The Other Car Workers: Work, Organisation and Technology in the Maritime Car Carrier Industry [Paperback]

The maritime car carrier industry has been entirely neglected by social scientists. This book examines globalization changes in cost structure and dynamics; in ownership, freight, labour and other markets; in technological innovation and ship design; and in relation to car manufacturers, ship management companies and crewing agents.List of Figures List of Tables List of Boxes List of Photographs Acknowledgements Glossary Introduction: Beyond the Assembly Line PART ONE: THE STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF A GLOBALISED INDUSTRY Globalisation and De-Regulation of the Maritime Industry: A General Review The Maritime Car Carrier Industry PART TWO: THE WORLD OF CAR CARRIER WORKER The World(s) of Car Carrier Crews Work and Working Conditions 1: The Division of Labour, Contracts, Hours and Wages Work and Working Conditions 2: Consultation, Compliance and Labour Control Work/Life Balance, Fatigue and Isolation from Family and Friends Trade Unionism Conclusion Appendix 1: Flagging Out and World Tonnage 1939-2003 Appendix 2: Distribution of Rank by Company Appendix 3: Turnaround Times and Voyage Cycles - Three Cases Appendix 4: Social and Welfare Facilities for Seafarers in Foreign Parts References Index

'This important new study focuses on the maritime car carriers which ship more than 8 million vehicles a year between the world's major markets. It makes a major contribution our understanding of the auto industry outside the assembly factory and does so by combining pioneering analysis of a globalized business with classical labour process research. The book provides a graphic account of a fatigued and cosmopolitan workforce and demonstrates the continued relevance of union organisation in a way which challenges all our facile assumptions about the forces of globalisation. Theo Nichols and Erol Kahveci show how a tradition of politically engaged sociological research can be refocused and revitalized.' - Karel Williams, Professor of Accounting and Political Economy, and Co-dló.