Unions, democracy and restructuring of public service

This book deals with a variety of issues surrounding unions, democracy and the reconstruction of public services. In particular, the book deals with an exploration of trade union strategies under different sets of conditions, evaluating the role that trade unions need to play in making public services work for the poor, and issues of deepening democracy and redistributing incomes.

Individual chapters of the book deal with a variety of topics, including:

• Unions, democracy and restructuring of public service.
  
• Building a new form of local state: participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
  
• Working class movements and state responses: the case of Kerala, India.
  
• Fragmenting the state: restructuring in New Zealand (1986-96).
  
• Privatisation and union responses: lessons from South Africa.
  
• Building alliances, building alternatives: lessons for the trade union movement.

(Adapted from author)