From Employee to Homo Faber? Considerations about Union Renewal and Informal Workers in Brazil and India
Date
2014-12
Authors
Frangi, Lorenzo
Routh, Supriya
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Just Labour: A Canadian Journal of Work and Society
Abstract
For the purpose of trade union renewal, it is suggested that trade unions
need to convert themselves from being institutions centred on employeremployee
relations to open source ones engaged with broader social justice issues.
In this article, we offer two elements to the debate on trade union revival: first,
we focus on two rapidly emerging economies with a corporatist and statecentered
union structure (i.e., Brazil and India); second, in the context of these
two countries, we challenge the idea that informal workers are a burden for trade
union organizations. We consider the possible contributions that informal
workers could make towards the renewal of trade unions in these two countries.
We argue that trade unions could take advantage of these contributions if they
overcome the employee horizon, which originated in Western countries and
excludes millions of workers from its purview in Brazil and India. We propose
the concept of “homo faber” as a new horizon for trade union organization, which
is inclusive of both formal as well as informal workers.
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Citation
Frangi, L., & Routh, S. (2014). From Employee to Homo Faber? Considerations About Union Renewal and Informal Workers in Brasil and India. Just Labour.