Squeezed between Capital and Technology: On the Participation of Labour in the Knowledge Society

Can trade union, act upon the development of science and technology (S&T) in our types of society? Some major political programmes aiming at the development of a labour-oriented technology are analysed and assessed in terms of their impact on S&T The results of a survey of grass-roots initiatives ('workers' plans') and two questionnaires among experts suggest that no progress has yet been made in the attempts to develop an interface with S&T. This conclusion leads to some reflection on the conditions of a policy which would allow the workforce to take part in the processes of technological innovation