Globalisation, corporatism and workplace
change
In June, Nedlac was fortunate to be able to host internationally
renowned speaker on globalisation, Manuel Castells, Professor of
Sociology and Planning at the University of California, Berkley. He
was joined by Martin Carnoy, Professor of Education and Economics
at Stanford University.
Respondents to Professor Castells were Ebrahim Patel, General
Secretary of the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union
and Zav Rustomjee, special advisor to the Minister of Trade and
Industry, and the discussion was chaired by the Chairman of
Business South Africa, Andre Lamprecht.
In his input, Professor Castells focussed on the manifestations
of globalisation and the consequences for developing countries.
Professor Carnoy focussed on the role of the state during this era
of globalisation.
The implications of globalisation for governance formed a large
part of the evening's discussion. Professor Castells noted that
while globalisation was a force of tremendous innovation, in its
current form it also led to widening inequality in the world. He
further argued that it was essential that ways be found to harness
globalisations power to tackle the enormous poverty that continued
to characterise life for many.
Ebrahim Patel noted that trade unions continued to represent the
strongest organisation of civil society power. However, in this
period it was essential that it built links with other expressions
of civil society groupings. Further, they could no longer afford to
be solely nationally focussed but needed to take cognisance and
organise in response to developments on a global scale.
The seminar concluded that a major gap had emerged between the
expansion of the new economy and the social institutions necessary
to harness the energies of that system to ensure development. One
of the greatest challenges of globalisation for social agents was
rebuilding institutions to mirror the economic transformation that
was underway. The chairperson, Andre Lamprecht noted that the
Nedlac parties had an obligation to find creative solutions to the
challenges of this new era.
In the coming months, Nedlac's roundtable discussions will
continue to focus on the challenges of socio-economic development
in a globalised world.