The Impact of Globalisation on Employment Relations

Although no one disputes that employment relations worldwide have been greatly affected by globalisation, no clear consensus has emerged on the nature and significance of this impact. The seven contributions to this symposium pursue a comparative approach, suggesting that direct analysis of employment relations in distinct industries in two comparably-sized economies since the advent of globalisation leads to a more precise understanding of the interaction of globalisation and employment relations, and sets a pattern for other studies to follow. The economies studied in the symposium are Australia and Korea, and the industries are automobile (and auto parts) manufacturing and retail banking. In both countries, labour unions play a key role in the way in which employers and governments react to political and economic pressures. Among the particular topics discussed by the contributors are the following: effects of the 1997 financial crisis in Korea; the extent to which the automobile industry in one country (Korea) depends on parts and raw material from another country (Australia); cross-border cooperation between unions; the growing trend toward enterprise bargaining; conciliation and arbitration of industrial disputes; and the role of government-sponsored industrial relations commissions. The contributing authors are all industrial relations authorities in Australia or Korea. The in-depth analysis they offer in these very specific areas will be of value to labour lawyers and industrial relations scholars everywhere for the light it sheds on this crucial aspect of contemporary social and economic development.