>jim wrote:
>
> >Has anyone seen any study indicating that temp and part-time employment,
> >speed-ups and stretch-outs, longer hours, forced overtime and other modes
> >of extracting absolute surplus value themselves increase or multiply
>during
> >or after industrial restructuring of various kinds that aims to lower
>unit
> >labor costs.
there is one study, recently undertaken by the Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Reaserch (ACIRR), (at Sydney University) Paper no. 21. It apprently shows (and I haven't read it yet) the increase in hours worked by Australian workers, alongside inrceases in productivity. Definately in transport there has been an emphasis on cutting down time spend not actually driving/transporting. This has occured via changing timetables so that less time is spent at either terminuses, and less people are 'on call' in the depot, cutting down dead time. Machinisation has replaced other workers. THat's extra relative s-v. After the maritime dispute, apparently crane rates have been improved at one dock in Melbourne becasue movements per hour have been linked to a pay bonus - a form of basic wage plus piece rates. Whether or not the extra pay bonus leaves enough for extra relative s-v for the company I don't know - it might be more about throughput and attracting more market share in a long term kind of way than a short term profit maximising move in itself (although the workforce has been reduced in terms of overall numbers). If you want to know about the dispute or the aftermath of the dispute, see Patrick's Stevedores home page (www.patricks) or the Maritime Union of Australia's page.
Absolute s-v is being extracted, specifically after the recession of 1990-1 in Aust. bu exempting certain things out of minimum wages and conditions agreements (the Awards). THings like spread of hours are going to be exempted from the 'allowable matters' (working conditions that can be codified in industrial law). At the monment there are limits to breaks between shifts, what sort of hours shifts can rotate to, hours worked before a tea break. But in practice, although these agreements are in place, alot of people work overtime, don't take their tea breaks, eat aat their desk at lunchtime (the office workers) etc.
Total hours worked by the average person is a crude guide to ab. s-v. I'll
try and get this report and put it on the list.
>
>I can't recall any such research offhand, but there is certainly enough
>the question is really one of the changes in the proportions b/n necessary
>and surplus labour, and the historical reasons for why they have
>accompanied
>eachother in a way that they didn't, say in australia after WW2.
This is a hard question to answer. certianly at some stage workers were no longer allowed to 'slack off' at all. Down time has been a big focus of employers. THis means you cannot sit idle for one minute at work - i'm thining here specificcally of retail where they make you clean the scales or stack the shelves if the checkouts are quiet, or tying wage to outpout - piece work, sales, etc. There are all these supervisors prowling round, whose only job is to ensure surveillance and extraction of rel. s-v and absolute s-v as well ("can you stay on for anotehr 15 minutes for me?")
hazel
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