Permanent liminality: The impact of non-standard forms of employment on workers' committees in Israel

Abstract

Workers' committees in Israel are adapting to the neoliberal economy, and the resulting changes in the labour market, by increasingly accepting various non-standard forms of employment. At the same time, however, they are resisting this reconfiguration of the capitalist economy, in an effort to safeguard workers' rights. Torn between the two positions, workers' committees find themselves in a state of permanent "liminality", their role reduced to merely seeking compromises and ad hoc solutions. As a result, opposition to the adverse effects of non-standard employment remains localized and fragmented, thereby consolidating such employment arrangements.