ERROR: Account closed.

James L Westrich II westrich at miser.umass.edu
Wed Jun 2 05:24:55 PDT 1999



>>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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