Trade unions, identities and pressure groups for the unemployed. A problematic relationship.

Authors

  • Enric Sanchis

Keywords:

España, trabajo, conflicto social, investigación cualitativa.

Abstract

A qualitative sociological study based on 88 in-depth interviews with unemployed people undertaken between March 2012 and February 2013, in 12 Spanish cities, has made it possible to reach a closer understanding of the experience of unemployment and its consequences for an unemployed person. One of the issues explored in the interviews was how prepared the respondents were to participate in any protest movement. Their responses are explored in this article. The nemployed do not share a collective identity, a feeling of “us” which would incline them towards collective action. Nor do they have either the resources to organise themselves or a common understanding of the problem which would motivate them to work together. Furthermore, they are very skeptical about what they might achieve by protesting. For these reasons, they put up with unemployment alone
and resort to individual strategies to find work or lessen the consequences of not having any. Nevertheless, the article concludes by arguing for the relevance of a movement of the unemployed with trade union support to transform nemployment into the top political problem in Spanish society.

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Published

2017-01-29

How to Cite

Sanchis, E. (2017) “ A problematic relationship”., Debats. Journal on culture, power and society, 130(2). Available at: https://revistadebats.net/article/view/1679 (Accessed: 3 July 2024).

Issue

Vol. 130 No. 2 (2016)

Section

POINTS OF VIEW

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