Routledge Rethinking the Labour Movement in the 'New South Africa' (Routledge Revivals)

Title first published in 2003. In recognition of the power of organised labour, the ANC Government elected in 1994 granted South Africa's unions unprecedented legal and constitutional rights. Despite these gains, the country's unions have faced a fresh set of challenges, many of them emanating from their political allies in Government. From Parliament to the factory floor, South Africa's unions are now confronted with threats as dangerous as those they confronted when organising illegally in the heyday of apartheid. The purpose of this book is to examine how South African unions have responded and how well prepared they are to meet the challenges that confront them in the new millennium. Review 'Bramble and Barchiesi have gathered the toughest contemporary critiques and auto-critiques of the South African labour movement, and contextualised these in a manner that no scholar or activist interested in post-apartheid political economy dare ignore. It's a remarkable collection, which takes forward our knowledge in many ways, and with great eloquence, depth and passion.' Professor Patrick Bond, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa 'This book brings together an excellent collection of critical appraisals of the labour movement in the new South Africa. It is a timely collection, since the organised labour movement is currently at a crossroads in making important policy decisions regarding its future relationships with a government committed to neoliberal economic policies.' Professor Martin J. Murray, State University of New York at Binghamton, USA 'Ranging over theoretical, historical, contemporary and strategic issues, this is the single most important contribution to an understanding of the trajectory of the South African labour movement.' Professor Ben Fine, SOAS, University of London, UK '...a powerful and important new book that begins to fill a gap in the literature on South Africa's transition and on the role of organised labour within this process. This is a comprehensive and compelling volume tha is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the changing and challenging role that the labour movement is playing in the ost-apartheid political dispensation.' Labour & Industry About the Author Tom Bramble is Senior Lecturer in Industrial Relations at the School of Business, University of Queensland. Franco Barchiesi is Researcher and Lecturer in the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Bologna.