The topics of work flexibility, precarious jobs, and the relationship between work, the market and production are subjects that are widely debated in the sociological, philosophical, economic and political spheres. Yet these topics are less touched on in the tradition of pedagogical research. The intention of this book is to build a seedbed for reflection on the central position assumed by work in the lives of every woman and man, inhabitants of a planet in which the transformation of work activities is imposing radical changes on lifestyles, community-building and societies. Work is not an abstract concept, but is incorporated into every human person who does it and into the relationships linking them to others. Man, his education and human formation provide the pivot around which to perform a pedagogical survey within the universe of "work", and inside the relationship between the human condition and working/professional life. What sense does work acquire today when going to observe children, young people, adults or migrants? Namely, what sense does it assume when its pivotal viewpoint is shifted off-centre in time and space? The essays intend to spark agile but critical, synchronic and diachronic reflection which, stemming from contextual questions on the meaning of work and on change in the workplace, will proceed to investigate the subjects in their specific lives and existential conditions. Essays by: Vanna Boffo, Pietro Causarano, Giovanna Del Gobbo, Emiliano Macinai, Maria Rita Mancaniello, Stefano Oliviero and Clara Silva.

Contiene una colección de 37 artículos previamente publicados por la Revista Internacional del Trabajo. Las contribuciones están organizadas en tres partes. La primera parte "Retos políticos en un mundo de cambios" analiza algunas de las implicaciones políticas de un modelo cambiante de trabajo. La segunda parte "Calidad del trabajo, calidad de la vida" expone los diferentes aspectos de la vida del trabajo des de una perspectiva política amplia. La tercera parte consiste en una extensa colección de contribuciones agrupadas en el título "Nuevas perspectivas, nuevas ideas."

El sistema de producción capitalista requirió el trabajo como factor productivo e hizo de él el elemento de reconocimiento personal y social. Por medio de la integración en el proceso productivo, las sociedades occidentales han conocido las etapas de mayor crecimiento y distribución de la riqueza. La aparición de las nuevas tecnologías, la mundialización de la economía, la fuerza de las empresas transnacionales, con la consiguiente pérdida de poder por parte de los Estados y las economías nacionales, han dado como resultado la aplicación de medidas liberalizadoras de la economía, cuya punta de ataque es el trabajo productivo. Estamos asistiendo, no al fin del trabajo, sino a una nueva manera de estructurar la sociedad, que ha perdido los contornos de la etapa anterior. Cabe preguntarse, como lo hace el autor, cuál es el elemento de cohesión de la sociedad en este momento histórico, qué sociedad queremos construir, qué clase de reivindicaciones y luchas es preciso plantear para construir una sociedad cohesionada, qué tipo de militancia y de organizaciones requiere este presente... Reflexión, análisis y compromiso público son las herramientas que el autor propone para la cohesión social en el presente libro. La sencillez de su lectura y una pequeña guía para el debate lo hacen especialmente oportuno para grupos y colectivos ciudadanos y movimientos en la tarea de transformar un mundo violento y excluyente en un mundo apto para todos. HILARIO IBÁÑEZ MARTÍNEZ, nacido en Vega de Doña Olimpa (Palencia) en 1957, es sacerdote de la diócesis de Palencia. Actualmente trabaja en un barrio obrero de Leganés (Madrid) y es profesor de filosofía en Bachillerato. Licenciado en Teología moral por la Universidad Comillas, ha realizado estudios en el Instituto Superior de Ciencias Morales de Madrid y ha pertenecido a los movimientos apostólicos JOC y HOAC y al Secretariado Social de la diócesis palentina. Tiene varios escritos y da charlas y conferencias a grupos y movimientos en relación con la construcción europea, el futuro del trabajo y la exclusión social.

Capitalism in its modern form has become universal and has a presence in practically every country in the world, including those which once called themselves Communist. This book studies its effects on different labor markets, from those linked to highly tertiary economies (EU-27, USA and Japan, to the most productive economies, such as China, and on to economic models that are in full transition from secondary to tertiary economies, as is the case in several Latin American countries.

As unions in most other industrialized democracies continue to decline, unions in Spain have been able to regain and maintain strength despite unfavorable institutional, political, and economic conditions. The Politics of Industrial Relations provides a comprehensive analysis of Spanish unions from the Franco dictatorship until the present. It builds on industrial relations, comparative politics, and political economy literature to investigate the trajectory of Spanish unions. The book analyzes unions as political actors, that is, their interaction and involvement with governments, political parties, and nationwide policy-making processes to explain why Spanish unions appear in some ways as atypical in West European comparison. The development of Spanish unions and industrial relations is framed in a historical-institutionalist approach while also taking into account globalization and Europeanization processes. Using the case of the Spanish transition to democracy, the book demonstrates that the historical sequencing of institutional reforms in the political and industrial relations arenas holds significant and long-lasting consequences for the nature of unions and labor relations. The book concludes that by understanding unions as political actors, the history of Spanish unionism and industrial relations institutions is more easily accommodated than looking at unions as industrial actors alone. Comprehensive in its theoretical scope and empirical depth, The Politics of Industrial Relations presents Spain as an anomaly, and thus as a test case, for a multitude of theories developed in the political economy and industrial relations literatures.