Unite or Fall: Labor Protests in Ukraine in the Face of the Crises
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17356/ieejsp.v1i3.95Abstract
Ukraine is facing changes of a significant scale. Caused by external and internal factors and processes, these changes will influence the socio-economic and political reality of the majority of Ukrainians. The character and degree of the changes are yet to be defined in the political struggle inside the country. Do workers, as the biggest social class, have the potential to press for their interests in the face of a spiraling crisis? In this article we tried to answer this question by analyzing labor protests in the country. Our research of empirical material of the Ukrainian Protest and Coercion database shows that labor actors have significant bargaining power on local issues but lack coordinated and relatively large-scale mobilization, hence, can hardly influence state-level politics. Being scattered and defensive, lacking solidarity among themselves and without support from allies, workers have few chances to succeed in promoting their agenda. Some possible logical and empirically supported solutions to increase labor bargaining power in this context are also suggested in the article.References
Atanasov, V. and A. Riabchuk (2012) Cine-Train to KhMZ: Comments on Video-Documentation of Workers’ Protests at Kherson Machine-Building Plant. [in Ukrainian] Commons: Journal of Social Critique, 4: 134-145.
CSLR: Center for Social and Labor Research. (2010-2013) Bases of Ukrainian Protest and Coercion Database Project http://cslr.org.ua/bazi-protestnih-podiy-ta-povidomlen-2/ Accessed: 31-04-2015.
CSLR: Center for Social and Labor Research. (2013) Ukrainian Protest and Coercion Data Codebook. [in Ukrainian] http://cslr.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/UPCD_Codebook_2013.pdf Accessed: 31-04-2015.
Crowley, S. (2004) Explaining Labor Weakness in Postcommunist Europe: Historical Legacies and Comparative Perspective. East European Politics and Societies, 18 (3): 394-429. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0888325404267395
Dutchak, O. (2013) Silent Plankton or Blind Authorities? Strikes, which, Supposedly, Do Not Happen. [in Ukrainian] http://cslr.org.ua/bezmovniy-plankton-chi-slipa-vlada-str/ Accessed: 31-04-2015.
Ishchenko, V. (2010) Do They Count Protests in Ukraine Correctly? Part 1. [in Ukrainian] http://cslr.org.ua/chi-pravilno-v-ukrayini-rahuyut-protesti-chastina-1/ Accessed: 31-04-2015.
Kravchuk, O. (2014) Possible Socio-Economic Outcomes of Eurointegration for Ukraine. [in Ukrainian] http://commons.com.ua/mozhlivi-sotsialno-ekonomichni-naslidki/ Accessed: 31-04-2015.
Kubicek, P. (1999) Organized Labor in Postcommunist States: Will the Western Sun Set on It, Too? Comparative Politics, 32 (1): 83-102. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/422434
Kubicek, P. (2002) Civil Society, Trade Unions and Post-Soviet Democratisation: Evidence from Russia and Ukraine. Europe-Asia Studies, 54 (4): 603-624. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09668130220139181
Mandel, D. (2004) Labour after communism : auto workers and their unions in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Montréal, CAN ; London, UK : Black Rose Books. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1522/030179024
Nechyporenko, M.(2015) Ukrainian Crises and Ways Out of It. [in Russian] http://commons.com.ua/ukrainskij-krizis/ Accessed: 31-04-2015.
Pan'kova, O. and E. Ivashchenko (2006) Strike Movement in Ukraine: Trends and Specificities. [in Russian], Sociology: Theory, Methodology, Marketing, 2006 (3): 236-248.
Popovych, Z. (2012) Hot Days of Komsomolsk ‘Italian strike’: Strike at Iron Ore Enrichment Works of Ferrexpo Corporation. [in Ukrainian] Commons: Journal of Social Critique, 4: 173-185.
Riabchuk, A. (2007) The Adaptation Discourse as a Means of Marginalization of the Working Class in post-Soviet Societies. [in Russian] Sociology: Theory, Methodology, Marketing, 2007 (1): 105-114.
Simonchuk, E. (2005) Working Class in Ukraine: Chronicle of Losses. [in Russian] Sociology: Theory, Methodology, Marketing, 2005 (4): 5-25.
Simonchuk, E. (2006) Working Class in Ukraine: Trends of a Recomposing Structure. [in Russian] Sociology: Theory, Methodology, Marketing, 2006 (2): 38-65.
Varga, M. (2011a) An Anatomy of ‘Collective Anti-Collectivism’: Labor Sociology in Ukraine and Romania. Global Labour Journal, 2 (1): 43-63. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15173/glj.v2i1.1092
Varga, M. (2011b) Political Involvement in Industrial Conflict in Ukraine during the World Economic Crisis, 2008-2010. Emecon: Journal for Employment and Economy in Central and Eastern Europe, 1(1): 1-19.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright Notice
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work three months after publication simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. This acknowledgement is not automatic, it should be asked from the editors and can usually be obtained one year after its first publication in the journal.
