Teknik och konflikt LKAB 1946-1987

Sammanfattning: This thesis examines the connection between technological dependence of mankind and its attitudes towards it. The issue is to what extent technological change in the workplace is a generator of conflict or a creator of consensus?The subject of the study is the Swedish mining company LKAB during the period 1946-1987. The case study concentrates on the approaches to new technology by the local union leadership and the LKAB company management.The analysis is carried out through a classification scheme over job- functions, divided into four functional categories. The classification is ranging from manually inclined work on the end to highly automized work on the other pole. The results show a clear and unquestionable development of mechanization. At the next level of analysis the focus is on approaches and ways of relating mechanization by the two parties took on the question, and how this influenced the relationships between the two parties. The final results show that technological change in general is a creator of consensus. However, at the same time, techno­logical change is an unequeal process because the company commands control over three kinds of power resources; ownership, the legislative right of paragraph 32 and the monopoly of technological expertis. Organized labour can only try to attain technological knowledge and high levels of worker support.