Trade unionism under challenge from offshoring and globalisation

Trade unionism in western Europe is facing the growing challenge of the relocation of work to other parts of the world. This article focuses on the major banking trade unions in France and the UK. It discusses the unions ’ responses to globalisation in a sector where information technology has exposed firms to intense competitive pressures and has encouraged not just relocation but also business mergers and concentration combined with widespread outsourc-ing. The authors find that there is often a tension between the day-to-day defence of the workers and broader trade union aspirations to develop alternatives to the arbitrariness of an economic system where labour power is reduced to a commodity to be bought and sold. The article concludes that the dual purposes of union activity, the defence and improvement of workers ’ immediate working conditions, and the projection of alternative people-friendly forms of social and economic organisation, are being made more difficult by globalisation. Sommaire Le syndicalisme en Europe occidentale est confronté au défi croissant de la délocalisation du travail vers d’autres parties du monde. Cet article se concentre sur les principaux syndicats du secteur bancaire en France et au Royaume-Uni. Il traite des réponses des syndicats à la mon