Contrasted labour regimes in the Asia-Pacific: Australia, Singapore and Vietnam industrial relations in comparison and its meaning for Europe

A call for relativism is at the heart of this presentation. Considering that key dimensions – industrial democracy, social contract, pluralism, power, actors, individualism versus collectivism, etc. – with which we are familiar already manifest in many shades in Western contexts, there is a fair chance that our conceptual toolkit does not apply likewise and somehow ‘universally’ in Asia. Bearing this in mind, the presentation first aims at contextualizing labour relations and union function and capacity in the regulation of industrial conflict and the representation of workers’ rights and interests in Australia, Singapore, and Vietnam, leading to the identification of current research avenues. It then ventures into a tentative comparative analysis: the argument is that the degree of contrast between the three countries under examination compels a root-level analysis, that is, an ontological take on industrial relations.

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European Trade Union Institute Research Seminar

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