Labor internationalism and solidarity has been dominated historically by the European trade union movement. The 2008 economic crisis and the rise of emerging economies have led to a gradual reorientation of labor relations, increasing the capacity of a group of southern trade unions to influence transnational labor solidarity. This article reviews the increasing connectivity between southern trade unions, with a focus on the Southern Initiative on Globalisation and Trade Union Rights (SIGTUR), which groups confederations from the Global South, with leading unions from Brazil, Argentina, Korea, South Africa, and Australia, among others. The leading argument is that despite shortcomings, SIGTUR has the potential to revitalize labor internationalism through extending the network into articulated global actions that challenge dominant neoliberal globalization.
Este artículo analiza el desarrollo de la agenda laboral en el Mercosur a la luz de los recientes cambios en el escenario regional e internacional. La llegada de gobiernos neoliberales en países como Argentina y Brasil trajo aparejada, entre otras cosas, renovadas proclamas de mayor apertura económica y flexibilización de los esquemas de integración. A raíz de ello, las reformas en el mercado de trabajo volvieron un componente central en la reorientación del Mercosur, haciendo énfasis en la necesidad generar una inserción internacional “eficiente” y favorecer la “competitividad” de las economías del bloque.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.