The State in Industrial Relations: Neoliberal Intervention or Intervening in Neoliberalism?
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The State in Industrial Relations: Neoliberal Intervention or Intervening in Neoliberalism? Zaad Mahmood1 · Supurna Banerjee2
© Indian Society of Labour Economics 2020
Abstract The literature on industrial relations highlights the gradual subordination of nationspecific IR system under conditions of globalisation. The literature, however, pays scant attention to the role of the state in IR framework, an important omission in the context of transitional economies with a legacy of state intervention. This paper examines the changing role of the state and through this seeks to theoretically conceptualise state behaviour in IR. Based on the five planks of wage determination, work and employment condition, collective bargaining, dispute resolution and welfare provision, we critically examine the role of the state and locate it in the spectrum from statist to neoliberal. The case study is based on the study of post-liberalisation West Bengal, a left governed sub-national state of India. The role of the state has multiple dimensions and cannot be subject to a singular categorisation. Keywords Industrial relations · Neoliberal · State · West Bengal · Passive labour market
1 Introduction The state has an important role in industrial relations (IR) through legal enactments and institutions that establish the context and standards of IR (Streeck and Thelen 2005). The extent and nature of state involvement in IR, however, varies according to This paper examines and conceptualises state behaviour in IR. Based on a case study of postliberalisation West Bengal, we show that state behaviour cannot be subject to any singular categorisation. While statist trends can be noted in institutional dimensions, the state exhibits neoliberalism in wage determination and bargaining. Political-ideological dynamics ensure the expansion of passive labour market activities. * Zaad Mahmood [email protected] 1
Department of Political Science, Presidency University, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata 700073, India
2
Institute of Development Studies, 27/D DD Block, Kolkata, Salt Lake 700064, India
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Vol.:(0123456789) ISLE
The Indian Journal of Labour Economics
political-economic contexts. Many states have significant involvement in collective bargaining such as Germany, Sweden, India, while states like the UK and the USA have been marked by a minor and non-decisive role in IR. The role of the state in IR has received renewed attention with the onset of globalisation as many suggest the gradual subordination of nation-specific industrial relations system to market forces under conditions of globalisation (Streeck and Wolfgang 1997; Hepple 2002; Daniels and McIlroy 2008). Literature suggests that creation of worldwide network of market (Garrett 1998; Sikdar 2004), new forms of production organisation (Piore and Sabel 1984), altered bargaining between business and other social groups (Rodrik 1997) and withdrawal of the state from the economy (Held et al. 1999) make it difficult for states to regulate and intervene in industrial relati
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