Summary

′This Fifth Edition is an indispensable tool for all those interested in keeping abreast with the developments in the world of work on a global scale′ - Peter Auer, International Labour Organisation

′By far the best and most widely used contemporary comparative industrial relations book′ - Sarosh Kuruvilla, Cornell University, USA

Earlier editions of this book have become the standard reference for a worldwide readership of students, scholars and practitioners in international agencies, governments, companies and unions. This fifth edition examines globalisation and comparative theories, including notions of convergence and of varieties of capitalism.

Chapters on employment relations in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Japan and South Korea are updated, and new chapters on China, India and Denmark are included. Experts examine the context of employment relations in each country: economic, historical, legal, social and political. They outline the roles of the major players: employers, unions and governments. They outline the processes of employment relations: local and centralised collective bargaining, arbitration and mediation, joint consultation and employee participation. Topical issues are discussed: non-unionised workplaces, novel forms of human resource management, labour law reform, employee involvement, multinational enterprises, networked organisations, differences between Asian and western companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, migrant workers, technological change, labour market flexibility and pay determination.

Choice Review

As global economic systems become more tightly integrated, workplace institutions evolve in response to competitive pressures and political movements. Union membership in the US has declined to historic postwar lows, and recent attacks on public sector unions will certainly reduce labor's influence even further. This book analyzes employment relations from an international perspective. An introductory chapter examines different theoretical approaches to the subject and proposes that a perspective based on "varieties of capitalism" offers the most promising framework. The editors group different countries according to the categories of liberal market economies, coordinated market economies, European developed economies, Asian developed economies, and Asian emerging economies. Using this rubric, various authors examine 12 different national systems. The US, UK, Canada, and Australia, for example, are designated as liberal market economies, while Germany, Denmark, and Japan are characterized as coordinated market economies, and China and India are "emerging." The chapters on China, India, and Denmark are new to this edition (4th ed., 2004; CH, Oct'04, 42-1036). Each chapter provides a historical overview of the labor relations environment, followed by a discussion of the main developments and current issues. The subject matter is important to a broad group of scholars. Overall, a useful introduction to national systems. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. R. L. Hogler Colorado State University