial practices in the workplace. An alternativ e thesis is presented, portraying the responses trade unions are makin g with regard to these developments in the form of networking. The aut hors argue that the evolution of these formal and informal networks wi thin the labour movement, and in particular the political orientations of the actors involved in such networks, will ultimately condition ma nagerial initiatives and the eventual outcomes of contemporary develop ments in the structure of production. The article points to the need t o study such points of cooperation in such a way that their organizati onal dynamics, their political context and their contradictory develop ments are appreciated.