Globalisation and Labour Regulation: The Case of the Quebec Clothing Industry

Quebec's economy is acknowledged as being one in which the state has historically played an important role in labour market regulation. However, globalisation has called into question state intervention methods. In recent studies, we have demonstrated the direct influence of the globalisation discourse and the power relationship of certain management and state actors in transforming labour market regulation, in particular through the repeal of collective agreement decrees in the Quebec manufacturing sector. The system of collective agreement decrees has existed in Quebec since 1934 and is unique in North America. This labour relations system provides for working conditions negotiated by unions and employers to be juridically extended to all unionised and non-unionised workers in a given industry and territory. The clothing industry is the most important economic sector that has been affected by this recent state deregulation of working conditions, although the state has provided for a transition period in which certain conditions will be maintained. In line with the theme of the Symposium, we present an analysis of the current changes in state regulation of working conditions in the Quebec clothing industry and their impact on the dynamics of employment relations. In our research, we will first describe the system of collective agreement decrees and the changes that it has undergone recently, addressing the question of whether the disappearance of decrees is simply a deregulation or whether it is a reregulation. We will then analyse the effects of these changes in state regulation through a specific examination of the clothing industry which, like other sectors, has been affected by the disappearance of collective agreement decrees. We will then examine the impacts of this deregulation on the industry, particularly those affecting workers whose working conditions have been greatly affected despite the sectoral standards adopted by the state. This experience of transformation of state regulation raises a number of relevant theoretical questions regarding the state's role in industrial relations in the context of globalisation.