Conference Agenda

Different overlapping disruptions of the social order, which generate a range of often unpredictable consequences, are sometimes referred to as 'polycrisis' (Tooze 2021) or 'interlinked crisis' (UN GCRG). The paper analyses the course of a post-pandemic polycrisis in Poland, focusing on the case of public services essential for the reproduction of social life: education, health care and social assistance. The starting point is the assumption that effectiveness in dealing with interlinked crises depends on the institutional context. Studies of the effectiveness of public policies in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic show that central and eastern European (CEE) countries tend to fare worse than western European countries, as demonstrated by the record increase in infections and deaths in the former on a global scale.

In order to analyse the functioning of public services in Poland during the polycrisis, the article refers to debates on the diversity of capitalism in CEE including in particular the concept of 'patchwork capitalism'. Its essence is the historically shaped weakness of the institutional foundations of the socio-economic order, which makes it susceptible to the attachment of elements with diverse institutional logics

Previous analyses of models of capitalism in CEE have mainly focused on economic issues and labour relations. To a lesser extent, transformations within the public service sector have been analysed. Using the concept of patchwork capitalism and treating Poland as one of its characteristic examples, the article aims to fill this gap in the existing state of research. Responses to the crisis are analysed both from the perspective of public policies and the bottom-up perspectives of workers, trade unions and employers in education, health care and social welfare. We are interested in (1) to what extent the listed industries were prepared for the pandemic crisis (and the war, humanitarian and inflation crises that followed); (2) how the conditions and organisation of work in these industries have changed since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020; (3) to what extent the experience of polycrisis may influence the ways in which the public sector is organised in an order characterised by features of patchwork capitalism.

The empirical material consists of data from 36 biographical narrative interviews, 13 focus group interviews and 18 expert interviews conducted with employees, representatives of trade unions, employers' organisations and local and supralocal authorities operating in the above-mentioned industries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the world of work, displaced already-precarious workers across countries, and raised new questions about the responsibilities of governments and corporations. While it exposed the fragility of socio-economic systems globally, disruptions have been particularly severe at the production end of global supply chains, where brand decisions had cascading negative consequences on employment and livelihoods. At the same time, global supply chains are being reconfigured, as lead firms and suppliers navigate new trade wars, geopolitical tensions, and increased regulatory stringency in some large markets.

Recent studies have documented the supply chain disruptions of the COVID-19 era but little is known about how workers and managers in points of production view these disruptions and the kinds of reforms they perceive as helpful. Under what conditions do they perceive COVID-era disruptions as necessitating government intervention, special accommodations by factory owners, or collective action by workers themselves? Under what conditions do they perceive factory-level reforms as likely to bring about change and buyer behavior as generating serious problems? Do promises of corporate responsibility from distant international buyers bolster or undermine demands for local intervention?

Through a study of the apparel industry in Indonesia, where many export-oriented factories experienced severe disruptions in a climate of increasing labor market flexibilization, including extensive amendments to existing laws protecting labour and the environment, this paper examines workers’ and managers’ views of local reforms and the effects of corporate responsibility on their mobilization. Analyzing data from a survey experiment, we reveal the paradoxical effects that involving brands might have on workers’ interest and activism in sites of production and critically reflect on what policy alternatives are required to respond effectively to situations of interlinked crises.

What is the relationship between certain workers in the offshore wind sector, seasonal agricultural workers, or in tourism and the hotel industry, port workers and rope access workers? Their jobs are affected by interlinked crisis: health, climate energy. One of the effects of these crises is the negotiation under constraints and the development of casual, seasonal, or cyclical jobs. In the energy sector, negotiations are under pressure from the urgency of ensuring energy transition or energy sovereignty. These pressures also contribute to authorizing the use of precarious forms of employment, even at the limit of the informal. The health crisis, during the covid epidemic, has toughened working and housing conditions. In agriculture, seasonal workers in France have not been compensated for partial unemployment. While mobile workers and temporary migrants found themselves stranded at the border or confined. Finally, numerous employees, whose travel bonuses are an essential component of income, such as rope access technicians, saw their income reduced by the restriction of travel. All are also exposed to the consequences of climate change on working conditions. When unions are in difficulty, the role of certain associations is becoming important in supporting these workers, both locally and nationally. This is a way to help move towards multiparty bargaining in global supply-chains. The provision of services, such as public showers, is also an important help, because of the water poverty of these workers, which can be aggravated by droughts. Support for these local or national associations, integrating actors, including those passing through as migrant or posting workers, is a solution in times of transition. It is a way to strengthen democracy for workers in global supply chains. In undertaking this analysis of initiative for enhancing democracy in France , we relied upon both primary and secondary sources. Among primary sources, we consulted data records, written records, including agreements and related memoranda, and interviewed or corresponded with unionists, employers and salary involved in campaigns and negotiations. Use of author’ prior research on the situation of seafarers, seasonal and migrant workers have been made. Among secondary sources, we consulted journal articles, academic reports, reports by International Organizations and news articles.