Browsing by Author "Bonnin, Deborah Rosemary."

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Articulating agency : a case study of the strategies used by the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union in servicing South African seafarer.
(2001) Ruggunan, Shaun Denvor.; Bonnin, Deborah Rosemary.
In theorising globalisation, capital is represented as all-powerful and proactive in its mobility and ability to transcend national boundaries in search of new labour markets. It is this mobility of capital. which is argued to be instrumental in shaping the processes of globalisation (Ohmae: 1989, Allen: 1995: Thompson et al: 1998. Dicken: 1998). Labour in contrast is portrayed as fixed within territorial boundaries unable to shape or influence its own destiny or the processes of globalisation. These opposing discourses of capital as the prime agent of globalisaton and labour as a passive participant in the process have predominantly informed the debates about globalisation, and have remained mostly unchallenged in the literature. This dissertation interrogates claims of capital being all-powerful via its mobility and labour being 'agentless' in influencing the processes of globalisation. In order to achieve this I use the global shipping industry' as an example to explores these arguments. This is achieved by investigating the complex ways that relationships between shipping capital and seafaring labour have changed and how these changed relationships are articulated. Specifically I examine the strategies used by South African Transport and Allied Workers to service a transnational and flexible membership. My findings suggest that the 'agentless' nature of labour in shaping the processes of globalisatlon is exaggerated by proponents of the transnational neo-liberal discourse of globalisation.
Bottlenecks and constraints within the local labour market for engineers in the petrochemical industry sector : a case study of Engen Refinery, Wentworth.
(2009) Rowe, Kelley.; Bonnin, Deborah Rosemary.
This research investigates the specific labour market dynamics that underline the shortage of engineers in the Petrochemical Industry in South Africa. The central argument of this dissertation is that an understanding of a skills shortage requires a distinct knowledge of the internal and external nature of each labour market in which the shortage is being experienced. This dissertation develops a critique of the neoclassical perspective which dominates current analysis of skill shortages. While it is important to understand the external labour market, it is equally important to consider the internal labour market to better identify and understand the specific dynamics that underline a skills shortage in an organisation and industry. Using Engen Refinery as a case study, this dissertation focuses on an in depth examination of the experiences of engineers working at the Refinery. The findings reveal that the dynamics that underline the skill shortage of engineers in the Petrochemical Industry in the South African context are manifold. Skill shortages are a consequence of dynamics in both the external and internal labour market; these I argue are interrelated.
Class, consciousness and conflict in the Natal Midlands, 1940- 1987 : the case of the B.T.R. Sarmcol workers.
(1987) Bonnin, Deborah Rosemary.; Sitas, Aristides.
No abstract available.
The formulation of competencies for general workers within an international foods manufacturer.
(2000) Ambrose, Jacqueline.; Bonnin, Deborah Rosemary.
The problem investigated within this research is how an organisation can overcome its skills gaps, whilst ensuring national and international recognition of those skills, and contribute to an increase of skills nationally. This problem is addressed through the formulation of competencies. The eclectic approach forms the theoretical paradigm of the studies. The methodology used for the formulation of competencies is an adaptation of Spencer and Spencer's (1993) classic competency study model. Competencies formulated are aligned with the latest developments within the South African vocational qualification system and incorporate elements of the behaviourist approach. The study is conducted in an international food manufacturing company. The target population consists of male Zulu-speaking workers. Education levels established through assessments indicate that the population is situated at an adult basic education level of four, the equivalent of a grade nine within the formal schooling system. Demographics show that workers have on average more than two years' experience within their current job roles and their mean age is forty years, an indication of their experience within the manufacturing environment.
Global transformation of the contemporary labour market for merchant navy seafarers: case studies of Filipino, South African and British seafaring labour markets.
(2008) Ruggunan, Shaun Denvor.; Bonnin, Deborah Rosemary.
The central aim of this thesis is to investigate how and why labour markets are formed in specific ways under contemporary global capitalism. This thesis achieves this through a sociological analysis and explanatory account of the contemporary transformation of merchant navy seafaring labour markets for Filipino, South African and British seafarers. The study is centrally concerned with four questions relating to the restructuring of these labour markets. These questions are: 1. How has the labour market for seafarers been reshaped? 2. How has the restructuring of shipping capital facilitated this process process? 3. What has the role of labour been in this restructuring process? 4. What other labour market institutions contribute to this restructuring? Answering these four questions allows me to achieve the central aim of my thesis which is to investigate how and why labour markets are formed in specific ways under contemporary global capitalism. In answering these questions this thesis makes three theoretical interventions in industrial sociology. Firstly, this work offers a substantially different account of labour markets that advances a more fully social explanation of labour market formation that does not consider the social as a 'factor' or an 'add on' as does classical and neo classical economics (and some strands of economic sociology) but a significant shaper of global labour markets. Secondly, it fills a gap in theorising the agency of organised labour under global capitalism. The thesis demonstrated how the agency of organised labour and the importance of locality or place should also be accorded primacy in arguing how labour markets are produced. Thirdly in making my own assertions about the creation and decimation of working classes under capitalism, I draw on three detailed case studies of seafaring trade unions, capitalist and state strategies in the shaping and transformation of contemporary labour markets for seafarers and therefore demonstrate the fallibility of the 'race to the bottom' thesis using contemporary research and data.
Political violence – disrupting ways of ‘doing’ politics: an exploration of organisational and political life in Mpumalanga Township, 1970s-1980s.
(University of KwaZulu-Natal., 2011) Bonnin, Deborah Rosemary.
The political violence, between supporters of the Zulu ethnic movement, Inkatha, on the one hand, and those of the African National Congress (ANC) – aligned United Democratic Front (UDF), on the other, that tore apart the province of KwaZulu-Natal during the 1980s and 1990s was firmly located in spaces that had already established ‘ways of doing’ politics, and, amongst people who knew each other. Moreover, these spaces were localised and grounded in particular places and in the relationships and histories of those places. The question that is of interest to this paper is how did these established ‘ways of doing’ politics become disrupted to the extent that the province became engulfed in a civil war between supporters of these two organisations?
Questioning intimacy : Muslim 'Madams' and their maids.
(2011) Dawood, Quraisha.; Bonnin, Deborah Rosemary.
Relationships between „madams‟ and „maids‟ have been the subject of various South African works, detailing the lives of domestic workers and their daily struggles. This study however aims to turn the focus on the madam and questions the complex intimacy at work between her and her maid. It is this intricate association between „madam‟ and „maid,‟ as well as the context of the home, which creates a site for a unique personal relationship that extends beyond the constraints of the working contract. In order to investigate this relationship, I explore the preconceived notions Muslim madams of North Beach have when recruiting the ideal domestic worker as well as the way everyday life between madams and maids shapes their relationship. In demonstrating the types of relationships and levels of intimacy between them, this thesis focuses on three aspects of everyday life between Muslim madams and maid. Firstly, I explore the „home‟ as a contradictory location – being both a private space for the employer and a workspace for the maid, paying particular attention to the creation of boundaries and negotiations of space within the home. The second key aspect I examine is the extent to which religion influences the relationship between madam and maid. Religion is a thread running through this thesis as a determining factor in the recruitment of a domestic worker and a way in which space is produced. Thirdly, I discuss the sharing of gender between madam and maid and the question of „sisterhood‟ between them. These are underlying elements of the types of relationships between madam and maid which, I argue are characterised by levels of cultivated intimacy. The project is based on the qualitative results gathered from 20 in-depth interviews with Muslim madams, two focus groups and five key informant interviews with domestic workers. My thesis contributes to the existing research exploring the relationships between madams and maids and opens further avenues for research. It demonstrates that there are key elements besides race and class that shape the relationships between madam and maid, which contribute to levels of cultivated intimacy between them.