Text

E-book Labour Exploitation and Work-Based Harm

---

Penilaian

---

The relationship between a worker and his/her employer is one that is infinitely complex. At its core, however, is the simple need of the worker to make a decent living and the simple desire of the capitalist (employer, shareholder, property owner and so on) to make a decent profit. In the pursuit of these objectives hierarchical relationships inevitably emerge. These relationships form the basis of the capitalist system. For most workers, the struggle involves one of advancing incrementally up particular hierarchies such that the pressures of the system are, at least in some small part, lightened over time. In any particular hierarchy, within the overall system, however, there is potential for workers to suffer at the hand of those above them. This potential is heightened in systems where inequality is high. Suffering at and through work, then, may well be something that is most obvious at the very bottom of the labour market but hierarchies at all levels contain within them the potential to exploit and harm. To be sure, financial rewards, and the status that comes with these, do help to cushion the burdens and pressures of work. Nevertheless, it would be simplistic to assume that only those at the extreme depth of the labour market are being harmed by the inequities of contemporary capitalism. This acknowledgment is an important basis for the book and it is why the book is focused on the language and terminology of work-based ‘control’, ‘exploitation’ and ‘harm’. This language is inclusive in the sense that it avoids drawing attention only to extreme cases of worker suffering and instead implicitly and explicitly recognises that hierarchies, wherever they exist in the overall capitalist system, are potentially problematic and worthy of critical investigation by academics interested in worker welfare. Moreover, the language avoids taking a priori legal–moral frameworks as a basis for what is acceptable (that is, legal) and unacceptable (that is, illegal) as far as the treatment of workers is concerned. This is important because laws often exist to protect people only from extreme-case scenarios, to protect them only from individual perpetrators (rather than from structures and systems), and to protect dominant interest groups. In all these respects there is a critical logic and rationale for moving beyond crime-based perspectives on worker welfare and worker suffering.

---

Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

-

No. Panggil

362 SCO l

Penerbit

London : Policy Press., 2017

Deskripsi Fisik

298 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9781447322061

Klasifikasi

362

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

-

Subjek

Social Welfare, Problems and Services

Info Detail Spesifik

-

Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

-

Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

Komentar

---

Anda harus masuk sebelum memberikan komentar