Teamwork and Internal Labour Markets: A Study of a Canadian Aluminium Smelter
- 1 August 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Economic and Industrial Democracy
- Vol. 19 (3), 417-442
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831x98193003
Abstract
This article seeks to explain the difficulties of introducing and benefiting from teamwork in North American unionized settings. Detailed observation and interviews in an aluminium smelter reveal that the potential of more flexible and collective work arrangements was limited by institutional constraints. Some recurring tensions relate to the interplay between the system of rules already in place, which govern the internal labour market, and the new pattern of work which management seeks to implement.Keywords
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