The World of Work, the Restructuring of Production, and Challenges to Trade Unionism and Social Struggles in Brazil

Abstract

It was apparent by the end of the 1970s, in the countries where capitalism was most advanced, that it was undergoing a structural crisis, one entailing profound changes in the world of work, how it fitted into the structure of production, and how it was represented on the trade-union level and politically. To try to overcome its crisis, capital looked for new responses. So profound were the consequent changes in capitalist labor and production processes that one could fairly say that the working class was experiencing its most acute crisis of this century, one that did not merely concern its material conditions but had implications for its fundamental character. The period has been one of great technological leaps forward. Automation and robotics have invaded the universe of manufacturing to become a factor of growing importance in capitalist work relations and production. We are undergoing, in the area of production, a range of experiences of varying degrees of severity and potential for development. Fordism-Taylorism' is no longer the only system of production. Other methods are now being added or have even sometimes replaced it, as the Japanese experience illustrates. New work patterns have emerged in which the stopwatch and the assembly line have been replaced by flexible production, new ways of furthering productivity, and new ways of adapting production to the logic of the market. Attempts are being made to break down the manufacturing process. New patterns of managing the workforce are being introduced, of which quality control circles2 are the visible expression not only in the Japanese situation but also in several other countries of advanced capitalism and of the industrialized Third