LABOR DEPLOYMENT IN PLANTS IN CANADA AND SWEDEN - A 3-INDUSTRY COMPARISON

In the debates about the relationship between labour flexibility and e mployment security, the actual strategies managers employ under differ ent policy regimes tends to be overlooked. This paper examines the nat ure of deployment strategies that managers employ for their retained l abour force in production plants in Canada and Sweden in three industr ial sectors - steel, pulp and paper and telecommunications. While Cana dian managers have greater access to external markets and make greater use of layoff-recall strategies and overtime than their Swedish count erparts, deployment strategies within plants tend to require more Form al negotiations, especially within unionized plants. Swedish managers can carry out changes in labour deployment in a more informal manner, particularly with respect to job responsibilities and new skills train ing. Swedish managers face move difficulties than their Canadian count erparts in altering quantifies of labour.