Builders: class, gender and ethnicity in the construction industry

"Building workers constitute between five and ten per cent of the total labour market in almost every country of the world. They construct, repair and maintain the vital physical infrastructure of our societies, and we rely upon and trust their achievements every day. Yet we know surprisingly l...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thiel, Darren
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: London 2012
Routledge
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19131092124919592749-Builders-class,-gender-and-eth.htm
_version_ 1771659893385723905
author Thiel, Darren
author_facet Thiel, Darren
collection Library items
description "Building workers constitute between five and ten per cent of the total labour market in almost every country of the world. They construct, repair and maintain the vital physical infrastructure of our societies, and we rely upon and trust their achievements every day. Yet we know surprisingly little about builders, the organisation of their work, or the business relations that constitute their industry. This book redresses this lacuna by taking an in depth and close-up look at a section of London building workers and businessmen, highlighting a largely hidden social world. Based on seven years of fieldwork where the author worked as a builder in London, this book describes the informal and practical cultural activities that underpin the construction economy, analysing how gifts, kick-backs, favours and loyalties served as the glue of this economy and also the fundamental frameworks for comprehending the mores and cultures of the building workers and businessmen. Thiel also explores the ethnic diversity and divisions within the trade, considering the centrality of the interrelationships of class, ethnicity and gender in the builders’ cultural and practical lives and showing how these factors interrelated with economy and polity to produce the building industry and its buildings. Based predominately in cultural and economic sociology, the book will also be of interest to those working in the fields of gender studies; social class and inequality; migration and ethnicity; urban studies; and social identity."
format TEXT
geographic United Kingdom
id 19131092124919592749_210ee660e1484fadbe915ce1f02b178e
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19131092124919592749_210ee660e1484fadbe915ce1f02b178e
is_hierarchy_title Builders: class, gender and ethnicity in the construction industry
language English
physical XI, 186 p.
Paper
publishDate 2012
publisher London
Routledge
spellingShingle Thiel, Darren
construction industry
ethnic factor
gender
work organization
working conditions
Builders: class, gender and ethnicity in the construction industry
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=122410294069
title Builders: class, gender and ethnicity in the construction industry
topic construction industry
ethnic factor
gender
work organization
working conditions
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19131092124919592749-Builders-class,-gender-and-eth.htm