The Impact of Labor Flexibility on the Argentine Telecommunications Sector

• Published in: Latin American perspectives Vol. 31; no. 4; pp. 32 - 44
• Main Authors: Juan Sebastián Montes Cató, Stoller, Richard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications 01-07-2004; SAGE Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Argentina; Bargaining; Case studies; Collective Bargaining; Economic Change; Economic reform; Employment; High Technology Industries; Labor; Labor law; Labor management relations; Labor market; Labor Relations; Labor unions; Labour relations; Latin America; Neoliberalism; Poverty; Privatization; Productivity; Recent economic history; Regional studies; Salary; Telecommunications; Telecommunications industry; Unemployment; Union contracts; Unions; Working conditions; Argentina
• ISSN: 0094-582X; 1552-678X
• DOI: 10.1177/0094582X04266254

A case study of the privatization of Argentina's Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (ENTel) is used to show how economic restructuring affects labor in the high-tech sector. Although President Carlos Menem's neoliberal economic model ended hyperinflation & generated some economic growth, it also dramatically increased unemployment & poverty. Exploration of the nature of the privatization process that began in early 1990 points out the emphasis on productivity & competitiveness, as well as the restructuring of production through labor flexibility. Four types of labor flexibility are discussed: numerical flexibility; salary flexibility; technical/organizational flexibility; & labor-time flexibility. Trade union attempts to resist the impact of economic restructuring are examined. The history of collective bargaining in Argentina is reviewed & the negotiations that occurred in the radically transformed setting of the 1990s are analyzed to illustrate how unions were trapped into signing prejudicial agreements. It is concluded that telecommunications unions need to create a new culture of representation with a higher level of legitimacy. 9 References. J. Lindroth