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Journal article 677 views 194 downloads

Speaking of Contradiction

Geriant Harvey, Peter Turnbull, Daniel Wintersberger

Work, Employment and Society, Volume: 33, Issue: 4, Pages: 719 - 730

Swansea University Author: Geriant Harvey

Abstract

Whereas McGovern calls for a moratorium on the ever increasing (ab)use of the word ‘contradiction’, principally because scholars of work and employment fail to connect different levels of analysis and/or demonstrate how and why contradiction(s) lead to widespread instability and upheaval, it can be...

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Published in: Work, Employment and Society
ISSN: 0950-0170 1469-8722
Published: SAGE Publications 2019
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa44639
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Abstract: Whereas McGovern calls for a moratorium on the ever increasing (ab)use of the word ‘contradiction’, principally because scholars of work and employment fail to connect different levels of analysis and/or demonstrate how and why contradiction(s) lead to widespread instability and upheaval, it can be demonstrated how both can be achieved through the ‘system, society, dominance’ framework. In what follows, the empirical focus is on the safety-critical work of airport ground service providers (GSPs), where key elements of the employment relationship embody contradictions that can be traced to the (sub-)system (mode of production) of a Single European Aviation Market (SEAM) that is now dominated by low fares airlines (LFAs). Instead of a moratorium, scholars of work and employment need to reconnect with society and theoretically ground their analysis in a (capitalist) system beset with contradictions between the forces and relations of production.
Keywords: civil aviation, contradiction, resistance, safety, service work, society and dominance effects, system, trade unions
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Issue: 4
Start Page: 719
End Page: 730