A uruguayan dairy industry and the search for a new regime of labor power mobilization

Abstract

The subject of this paper is the managerial discourses and policies characteristic of late XX and early XXI century capitalism. Such discourses and policies are here understood as means to adjust the capitalist regime of labour power mobilization to the technical and organizational changes occurred in the dynamics of capitalism worldwide. The choice of Conaprole, an Uruguayan dairy company, has to do with the fact that it has been the subject of a wide process of restructuring in the last two decades. Our conclusions show that flexibility, competence, polyvalence, confidence, engagement, adaptability, as well as the adoption of individualized policies regarding wage-workers have become central concepts and orientations to the managerial discourses and practices of the company. In a broader perspective, this conclusion reinforces the trend of contemporary capitalism towards the emergence of new regimes of labour power mobilization. The arguments and results presented are based on interviews realized with Conaprole officials and workers along the years 2003 and 2004.