Historical And Global Treatment Of Trade Unionists History Essay

In the early 19th century the economic situation for the majority of the United Kingdom’s workers was dire. The influx of veterans from the Napoleonic wars seeking work and the loss of government contracts to supply the army had a major impact on the country’s economic woes. The position was particularly bad for the many thousands of agricultural workers living in abject poverty in the British countryside. Many farm labourers lived in tied houses on starvation level wages. For many the Enclosure Act had led to the loss of the common land which their families used to graze animals, the winter work of cereal threshing was under threat from the landowner’s purchase of threshing machines and the poor harvests of 1828 and 1829 resulted in rising food prices and falling wages.

The lives of the country’s industrial workers in the towns and cities were no better. Workers and their families lived in insanitary conditions and for the most part worked long hours in unsafe and unhealthy conditions.

The “Luddites” and “Machine Breakers”

The Luddite movement began when British textile artisans protested at the changes in production methods brought about during the industrial revolution. They saw their livelihoods being threatened by the introduction of large mills and their fellows being forced to work in degrading conditions.

In 1811 and 1812 mills and factory machinery were burned by handloom weavers and for a time action was so widespread that it led to clashes with the army and in 1812 a mass trial in York at which many were sentenced to death or transportation,

Although short lived the movement is indicative of the rising tide of English working class discontent in the early 19th century.

The “Swing Riots”

The Agricultural variant of the Luddite movement may be seen in the “Swing Riots”

In the autumn of 1830 unrest among farm workers erupted in a series of violent protests across southern and eastern England. Threshing machines were attacked and hayricks burnt. During the years 1830 and 1831 over 700 incidents were recorded. Greedy and unpopular employers were sent letters ordering them to provide better wages and conditions for their workers, the letters were signed by the fictitious “Captain Swing”. Some farmers were compelled to maintain a reasonable wage level due to these activities although they were certainly unpopular with their peers for doing so. It may perhaps be said that it is unfortunate that Swing did not exist, if he had the protests may have been better organised rather than the relatively random acts that took place and so may have been more effective in achieving their goals.

The response to the incidents was however very severe. The belief of the ruling classes was that good behaviour among the masses could only be ensured by the threat of horrendous punishments, 250 were sentenced to death, most had their sentence reduced to imprisonment or transportation, but 9 people were executed, this number included a 12 year old boy, and over 1000 were jailed or transported for their part in the riots. Even given the fear and distrust of the working classes by their supposed intellectual and moral superiors (which in many cases merely meant richer and better fed) the figures are staggering. The men and boys involved in the incidents were for the most part honest, hardworking citizens who were driven to desperate measures by the intransigence of those willing to watch their workers and their children slowly starve to death. In fact many of those convicted had done no more than attend a meeting of like minded individuals. The peasants’ revolt had been put down but the cause of the unrest had not been dealt with.

Friendly Societies

During the medieval period the Guilds provided organisation for tradesmen and artisans. Part of their function was to help provide mutual aid for the Guild members and their families in time of difficulty. They also sought to control wages and production levels and set the level of skills of their crafts.

When the unskilled masses sought similar protection they looked to the Friendly Societies for aid. Members would make small weekly or monthly contributions into a fund to help to provide financial support in time of sickness or to provide funeral benefits. These societies started in the late 17th century but saw a huge expansion in the 19th century when more and more unskilled workers gained employment in the mills and factories of post industrial revolution Britain.

The origin of the British trade union can therefore be seen in both of these organisations and it can be argued that they the result of an amalgamation of them both.

Tolpuddle

The area around Tolpuddle had been involved in the “Swing” incidents and this was to be a factor in the treatment of 6 tolpuddle men. At the time Tolpuddle was a small village in Dorset and no different from many others in the county, it was however, the home of George Loveless who history tells us was the leader of those 6 men who were to become known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs.

George Loveless was an intelligent man who had taught himself to read and write and had gained a sufficient standard of education and of theology to become a Methodist lay preacher. He was dismayed that no matter how hard he worked he was decreasingly able to support his family on his wages. Acting in a dishonest or illegal manner would not have been acceptable to him but he decided that this situation was unfair and unjust and that something had to be done about it. It is believed that George sought advice from one of the Friendly Societies and he and the other 5 men formed a union of their own in order to petition their employer for better pay and took an oath not to betray each other.

This was not the formation of a trade union in the modern sense but I believe the events that followed and the consequent public response led to the formation of the modern trade union movement.

The Tolpuddle men were eventually arrested and convicted of administering an unlawful oath. Being a member of a trade union was legal at this time so the magistrates (who had a vested interest in seeing an example being made of these men) convicted them using an archaic piece of naval law and they were sentenced to 7 years transportation to Australia. It is in the actions that took place in Britain to secure their release that we see the birth of effective trade union organisation.

The Action of The New Unions

The fledgling unions were quick to realise that the transportation of the “Tolpuddle Martyrs” was a direct attack on them and started to organise actions to bring about the men’s release.

Petitions were raised and meetings and demonstrations took place throughout the country. At the largest of these in 1834 up to 100,000 supporters marched through London to deliver a petition demanding the release of the 6 farm labourers from Dorset.

Eventually the government bowed to pressure and on 14th March 1836 it was agreed that the men would receive a full and free pardon.

It is within this process that we see the types of action still in use today by trade unions around the world. Mass demonstrations, petitions (although we are likely to use e-mail to gather signatures), political support being sought from M.P’s, etc. are all tools we would expect to see today. I can only look back in admiration at the skills of those early unionists who almost 200 years ago were able to raise such a high level of support and stir up such public outcry. It is indeed unfortunate that so little record remains of their speeches and letters.

Trade unions grew up in Europe and America from the mid 1800’s to the present day on broadly similar lines.

The Situation Today

Here in the United Kingdom today we enjoy legal protection from persecution on grounds of trade union membership and activity. Some of this protection dates back to the 1870’s and the influence of that early work done following the Tolpuddle incident cannot be ignored. Although every year cases arise of disregard of this protection which are then usually dealt with successfully by the unions and the courts, we are free to express ourselves and to take action without fear of reprisal or physical harm to ourselves and our families. Although here in Britain the catering company Gate Gourmet dismissed 670 trade unionists for taking industrial action. American giant WalMart have also offered financial inducements to UK employees to leave the union. Is this the case for our trade union brothers and sisters around the world? Globally it is true that most democratic countries offer protection of the rights of individuals to belong to a union, however, in all too many parts of the world there are horrendous human rights violations taking place every day against trade union activists.

According to data provided by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in 2002,

10,000 unionists were sacked

4,000 unionists were arrested

1,000 unionists were injured

Over 200 unionists were killed.

These figures would seem to indicate that globally unions are under attack and membership is being discouraged in many parts of the world by unscrupulous employers often with the backing (albeit covertly in most cases) of their governments.

The European Situation

Across Central and Eastern Europe resistance to the formation of independent trade unions has been a common trend among both employers and the State. In Poland the ICTFU reported at least 7 cases of workers being intimidated until they left the union in 2006.

Coca Cola appears to have carried out some of more serious violations. Union members at the St. Petersburg branch faced unjustified reprimands, insults, threats of dismissal and obstruction of collective bargaining. At the Coca Cola plant in Volzhsky workers were subjected to anti-union harassment and told they would lose their jobs if they joined the union.

Turkey saw the violent repression of a demonstration of the teachers union with 10 arrests and 17 injured. The metal workers union saw 164 members dismissed and 275 forced to resign, while 50 oil workers union members were unfairly dismissed.

In the Russian Federation a trade unionist who had received death threats died when his house caught fire.

Attempts to move away from collective bargaining are becoming increasingly common throughout European employers.

Asia and the Pacific

In many countries in this region the process of taking strike action is so cumbersome that most strikes in the region are technically illegal.

Hundreds of striking workers were injured in Bangladesh when police attacked workers in 3 separate incidents. They were protesting at management ill treatment which included physical violence.

Police intervention in India led to 300 trade unionists being seriously injured.

Cambodia, South Korea and the Philippines saw workers, union leaders and activists injured with impunity in police actions.

Deaths of unionists occurred in Bangladesh, South Korea and the Philippines. In the Philippines Diosdado Fortuna, leader of the food and drug industry union was shot dead, Victoria Ramonte of the Andres Soriano College Employees union was stabbed to death,

Ricardo Ramos, President of the Sugar Workers Union was shot and killed and the local union president of a transport group also died at the hands of gunmen.

Women are frequently the target of anti-union activity in the region, this is due in main to the fact that many of the employees in the electronics, textiles, public sector and education are women.

Dozens of activists jailed in China in previous years are still incarcerated.

The government of Australia has shown itself to be one of the severely anti-union in the industrialised world. It has introduced legislation to restrict trade union organising and rights to collective bargaining. These laws gave employers powers to push workers into individual contracts and also removed their protection from unfair dismissal in many cases.

Africa

In several African countries no unions are allowed in the public and civil services, another problem is the difficulty of taking part in legal industrial action. The repression of the right to strike has led to fatalities on 3 occasions.

In South Africa strikes and protests have been broken up using stun guns, tear gas and rubber bullets. Unsurprisingly this has led to many injuries and deaths, ironically one of these occurred at a protest at the arrests and beatings that had taken place at earlier protests.

In the Nigerian oil industry 170 workers were dismissed for asking for better working conditions and the General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress had his passport seized as he tried to board a plane to attend the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conference in Switzerland.

The leaders of the Zimbabwe Confederation of Trade Unions have received death threats, several faced physical attacks and many were arrested. A teacher’s union leader was tortured and other protesters badly beaten.

No independent trade unions are permitted in Sudan, Egypt or Libya.

The Middle East

This is an area of great unrest and turmoil, where the imprisonment and deaths of union activists has become an almost common occurrence to the horror of people around the world. In Iraq in 2006 there were several assassinations of union leaders along with some unsuccessful assassination attempts and at least 2 kidnappings. One union, the Union of Mechanics, Printing and Metalworkers, reported the deaths of at least 10 of its members.

Most recently in Iran the world became aware of the execution of Farzad Kamanger, a Kurdish teacher and trade unionist, imprisoned, beaten and convicted in a farcical trial where the courts “lost” his notes at the appeal hearing.

Despite global condemnation of the treatment he and fellow unionists received at the hands of the Iranian government Farzad was executed in May 2010.

On a brighter note, Qatar followed the example set by Bahrain and adopted a labour code which allows for the formation of independent trade unions but this law still falls below international labour standards. In Bahrain itself a law was passed to restrict legal strike action.

Due to the continued security issues in Israel and Palestine, it is very difficult for the Palestinian trade unions to carry out their normal duties.

There are no trade union rights in Saudi Arabia or Oman, the law there does not recognise the right to form trade unions.

The Americas

In the “land of the free” U.S. governments are very anti-union. Union busting is rife with concerted efforts being made at many employers to reduce and eliminate trade union membership.

In Canada the WalMart supermarket chain, smarting from the success of its workers in Jonquiere Quebec, in setting up the first WalMart employees union in North America, promptly closed the store. Elsewhere WalMart use intimidation, electronic spying and other measures to discourage the setting up of unions at its other branches.

In Colombia in 2006 at least 70 people were killed for their trade union activities and at least a further 260 received death threats. This was a significant decrease in deaths of activists but the alarming fact remains that trade unionists are being targeted by armed groups with impunity. Violence against women trade unionists steadily increased throughout 2006 and it is with good reason that people in the area say that to become a trade union activist is “to walk around with your tombstone on your back”. No words can adequately express the admiration trade unionists around the world should feel towards these brave men and women.

There have also been union members killed in Brazil and Honduras where Francisco Cruz Galeano of the National Trade Union Centre was shot 25 times.

Death threats remain a common occurrence in many South American countries.

In Ecuador members of the banana workers unions face many problems. At the San Jose plantation 44 workers were dismissed for forming a union and overall in 2006 a further 250 workers lost their jobs for trying to form a union and requesting collective bargaining.

In Peru a telecommunications company sacked 23 union members shortly after the union was formed and threatened others with dismissal and transferred others to lower paid jobs. Very similar tactics were used by 2 soft drinks multinational companies.

Some Mexican union members told the ICFTU that in the garments industry organising had to be carried out without the employer’s knowledge.

What Can Be Done?

I believe that if we could muster support of the levels seen in the 1830’s international pressure would lead to improvements of the rights and treatment of trade unionists worldwide. Many campaigns have been launched via the internet but perhaps because computers are impersonal they are not as effective as the massed marches of old.

Has our relatively comfortable existence made us apathetic to the suffering and problems of others or is it simply a case of our ignorance because these matters are not news worthy enough to receive prime time coverage? It could be that the legacy of the Thatcher years and the anti-union spin of the governments and media have left the average citizen cold to the suffering of workers in other parts of the globe. Very few people seem to be aware of the working conditions of their fellow human beings who provide us with the goods we crave in our consumer society. Some good work has been done by the makers of television documentaries highlighting the plight of sweat shop workers. It is unfortunate that these were not given more coverage in the press or shown on the main channels in place of the escapist soap operas.

By writing to our local politicians and raising their awareness of the strength of feeling about these issues we can push them to discuss the problems at government level. Ultimately public knowledge of the issues, brought to bear on local, national and global governments to change legislation and to influence employers will eventually change the situation.

The formation of global unions such as the partnership between the UK union Unite and the US Teamsters union may be able to help bring pressure to bear on the governments of the world to pass legislation to improve and to protect the rights of fellow trade unionists, but pressure must also be brought to bear by individuals who are prepared to speak out against injustice and to show at least some of the courage and determination shown by our forefathers and those still fighting to establish and defend their rights.

Books and other sources:

Fraser Hamish W. (1999) A History Of British Trade Unionism 1700-1998 Macmillan Press

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions 2006 Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights www.ifftu.org

BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk

Logan John. U.S. Anti Union Consultants: A Threat to the Rights of British Workers T.U.C

This is Preview only. If you need the solution of this assignment, please send us email with the complete assignment title: ProfessorKamranA@gmail.com

Political Economy In Trade Related Participation History Essay

In order to examine the role of pre Hispanic political formation in of the Philippines and how it related to political economy, trade related participation, political transformation and social rankings are considered.

Chinese historical records are the world’s most comprehensive and complete written evidence of what the world has been since 1700 B.C. – 1046 B.C. It has been the works of Chinese historians and scholars who have documented China’s history and its association with other neighboring countries. Most commonly, China has traded with countries in Asia and the Southeast Asia, including the Philippines and has noted important aspects of Philippines trading system back to the pre Hispanic period. Coinciding with this claim, there has also been historical records of Philippines early people who engage themselves in trading with foreign countries such as China. So there has been a concession between China and Philippines that these two countries are openly trading during the pre Hispanic times. One notable feature that the Chinese historians have said about the Philippines is that the foreign trade system during that era has been strongly influenced by socio political system.

Since there has been no formal entity of a sustained and institutionalized state in the Philippines during the pre Hispanic period, tribes and chiefdoms are eminent to take that governing form. Philippine historical accounts says that in a social hierarchy of either a tribe or a chiefdom, only the people who belong to the elites are allowed to engage in trading. By this, we can see a highly centralized form of system wherein those in the higher class gets more privileges than those who belong to the lower classes of the social hierarchy. This denotes a very bureaucratic socio political system wherein people are bounded and restricted by the set of options provided only in their classes. The people who belong to the lower classes are restricted in foreign trade system but can engage themselves in local trading such as inter tribal or tribal to tribal trade system. In order for them to partake of the foreign commodities that are only the elites have, they will offer services to them in the form of working for their field, errands etc. in exchange for a small quantity of what they have asked.

Another feature that the Chinese traders and historians have noted about the Philippines is that most of its commodities are ornaments made out of gold, silver and copper. These were the primary merchandise that the Chinese would want to acquire. In exchange for these precious metals, garments and useful items are traded for the Philippine merchants. Also, included in the trade were animals, fruits and vegetables that are products of both countries. It is noticeable that smart trading exists during that time because people trade something for what they need. Survival has been the focal point of trading for the lower classes because it is a way for them to acquire what they need in everyday life. Hence, on the part of the rich and the elites, they trade because they wanted to get more out of what they have already gotten.

The type of socio political system during the pre Hispanic period has utterly favored the interest of the elite and the ruling class. It is only then by the time that the Spaniards have colonized the Philippines where there has been a clear distinction of what are the state and a society’s role in development. The evolution of the socio political system in the Philippines has been a long process toward the end of the pre Hispanic period.

Chiefdom is a kind of complex society wherein there is a varying level of centralization and is governed by a sole person known as a chief. Often described as a social organized group, it takes form of neither a simple tribe nor a complex state; rather, it is “an autonomous political unit comprising a number of villages or communities under the permanent control of a paramount chief” (Carneiro 1981: 45). Since inequality and centralization of authority exists in chiefdom, there are at least two divisions in their social classes, primarily the elites and the commoners. In some places, chiefdom has a social hierarchy with three to four divisions. The affluent people or those who have great influence, power and prestige in chiefdom belong to the elite class and everyone else fall in the category of a commoner. Although the distinction between classes is highly recognized in chiefdom, an individual might change social classification during his lifetime by extraordinary behavior. If a commoner, by chance get to have a fortune by any means, he will then be regarded as elite. Same as if a commoner would contribute for the betterment of the chiefdom in form of wealth or prestige, his social class will then be changed into elite. In line with this, the ruling class who also belong to the elites often than not inherit the rights to become a chief. A kinship runs in chiefdom for as long as there is a legitimate heir to the position. Chiefdom is generally composed of a central community where the chief lives and is surrounded by a periphery of smaller subsidiary communities who all recognize the authority of the sole chief.

Looking upon Philippine chiefdom during the pre Hispanic period, these characteristics were very prevalent. A number of chiefdoms have been recorded by historians namely the chiefdoms in Ifugao and Kalinga in Northern Luzon, Hanunoo in Mindoro Island, Sulod in Panay, Bukidnon, Maranao, Magindanao, Bagobo, Manuvu, Tiruray in Mindanao and Tausug in Sulu Archipelago. Ethnographic studies were focused mainly on the region of Mindanao where the biggest concentration of chiefdoms is eminent. Mindanao is considered as the country’s biggest island with a geographical specification of mountainous region and is home to indigenous tribes and ethnic group. Since the area is abundant with rich land resources such as fruits and vegetables and minerals like gold, silver and copper, the fight for territorial power amongst tribes is widespread. Tribes with more population, often than not, has the power to conquer a less populated tribe which will then be an extension of its territory. With the accumulation of more less powerful tribe, the winning tribe can now form chiefdom. Under the leader tribe, the sub tribes are ought to make and produce tributes to it. They must adhere to the paramount chief for them to be able to survive because when a sub tribe has not able to contribute something to the leader tribe; this calls for the expulsion of the sub tribe and banning them to consume resources within the territorial boundaries of the chiefdom.

Same as to the other parts of the Philippines, chiefdoms exhibit similar characteristics. It is only in Mindanao that chiefdoms are frequently discussed by researchers because unlike in the other parts of the country, Mindanao chiefdoms’ are mixed of Muslim and non Muslim tribes. Issues between Muslims have been long fought of even before Christianity has paved its way to the Philippine soil. Muslim chiefdom in Mindanao tends to fight non Muslim chiefdom because since then, they would want to separate themselves to the whole of the country, making the island independent and Muslim owned. This added more enthusiasm to the researchers because chiefdom has not only been the fight to conquer and expand territories but rather it is a struggle to show supremacy of beliefs, traditions and customs.

There have been a number of similarities between tribal and chiefdom in the Philippines that is why both are commonly mistaken to one another. Previous discussions have illustrated the characteristics of chiefdom and how it is different from a tribe. Chiefdom is distinct to a tribe because it is rather a collection or a group of tribe. But the system that runs between these two is almost the same. The political structure has been similar, although there has been some distinction between the social hierarchical systems. Through the years that chiefdom has been the governing body in the pre Hispanic Philippines, it has evolved itself from being a simple chiefdom to a more complex one and this is because of the factors that emerged along the process.

During the times of early chiefdom, it is characterized by a central community that is surrounded by other smaller communities who adhere and is under the prime community which is led by a sole chief. Through the years, since there is a number of chiefdom, there came a time where a complex chiefdom is formed. Compared to a single chiefdom, a complex chiefdom is a group or a collection of chiefdoms which is governed by a paramount chief. This paramount chief is the head of all the chiefs under the complex chiefdom. It means that the less powerful chief of certain chiefdom is under his control. The reason why this so called complex chiefdom existed is because of the rising number of small or weak chiefdom in the area. There has been power struggles between chiefdoms and as a result, they are expanding their territories, provoking a battle against the other chiefdoms. Usually, the chiefdom that succeeds is the one that has been a powerhouse from the start, meaning they have a numerous population, resources and the capability to launch an attack with a great chance of succeeding. The losing chiefdom in return will have no right to abstain the authority of the winning chiefdom, rather it must compel with it for as long as it is under its control.

Chieftainship abilities and characteristics are a very crucial part in deciding who would be is the next chief in chiefdom. One has to be from the elite class or those who have high reputation, wealthy and of a noble kinship. He must also be a committed leader with a strong will of sustaining his chiefdom. The possession of intelligence is important not only in tactics in warfare but also in running the community. Since he governs the chiefdom, he has the sole political power. The right to make laws and pass them is under his control. The power to make verdicts on cases is also his authority. In short, the chief has embodied himself the power of the legislature as he makes the laws of his chiefdom, executive as he pass the laws that he had made and the judiciary as he decides on what is right from wrong. But he chief cannot make this all by himself, he has a board of trustees who serves as his advisers on issues related to the running of the chiefdom and they belong to the nobles, particularly the chief’s relatives or in line with the kinship.

We can infer from the descriptions that were stated above that the political structure in chiefdom has been centralized, not only in the form of the complex one but also to the single and simple chiefdom. It is also noticeable that the supposed characteristics of a chief greatly resemble an ideal leader that chiefdom, community or a state would want to have. This has been the ground in choosing a qualified leader in the present and ever since the time of the pre Hispanic Philippines.

The political characteristics that a chief must obtain to have a well rounded governing power in his chiefdom has been stated in the previous section. But how does the chief get hold of his power and position to the society? This has been the question that the researchers have focused on and found a system that is quietly similar to the one that the monarchs in United Kingdom and other monarchs in the world who have adopted the same ideology.

It is clearly emphasized that before a chief can be placed on his position, he must have a noble kinship; therefore he must be from the ruling class or the elite. If for an instance the chief has died, the next in line would be is from his direct descendant, his son. We can see in here that only male can be a chief in chiefdom. For example, if the chief had died and he does not have a qualified male child but rather a female one, then the thrown will be directly given to his brother. There has been an instance in the Bagobo chiefdom wherein the chief died and he does not have a qualified son, brother or nephew left to take the position, then the kinship lost its power in line even if there were still females in their clan. So to retain the power in the clan of the chief, every male descendant must have at least one male offspring in his family. Also, since they are form the elite and more powerful class, male can marry a number of wives to ensure that someone has to seat form the thrown that will come from their clan.

The kind of hereditary system in the political cycle that has been inculcated in the system of chiefdom in the Philippines has been eminent not only in Asian countries who adopted governing systems with kings and emperors but also to the western early civilizations. It only connotes the idea that there is a tendency on people on early times to garner so much power in their hands to prolong their sovereignty in their territory.

Social ranks in Philippine chiefdom like the political leadership roles were traditionally fluid and dynamically created in constant interplay between genealogical manipulation and status competition through feasting, strategic marriages and trading. Archeological evidence is brought to bear on the evolutionary dynamics of Philippine social hierarchies which focuses on burial and settlement remains dated from the two millennia preceding European contract. The available settlement and burial evidence is consistent in recording increasing social status and wealth differentiation over time during the two thousand years of complex society formation in the Philippines (Junker, 2000). The archeological evidences for evolving wealth difference is meager for all periods of complex society development in the Philippines since pre Hispanic social organizations has not been a traditional focus of the archeological investigation.

Several studies suggested that the hereditary social ranks characteristics of chiefdoms can be recognized archeologically not only through differential access to objects of wealth that act as status symbols in domestic context but also through analyses of variation in mortuary practices (Beck 1995; J. Brown 1979; Chapman, Kinnes and Randsborg 1981).

In the case of the Philippine complex societies, there is a wide range of ethno historical literature that helps us evaluate what aspects of mortuary ritual and death related social exchanges might and might not be reflected in the material treatment of the deceased. In one of the discussions of Metacalf and Huntington on the role of mortuary ritual in complex societies of Southeast Asia (1991: 135 – 144) notes that extreme public display and wealth must be seen in the context of political systems with “cosmic pretention and chronic competition.” (p. 136)

In the Metal Age cemeteries, we could see that there are generally two discernable burial ranks which are then characterized by sharp distinctions in both the quantities and the quality of grave goods and mortuary treatment rather than graded differences along a relatively continuous scale. Most of the Metal Age burials are secondary urn burials or cremations but the catch is that there is a clear dichotomy between the exceptionally rich burials that elaborate earthenware vessels, metal goods and shell ornaments as grave accompaniments and the poor burials with few or even none of these goods. Moreover, the burials from the Early and Late Porcelain Period are considered more complex since it has many degrees in the diversity and numbers of grave accompaniments as well as in the form and labor requirements of the burial chambers.

Philippine chiefdoms become involve in long distance trade with China and other Southeast Asian political organizations. Chinese porcelain and other luxury goods from outside the archipelago have become the key symbols of social status and political power for the Philippine chiefly elite. The importance on overseas luxury goods in the Philippine political economies corresponded with the emergence of more organizationally complex and territorially expansive chiefdoms and kingdoms before the Spanish contract.

As a local demand for porcelains and other exotic goods it drastically expanded in the Philippines and a number of alternative sources for forest product exports grew after the fourteenth century and foreign traders shifted towards a mass production strategy in which massive cargoes of cheaply made porcelains are traded widely all over the archipelago.

Philippines restricted access to foreign luxury goods and maintained their social values as exclusive as the elite prestige goods through controlling the geographic venue and the social context of exchange. On the other hand, foreign trade monopolies are created by developing the port facilities and economic base in order to attract foreign vessels and then serve as profitable trade partners. Moreover, the Philippine chiefs that depended on foreign derived wealth as a major source of power and prestige only relied on a number of institutionalized mechanisms just to make sure that the access of these goods are exclusive. Philippine rulers also developed a strategy to monopolize foreign trade and to keep the foreign goods from circulating the alliance networks of their political rivals.

The additional production needed for sustain the chief’s household and elite followers are obtained not through direct ownership of lands within a fixed geographic territory but instead through the development of clientage relationships that granted a chief the right to collect agricultural tribute from political subordinates. Philippine chiefs in general did not strengthen additional production through investment in hydraulic systems, large-scale terracing, or other technological improvements but instead grabbed additional labor through increased slave prowling, expanded tribute flow through increasing the labor burdens of subordinates and encouraged agricultural colonization of adjacent forest lands.

The textile industry is one in which the Philippines has long acted as an exporter. The early Spanish noted that the Filipinos knew had to raise, spin and weave cotton and silk. Lace-making and embroidery were widely practiced often with superb results. Besides cotton, abaca fiber and banana leaf fiber was also used. The native silk was known as pina. The woven works of the Philippines, particularly from the Muslims and animists of the South are now receiving long overdue attention from the international community.  

In traditional Philippine society, the importance of specialists with particular skills was emphasized by the bestowal of the title 'panday,' in recognition of mastery of an art, an applied science. They performed unique roles in their communities' struggle with nature; they attended to the birth of valued functional and ritual objects. In western Mindanao languages, midwives are called panday. Skills in various materials were specified: there was the panday-anluwagi (builder-carpenter), panday-bakal(blacksmith), or panday-ginto (goldsmith).

Natives of gold mining areas would have had several options, as shown by the career of contemporary artisan and National Craftsman Arcilla of the town of Paracale, in the province of Camarines Norte. The name of the southern Luzon town is derived from kali, or gold pit-mining. From a landowner he acquired mining rights, for a fixed monthly rental plus 10 per cent of the metal yield. He opened the land to diggers on condition that he would have first option to buy the gold. At the same time, he trained and organized goldsmiths and paid a fixed rate for their labor, based on the weight of the finished pieces. He sold raw material for a marginal gain, and finished pieces in Manila for a larger profit. Even the landowner's share is worked by him. He has bought his own parcels of gold-bearing land; to be worked on later similar arrangements may have been entered into in prehispanic times.  

Brumfiiel, Elizabeth, and Timothy Earle. 1987. Specialization, exchange and complex societies; an introduction. In E. Brumfiel and T.K. Earle, eds., Specialization, Exchange and Complex Societies, pp. 1-9. Campbridge: Campbridge University Press.

Carneiro, Robert. 1981. The chiefdom as precursor state. In G. Jones and R. Krautz, eds., The Transition to Statehood in a New World, pp. 37-39. Campbridge University Press.

Clark, John E., and William J. Parry. 1990. Craft specialization and cultural complexity. Research in Economic Anthropology 12:289-346.

Geertz, Cliford. 1973. The Interprepation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.

Gullick, John M. 1958. Indigenous Political Systems of Western Malaya. London: Athlone Press. 1st edition.

Hall, Kenneth. 1985. Maritime Trade and State Development in Early Southeast Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Junker, L.L. 1990a. Long-distance trade and the development of socio-political complexity in Philippine chiefdoms of the first millennium to mid-second millennium A.D. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

1990b. The organization of intra-regional and long-distance trade in pre-Hispanic Philippine complex societies. Asian Perspectives 29 (2): 167-209.

Peregrine, Peter. 1991. Some political aspects of craft specialization. World Archeology 23 (1): 1-11.

Winzeler, Robert. 1976. Ecology, culture, social organization and state formation in Southeast Asia. Current Anthropology 17: 623-624.

This is Preview only. If you need the solution of this assignment, please send us email with the complete assignment title: ProfessorKamranA@gmail.com

Trade Union - Summary

Was established in 1919-1920 with the league of Nations.It was created by part xiii of peace treaty ending world war1. Started operating as a United Nation agency after world war 2.Grew out of 19th century labour and social movements which culminated in the wide spread demands for social justice and higher living standards for the worlds working people.

In 1946 after the demise of the league of nations, the ILO became the first specialised agency to associated with united nations.

The reason for founding this organisation was to offer and promote remunerative employment.

It’s headquartered in Geneva,Switzerland. The ILO was incorporated with a vision that was based on the premise that “universal “ lasting peace can be established only if its based upon descent treatment of working people.

The ILO focuses on social justice and the prevention of discrimination at the work place.

STRUCTURE

Original membership was of 45 countries in 1919 but it had grown to 121 by 1971.

The ILO is unique among world organisations in that representatives of workers and the employees have an equal voice with those of the governments in formulating the policies.

The ILO holds annual international labour conference where its supreme deliberative body is composed of four representatives from each member country i.e

* Two government delegates

* One worker

* One employee delegate

Each may speak and vote indepently.During conferences, the work of ILO is guided by the governmennt body comprising 24 governments i.e twelve workers and twelve employee members.Also the twelve deputy members from each of the three groups.

The office in Geneve,Switzerland is the organisation’s secretariat , operational headquarters , research center and publishing house . Operations are staffed by more than 3000 people of some 100 nationalities . The permanent ILO machinery consists of the international labour conference, the governing body of the international labour office and the international labour...

This is Preview only. If you need the solution of this assignment, please send us email with the complete assignment title: ProfessorKamranA@gmail.com