Suchergebnisse

This article uses framing theory to examine how activists and trade unions have framed labour's political agenda in Malaysia. A polity grounded in ethnicity continues to hinder the formation of cross-ethnic collective worker identities and labour politics. However, inclusive popular democratising movements have strengthened in recent years, providing a favourable context for greater emphasis on non-ethnic political action by trade unions. The latter have shifted in this direction, adopting elements of the popular movement's 'human rights' internationalism. Thus, the democratic movement's frame has influenced that of the trade unions, with implications for framing theory.

We reflect upon Malaysian labour's efforts in advocating reform. Its actions to focus political attention on labour issues at the 2013 general election are analysed. Although the election presented a rare opportunity for labour to bring workers' issues to centre stage, it did not do so. Piven's theory of "interdependent" power provides a useful lens through which labour's failure can be analysed. Reflections regarding the utility of the theory for social movements in non-liberal contexts are offered.

We reflect upon Malaysian labour's efforts in advocating reform. Its actions to focus political attention on labour issues at the 2013 general election are analysed. Although the election presented a rare opportunity for labour to bring workers' issues to centre stage, it did not do so. Piven's theory of "interdependent" power provides a useful lens through which labour's failure can be analysed. We show the enormous challenges preventing Malaysian labour from activating "interdependent" power. Critically, the state has systematically maintained artificial distinctions to divide working people from each other and fragment them as a class. The use of state force to crush opposition elements and its employment of highly discriminatory industrialisation policies have additionally militated against labour's efforts to mobilise as a class to secure reform. Piven's theory likely has limited applicability in these authoritarian and non-liberal contexts.

We examine trends in investment in personnel in Belarussian enterprises and the impact they have on companies' capacity to attract FDI and modernise. Others have argued in favour of the economy's robust fundamentals, using macro-level data. They have suggested that Belarussian industry has attracted considerable FDI, due in part to high investment in human capital. Our findings, based on micro-level data from Belarussian enterprises in 2009–2014, demonstrate that investments in personnel have decreased since the global financial crisis and are suboptimal, reducing industry's capacity to attract and retain FDI. Management has limited ability and inclination to address these problems, due to government pressure. We conclude that the model may be becoming less sustainable as a result.