Abstract
Analyzing the socioeconomic policies implemented in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic raise many questions on the implications of emergency and consequential crisis on Israeli political economy. Focusing on the Israeli labor market in times of pandemic, this research note asks: what are the implications of the pandemic and the consequent state-of-emergency on the political space of labor relations? It brings new findings to reveal that while in many countries collective labor relations contributed to national coping with the crisis through central dialogue between trade-unions, employers’ associations and the state, in Israel traditional dialogue was replaced with unilateral statist governance based on emergency regulations. The qualitative analysis raises preliminary insights on the changing position of labor actors during the pandemic, the rise of local organizing as well as the double-edged sword of public sector protections. It further demonstrates that unilateral governance deepened previous liberalization trends in labor relations, dramatically weakening the institutional power of workers’ and their associations. The research note concludes with key questions rising from the findings – on the political economic effects of emergency in the labor market as well as in state-society relations.
Translated title of the contribution | Relations in Crisis: The Corona Crisis and the Liberalization of Labor Relations in Israel |
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Original language | Hebrew |
Pages (from-to) | 113-121 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | סוציולוגיה ישראלית: כתב-עת לחקר החברה הישראלית |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 21 |
State | Published - 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |
IHP Publications
- ihp
- Industrial relations
- Liberalism
- COVID-19 (Disease)
- Economics -- Political aspects
- COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-