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Divided Workers

Social relations between contract and regular workers in a Korean auto company

Chung-Ang University, South Koreabhlee{at}cau.ac.kr

Stephen J. Frenkel

AGSM, University of New South Wales/University of Sydney, Australiastevef{at}agsm.edu.au

Against the background of a rise in contingent labour and an emphasis by employers on flexibility, this article focuses on the relations between regular production and contract workers in a major Korean auto company. We show how regular workers use discursive and other practices to discriminate against contract workers.The concept of moral exclusion is used to frame these activities and provide meaning to contract workers’ experience.The moderate degree of moral exclusion that chararacterizes contract–regular worker relations is analysed and explained by reference to a theory that combines structural factors that affect the way contract labour is managed and relational factors that influence inter-group dynamics.

Key Words: auto industry • contract workers • contingent workers • co-worker relations • discrimination • Korea • moral exclusion • workplace politics

Work, Employment & Society, Vol. 18, No. 3, 507-530 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0950017004045548


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