an article by Brett Meyer (London School of Economics, UK) published in Journal of Public Policy Volume 39 Issue 4 (December 2019)
Abstract
In recent decades, there has been a gradual decline in working-class organisations, including social democratic parties and trade unions, and an increase in support for populist radical right parties across western democracies.
These trends have a plausible common cause: an increase in labour market insecurity associated with deindustrialisation may cause disenchantment with establishment organisations and support for politicians who criticise them.
In this article, I examine how individual labour market status interacts with labour market policies to affect attitudes towards trade unions and populist radical right parties.
I find that individuals with insecure employment status become less likely to support trade unions and more likely to support populist radical right parties as employment protection for secure workers increases.
This effect is offset somewhat by spending on active labour market policies.
I find evidence for these predictions in data for 27 Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development countries from 1995 to 2009.
Full text (PDF 18pp)
Showing posts with label trade_unions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trade_unions. Show all posts
Tuesday, 3 December 2019
Friday, 1 November 2019
How a new breed of trade union is leading the fight for precarious workers
While traditional trade unions face a declining and ageing membership, smaller bodies are organising groups to directly confront the issues of the gig economy.
an article by Imogen West-Kinghts published in the New Statesman
Uber drivers march to the company’s offices in London as part of the IWGB protest October 2018
Millions of people in the UK are in work, but unable to afford the basic needs of life. Nearly two thirds of families living in poverty, as defined by the Social Metrics Commission, have at least one adult in work. Last year the TUC found that one in nine workers – nearly four million people – are in precarious work. The Resolution Foundation predicts that one in three millennials will still be renting in their old age. In previous decade, workers looked to trade unions for protection against low wages and insecurity, but membership of those unions has fallen precipitously. But the landscape of union organisation is changing to meet the challenges of the new economy, and new unions are arriving.
Forty years ago, trade unions were mammoths in the UK’s political landscape, representing more than twelve million of the country’s workers and wielding the power to bring down governments. But since 1979 membership has halved, hitting an all-time low in 2016, and the number of strike days taken has dropped from almost 30 million to around 170,000 in 2017.
Continue reading
an article by Imogen West-Kinghts published in the New Statesman
Uber drivers march to the company’s offices in London as part of the IWGB protest October 2018
Millions of people in the UK are in work, but unable to afford the basic needs of life. Nearly two thirds of families living in poverty, as defined by the Social Metrics Commission, have at least one adult in work. Last year the TUC found that one in nine workers – nearly four million people – are in precarious work. The Resolution Foundation predicts that one in three millennials will still be renting in their old age. In previous decade, workers looked to trade unions for protection against low wages and insecurity, but membership of those unions has fallen precipitously. But the landscape of union organisation is changing to meet the challenges of the new economy, and new unions are arriving.
Forty years ago, trade unions were mammoths in the UK’s political landscape, representing more than twelve million of the country’s workers and wielding the power to bring down governments. But since 1979 membership has halved, hitting an all-time low in 2016, and the number of strike days taken has dropped from almost 30 million to around 170,000 in 2017.
Continue reading
Wednesday, 12 June 2019
Patterns of transnational trade union cooperation in Europe: The effect of regimes, sectors and resources
an article by Patrik Vulkan and Bengt Larsson (Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden) published in European Journal of Industrial Relations Volume 25 Issue 2 (June 2019)
Abstract
How far, in what ways and on what issues do trade unions in Europe cooperate cross-nationally?
Three important structural factors may explain differences in cooperation:
We examine transnational union cooperation at sectoral level, and test the explanatory value of these three factors. We address cooperation in five broad sectors, using a Europe-wide questionnaire-based survey of trade union activities.
We find that sectoral differences explain more of the variation in levels of transnational cooperation than do industrial relations regimes when controlling for resources, whereas both sectors and regimes influence which issues are seen as important for current and future cooperation.
In addition, small trade unions engage in much less transnational cooperation than large ones.
Full text (PDF 16pp)
Abstract
How far, in what ways and on what issues do trade unions in Europe cooperate cross-nationally?
Three important structural factors may explain differences in cooperation:
- national industrial relations contexts,
- sectoral contexts and
- unions’ organizational resources.
We examine transnational union cooperation at sectoral level, and test the explanatory value of these three factors. We address cooperation in five broad sectors, using a Europe-wide questionnaire-based survey of trade union activities.
We find that sectoral differences explain more of the variation in levels of transnational cooperation than do industrial relations regimes when controlling for resources, whereas both sectors and regimes influence which issues are seen as important for current and future cooperation.
In addition, small trade unions engage in much less transnational cooperation than large ones.
Full text (PDF 16pp)
Friday, 8 March 2019
Combatting disability discrimination: A comparison of France and Great Britain
an article by Susan Corby and Laura William (University of Greenwich, UK) and Sarah Richard (Ecole de Management, Université de Strasbourg, France) published in European Journal of Industrial Relations Volume 25 Issue 1 (March 2019)
Abstract
This article examines disabled people’s employment in Great Britain and France.
In both countries, they are far less likely to be employed than non-disabled people, but the gap is wider in Britain than in France.
Possible explanations for the wider gap in Britain include weak enforcement mechanisms, judicial resistance and the lack of an institutional role for trade unions, resulting in an implementation gap; while the narrower gap in France may reflect the more proactive legislation, including its quota-levy scheme.
We conclude that these explanations are not mutually exclusive, and we suggest that Britain might consider adopting some French provisions, thus tempering its voluntarist approach.
Abstract
This article examines disabled people’s employment in Great Britain and France.
In both countries, they are far less likely to be employed than non-disabled people, but the gap is wider in Britain than in France.
Possible explanations for the wider gap in Britain include weak enforcement mechanisms, judicial resistance and the lack of an institutional role for trade unions, resulting in an implementation gap; while the narrower gap in France may reflect the more proactive legislation, including its quota-levy scheme.
We conclude that these explanations are not mutually exclusive, and we suggest that Britain might consider adopting some French provisions, thus tempering its voluntarist approach.
Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Enhancing transnational labour solidarity: the unfulfilled promise of the Internet and social media
an article by Torsten Geelan (University of Cambridge, UK) and Andy Hodder (University of Birmingham, UK) published in Industrial Relations Journal Volume 48 Issue 4 (July 2017)
Abstract
This article examines the activities of Union Solidarity International (USI), a new UK-based organisation in the international union arena. USI seeks to encourage and support international solidarity between trade unions and other worker movements around the world by harnessing the dynamism of the Internet and social media.
Drawing on a combination of in-depth semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis, Google Analytics and social media data, the findings of this case study suggest that USI is successfully developing an international audience in the United States, the UK and Ireland. However, USI's ability to reach beyond English-speaking countries and mobilise people to engage in collective action appears limited.
The article makes an important contribution to the growing literature on social media in industrial relations through analysing the extent to which digital technologies can contribute to effective transnational labour solidarity.
Abstract
This article examines the activities of Union Solidarity International (USI), a new UK-based organisation in the international union arena. USI seeks to encourage and support international solidarity between trade unions and other worker movements around the world by harnessing the dynamism of the Internet and social media.
Drawing on a combination of in-depth semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis, Google Analytics and social media data, the findings of this case study suggest that USI is successfully developing an international audience in the United States, the UK and Ireland. However, USI's ability to reach beyond English-speaking countries and mobilise people to engage in collective action appears limited.
The article makes an important contribution to the growing literature on social media in industrial relations through analysing the extent to which digital technologies can contribute to effective transnational labour solidarity.
Friday, 21 April 2017
Welfare States and Labour Market Change: What is the Possible Relation?
an article by Bent Greve (Roskilde University, Denmark) published in Social Policy & Administration Volume 51 Issue 2 (March 2017)
Abstract
Welfare states in many countries have, at least since the financial crisis, been under strong pressure from high levels of unemployment. We are expecting dramatic changes to labour markets.
This article first presents the various arguments as to why there have or have not been substantial changes to labour markets, and whether there might be in the future, including arguments pro and con the possible impact thereof. The article thus provides a review of knowledge within the field, with a focus especially on how this can or might have an impact on welfare states, given the often strong connection between being on the labour market, access to a variety of welfare benefits and the ability to finance welfare states.
It uses concepts such as under-employment and new forms of jobs as indicators of change. These changes implying, more than ever, that having a job does not necessarily entail that a person has a stable and solid income above the poverty level.
Lastly, the article discusses whether some welfare states régime types are more prepared than others.
Full text (HTML)
Abstract
Welfare states in many countries have, at least since the financial crisis, been under strong pressure from high levels of unemployment. We are expecting dramatic changes to labour markets.
This article first presents the various arguments as to why there have or have not been substantial changes to labour markets, and whether there might be in the future, including arguments pro and con the possible impact thereof. The article thus provides a review of knowledge within the field, with a focus especially on how this can or might have an impact on welfare states, given the often strong connection between being on the labour market, access to a variety of welfare benefits and the ability to finance welfare states.
It uses concepts such as under-employment and new forms of jobs as indicators of change. These changes implying, more than ever, that having a job does not necessarily entail that a person has a stable and solid income above the poverty level.
Lastly, the article discusses whether some welfare states régime types are more prepared than others.
Full text (HTML)
Friday, 19 July 2013
Workplace trade union activists in UK service sector organising campaigns
an article by Melanie Simms (Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK) published in Industrial Relations Journal Volume 44 Issue 4 (July 2013)
Abstract
This article examines the roles of activists as they develop during campaigns to establish a workplace union presence. Evidence shows that there is surprising variation within and between campaigns, which is explained by:
Abstract
This article examines the roles of activists as they develop during campaigns to establish a workplace union presence. Evidence shows that there is surprising variation within and between campaigns, which is explained by:
- management decision making;
- union policies and structures; and
- the skills of the activists themselves.
Wednesday, 10 July 2013
Faith in unions: From safe spaces to organised labour?
an article by Jane Holgate (University of Leeds, UK) published in Capital & Class volume 37 Number 2 (June 2013)
Abstract
Despite the UK trade union movement’s avowedly secular nature, its antecedents show that religious beliefs greatly influenced many early trade unionists and, in some cases, contributed to the formation of a trade union consciousness.
This paper considers the way trade union leaders in the 19th and 20th centuries drew upon religious teachings of social justice to organise their fellow workers. This context provides background for understanding how today a similar ideological commitment to collectivisation and social justice may be held by workers of faith; and how the adoption of a ‘militant secularism’ by some trade unionists may result in the closing of these conceptual spaces.
Abstract
Despite the UK trade union movement’s avowedly secular nature, its antecedents show that religious beliefs greatly influenced many early trade unionists and, in some cases, contributed to the formation of a trade union consciousness.
This paper considers the way trade union leaders in the 19th and 20th centuries drew upon religious teachings of social justice to organise their fellow workers. This context provides background for understanding how today a similar ideological commitment to collectivisation and social justice may be held by workers of faith; and how the adoption of a ‘militant secularism’ by some trade unionists may result in the closing of these conceptual spaces.
Monday, 3 June 2013
Wage claims in the British private sector: 1979–2003
Peter Ingram (University of Surrey, UK), Neil Rickman (Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands) and Jonathan Wadsworth (Royal Holloway College and Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK) published in Industrial Relations Journal Volume 44 Issue 3 (May 2013)
Abstract
Wage claims have been an important feature of British industrial relations during the postwar period. They help set the boundaries within which wage negotiations take place and provide an insight into the conduct of negotiations, especially during periods of change in industrial relations.
Despite this, claims remain an under-investigated area.
This article provides a unique investigation of the dimensions of wage claims over a period of free collective bargaining.
The number of wage claims declined along with unionisation but, over a period of economic turbulence, the conduct of British wage setting began to change.
We examine data on claims and investigate the influences on changes in those claims over time.
We find that external factors (inflation, unemployment and legislative control of unions) were more prominent in shaping the development of claims than changes in the composition of groups who continued to post claims.
Abstract
Wage claims have been an important feature of British industrial relations during the postwar period. They help set the boundaries within which wage negotiations take place and provide an insight into the conduct of negotiations, especially during periods of change in industrial relations.
Despite this, claims remain an under-investigated area.
This article provides a unique investigation of the dimensions of wage claims over a period of free collective bargaining.
The number of wage claims declined along with unionisation but, over a period of economic turbulence, the conduct of British wage setting began to change.
We examine data on claims and investigate the influences on changes in those claims over time.
We find that external factors (inflation, unemployment and legislative control of unions) were more prominent in shaping the development of claims than changes in the composition of groups who continued to post claims.
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Reframing workplace relations? Conflict resolution and mediation in a primary care trust
an article by Richard Saundry and Louise McArdle (University of Central Lancashire, UK) and Peter Thomas (Lancaster University, UK) published in Work Employment & Society Volume 27 Number 2 (April 2013)
Abstract
In recent years, workplace conflict has become increasingly manifest in individual employment disputes as collective labour regulation has been eroded. Accordingly, attention has been focused on finding ways to facilitate the early resolution of such disputes.
Policy-makers have placed a particular emphasis on workplace mediation.
However, the broader impact of mediation on conventional grievance and disciplinary processes and on the workplace relations that underpin them has been largely ignored. This article reports on research into the introduction of an in-house mediation scheme within a primary care trust. It explores the implications of the scheme for: workplace relations within the organisation; the dynamics of conflict management; and trade union influence.
It argues that the introduction of mediation provided a conduit through which positive workplace relations were rebuilt which in turn facilitated informal processes of dispute resolution. Furthermore, it allowed trade unions within the organization to extend their influence into areas traditionally dominated by managerial prerogative.
Abstract
In recent years, workplace conflict has become increasingly manifest in individual employment disputes as collective labour regulation has been eroded. Accordingly, attention has been focused on finding ways to facilitate the early resolution of such disputes.
Policy-makers have placed a particular emphasis on workplace mediation.
However, the broader impact of mediation on conventional grievance and disciplinary processes and on the workplace relations that underpin them has been largely ignored. This article reports on research into the introduction of an in-house mediation scheme within a primary care trust. It explores the implications of the scheme for: workplace relations within the organisation; the dynamics of conflict management; and trade union influence.
It argues that the introduction of mediation provided a conduit through which positive workplace relations were rebuilt which in turn facilitated informal processes of dispute resolution. Furthermore, it allowed trade unions within the organization to extend their influence into areas traditionally dominated by managerial prerogative.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Trade unions and the pension crisis: defending member interests in a neoliberal world
an article by Jo Grady (University of Leicester, UK) published in Employee Relations Volume 35 Issue 3 (2013)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to draw upon empirical research in order to demonstrate the ways in which trade unions have responded to the so-called current UK pension crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses both theoretical approaches to neoliberalism, and empirical research in the form of interviews, to examine the contradictions between the rhetoric and reality of government policy towards, and trade union responses to, pension reform in the UK.
Findings
That trade unions have been constrained by: the fact that the labour party, which they support, has been in government but has increasingly become receptive to neoliberal economic policies; and by the broader discourse of pension reform, advanced by elites that are committed to neoliberal reforms to the British welfare state.
Research limitations/implications
The scope of the paper is large and thus certain issues regarding the pension crisis and ideology are not covered in as much detail as would be preferred.
Practical implications
The paper offers forward a unique critique regarding the current favoured pension policies and solutions.
Originality/value
This paper draws upon front-line theoretical contributions and combines them with the author's interviews with leading trade union general secretaries. As such, it is a unique insight into not only the current so-called “pensions crisis” but also the responses of trade unions, and the labour movement more broadly, to this constructed dilemma.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to draw upon empirical research in order to demonstrate the ways in which trade unions have responded to the so-called current UK pension crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses both theoretical approaches to neoliberalism, and empirical research in the form of interviews, to examine the contradictions between the rhetoric and reality of government policy towards, and trade union responses to, pension reform in the UK.
Findings
That trade unions have been constrained by: the fact that the labour party, which they support, has been in government but has increasingly become receptive to neoliberal economic policies; and by the broader discourse of pension reform, advanced by elites that are committed to neoliberal reforms to the British welfare state.
Research limitations/implications
The scope of the paper is large and thus certain issues regarding the pension crisis and ideology are not covered in as much detail as would be preferred.
Practical implications
The paper offers forward a unique critique regarding the current favoured pension policies and solutions.
Originality/value
This paper draws upon front-line theoretical contributions and combines them with the author's interviews with leading trade union general secretaries. As such, it is a unique insight into not only the current so-called “pensions crisis” but also the responses of trade unions, and the labour movement more broadly, to this constructed dilemma.
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Women and the Modernization of British Trade Unions: Meanings, Dimensions and the Challenge of Change
an article by Mark Stuart and Jennifer Tomlinson (University of Leeds, UK) and Miguel Martinez Lucio (Manchester Business School, UK) published in The Journal of Industrial Relations volume 55 Number 1 (February 2013)
Abstract
This article examines the position of women within the modernisation processes of British trade unions, based on the first analysis to date of projects funded under the British government’s Trade Union Modernisation Fund.
The focus of the article on the Trade Union Modernisation Fund provides unique insights into the relatively under-explored ‘inner workings’ of unions, and allows an examination of the types of modernisation projects that may advance women’s interests within unions and the types of challenges such initiatives face.
The projects suggested that reflection and learning around women’s interests and equality agendas were taking place, along with a degree of mainstreaming and embedding activity within union structures.
However, projects had to face not only deeply entrenched constraints, but also a new set of challenges raised by the process of modernisation itself.
Abstract
This article examines the position of women within the modernisation processes of British trade unions, based on the first analysis to date of projects funded under the British government’s Trade Union Modernisation Fund.
The focus of the article on the Trade Union Modernisation Fund provides unique insights into the relatively under-explored ‘inner workings’ of unions, and allows an examination of the types of modernisation projects that may advance women’s interests within unions and the types of challenges such initiatives face.
The projects suggested that reflection and learning around women’s interests and equality agendas were taking place, along with a degree of mainstreaming and embedding activity within union structures.
However, projects had to face not only deeply entrenched constraints, but also a new set of challenges raised by the process of modernisation itself.
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Trade union responses to ageing workforces in the UK and Germany
an article by Matthew Flynn and Martin Upchurch (Middlesex University Business School, UK), Michael Muller-Camen (WU, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria and Middlesex University Business School, UK) and Heike Schroder (WU, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria) published in Human Relations Volume 66 Number 1 (January 2013)
Abstract
Ageing workforces are placing conflicting pressures on European trade unions in order to, on the one hand, protect pensions and early retirement routes, and, on the other, promote human resource management (HRM) policies geared towards enabling their older members to extend working life.
Using interviews from German and United Kingdom (UK) trade unions, we discuss how unions are both constrained and enabled by pre-existing institutional structures in advocating approaches to age management.
In Germany, some unions use their strong institutional role to affect public policy and industrial change at national and sectoral levels. UK unions have taken a more defensive approach, focused on protecting pension rights.
The contrasting varieties of capitalism, welfare systems and trade unions’ own orientations are creating different pressures and mechanisms to which unions need to respond. While the German inclusive system is providing unions with mechanisms for negotiating collectively at the national level, UK unions’ activism remains localized.
Abstract
Ageing workforces are placing conflicting pressures on European trade unions in order to, on the one hand, protect pensions and early retirement routes, and, on the other, promote human resource management (HRM) policies geared towards enabling their older members to extend working life.
Using interviews from German and United Kingdom (UK) trade unions, we discuss how unions are both constrained and enabled by pre-existing institutional structures in advocating approaches to age management.
In Germany, some unions use their strong institutional role to affect public policy and industrial change at national and sectoral levels. UK unions have taken a more defensive approach, focused on protecting pension rights.
The contrasting varieties of capitalism, welfare systems and trade unions’ own orientations are creating different pressures and mechanisms to which unions need to respond. While the German inclusive system is providing unions with mechanisms for negotiating collectively at the national level, UK unions’ activism remains localized.
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Reinventing retirement: New pathways, new arrangements, new meanings
an article by Leisa D Sargent (University of Melbourne, Australia), Mary Dean Lee and Mary Dean Lee (McGill University, Canada), Bill Martin (The University of Queensland, Australia) and Jelena Zikic (York University, Canada) published in Human Relations Volume 66 Number 1 (January 2013)
Abstract
Retirement involves a set of institutional arrangements combined with socio-cultural meanings to sustain a distinct retirement phase in life course and career pathways.
In this Introduction to the Special Issue: ‘Reinventing Retirement: New Pathways, New Arrangements, New Meanings,’ we outline the historical development of retirement.
We identify the dramatic broad-based changes that recently have shaken this established construct to its core. We describe the main organisational responses to these changes, and how they have been associated with shifting, multiple meanings of retirement.
Finally, we present a model that frames two general forms of reinvention of retirement.
The first involves continuation of the idea of a distinct and well-defined period of life occurring at the end of a career trajectory, but with changes in the timing, the kinds of post-retirement activities pursued, and meanings associated with this period of life.
The second represents a more fundamental reinvention in which the overall concept of retirement as a distinct period in an individual’s life is challenged or rejected, whether because it is not appealing or no longer realistic.
We provide examples of how both types of reinvention may manifest in individuals’ careers and lives, and suggest future research directions that follow from our model.
Monday, 7 January 2013
The Employment of Temporary Agency Workers in the UK: For or Against the Trade Unions?
an article by René Böheim, Martina Zweimüller (Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria) published in Economica Volume 80 Issue 317 (January 2013)
Abstract
Trade unions will oppose the employment of temporary agency workers if it is a move to replace workers or to curb union power.
Alternatively, trade unions may encourage the employment of agency workers if it leads to higher wages for their members.
Using British data from 1998 and 2004, we find no evidence for a negative association between trade union activity and the hiring of agency workers. Wages are typically higher in unionised workplaces; however, the trade union premium is lower in the presence of agency workers. Our results suggest that trade unions cannot effectively oppose the hiring of agency workers.
Abstract
Trade unions will oppose the employment of temporary agency workers if it is a move to replace workers or to curb union power.
Alternatively, trade unions may encourage the employment of agency workers if it leads to higher wages for their members.
Using British data from 1998 and 2004, we find no evidence for a negative association between trade union activity and the hiring of agency workers. Wages are typically higher in unionised workplaces; however, the trade union premium is lower in the presence of agency workers. Our results suggest that trade unions cannot effectively oppose the hiring of agency workers.
Monday, 29 October 2012
De-collectivization and employment problems: the experiences of minority ethnic workers seeking help through Citizens Advice
an article by Jane Holgate (University of Leeds, UK), Anna Pollert (University of West of England, UK) and Janroj Keles and Leena Kumarappan (London Metropolitan University, UK) published in Work Employment & Society Volume 26 Number 5 (October 2012)
Abstract
This article draws on a study of the experiences of (primarily non-unionised) minority ethnic workers in seeking advice and support for employment problems in the context of the de-collectivisation of employment relations in Britain.
It focuses on one of the main recourses identified in the research, the Citizens Advice Bureau, its relationship with community organisations and with trade unions.
Workers’ testimonies about their experiences of help with workplace grievances are supplemented with views of advice providers, community-based organisations and trade unionists.
Findings illuminate the specific experiences of minority ethnic workers, as well as similarities with majority ethnic non-unionised workers and highlight the paucity of individual employment advice and a growing crisis for workers’ rights with the decline in collective union representation.
Abstract
This article draws on a study of the experiences of (primarily non-unionised) minority ethnic workers in seeking advice and support for employment problems in the context of the de-collectivisation of employment relations in Britain.
It focuses on one of the main recourses identified in the research, the Citizens Advice Bureau, its relationship with community organisations and with trade unions.
Workers’ testimonies about their experiences of help with workplace grievances are supplemented with views of advice providers, community-based organisations and trade unionists.
Findings illuminate the specific experiences of minority ethnic workers, as well as similarities with majority ethnic non-unionised workers and highlight the paucity of individual employment advice and a growing crisis for workers’ rights with the decline in collective union representation.
Monday, 24 September 2012
‘Nothing gets done and no one knows why’: PCS and workplace control of Lean in HM Revenue and Customs
an article by Bob Carter (De Montfort University), Andy Danford (University West of England), Debra Howcroft (Manchester Business School and Social Informatics, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden), Helen Richardson (Salford University), Andrew Smith (Bradford University) and Phil Taylor (University of Strathclyde) published in Industrial Relations Journal Volume 43 Issue 5 (September 2012)
Abstract
This article examines the willingness and capacity of public sector unions to mobilise action against changes in the labour process in order to maintain some measure of control at the point of production.
Taking as an instance an extended dispute in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs over the introduction and impact of Lean processes, it marshals evidence gathered from documentary sources, branch representatives and national lay full-time officers to engage with the notion of a trade union bureaucracy.
In taking a union with a left-wing leadership and a section with 80 per cent membership with an expressed willingness to escalate industrial action, the article tests Hyman’s 1979 contention that, rather than a concentration on a bureaucratic caste, a much better explanation for conservatism centres on the nature of social relations within the union that encompass a wider layer of representatives.
Hazel’s comment:
’Twas ever thus!
Abstract
This article examines the willingness and capacity of public sector unions to mobilise action against changes in the labour process in order to maintain some measure of control at the point of production.
Taking as an instance an extended dispute in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs over the introduction and impact of Lean processes, it marshals evidence gathered from documentary sources, branch representatives and national lay full-time officers to engage with the notion of a trade union bureaucracy.
In taking a union with a left-wing leadership and a section with 80 per cent membership with an expressed willingness to escalate industrial action, the article tests Hyman’s 1979 contention that, rather than a concentration on a bureaucratic caste, a much better explanation for conservatism centres on the nature of social relations within the union that encompass a wider layer of representatives.
Hazel’s comment:
’Twas ever thus!
Radical political unionism in France and Britain: A comparative study of SUD-Rail and the RMT
an article by Heather Connolly (De Montfort University) and Ralph Darlington (University of Salford) published in European Journal of Industrial Relations Volume 18 Number 3 (September 2012)
Abstract
Many recent pessimistic academic assessments of the prospects for the revival of European trade unionism fail adequately to capture evidence of continuing union resilience and combativity in certain areas of employment.
An example is the distinctive and relatively successful form of highly militant and politicised trade unionism which has emerged in both the French and British railway sectors over the last 10 years. This has involved the repeated mobilisation of members through strike action, combined with vigorous left-wing ideological opposition to both employers and government, as the pathway both to both advancing workers’ interests and to revitalising union organization.
This article provides a comparative analysis of SUD-Rail and the RMT, documenting the dynamics, causes, effectiveness, limits and potential of such ‘radical political unionism’ and considers its implications for debates about union renewal.
Abstract
Many recent pessimistic academic assessments of the prospects for the revival of European trade unionism fail adequately to capture evidence of continuing union resilience and combativity in certain areas of employment.
An example is the distinctive and relatively successful form of highly militant and politicised trade unionism which has emerged in both the French and British railway sectors over the last 10 years. This has involved the repeated mobilisation of members through strike action, combined with vigorous left-wing ideological opposition to both employers and government, as the pathway both to both advancing workers’ interests and to revitalising union organization.
This article provides a comparative analysis of SUD-Rail and the RMT, documenting the dynamics, causes, effectiveness, limits and potential of such ‘radical political unionism’ and considers its implications for debates about union renewal.
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Youth representatives’ opinions on recruiting and representing young workers: A twofold unsatisfied demand?
an article by Kurt Vandaele (European Trade Union Institute, Brussels) published in European Journal of Industrial Relations Volume 18 Number 3 (September 2012)
Abstract
Unionisation levels are far lower among young workers than for the workforce in general. How can trade unions become more responsive to their particular interests and needs?
Union confederations, even in countries with decentralised union structures, have the potential to take effective initiatives to facilitate and support new organising strategies targeted at young workers, for example by spreading knowledge, practical skills and vision of relevance for improving the representation and recruitment of young workers.
Yet the survey findings reported here show that youth representatives across Europe find their confederations’ responsiveness and commitment to organising to be inadequate. Their dissatisfaction confirms previous research findings concerning young workers and their unfulfilled desire for unionisation.
Abstract
Unionisation levels are far lower among young workers than for the workforce in general. How can trade unions become more responsive to their particular interests and needs?
Union confederations, even in countries with decentralised union structures, have the potential to take effective initiatives to facilitate and support new organising strategies targeted at young workers, for example by spreading knowledge, practical skills and vision of relevance for improving the representation and recruitment of young workers.
Yet the survey findings reported here show that youth representatives across Europe find their confederations’ responsiveness and commitment to organising to be inadequate. Their dissatisfaction confirms previous research findings concerning young workers and their unfulfilled desire for unionisation.
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
How trade unions increase welfare
an article by Alejandro Donado and Klaus Wa¨lde (University of Würzburg University of Mainz, Université Catholique de Louvain and CESifo) published in The Economic Journal Volume 122 Issue 563 (September 2012)
Abstract
Historically, worker movements have played a crucial role in making workplaces safer. Firms traditionally oppose better health standards.
According to our interpretation, workplace safety is costly for firms but increases the average health of workers and thereby the aggregate labour supply.
A laissez faire approach in which firms set safety standards is suboptimal as workers are not fully informed of health risks associated with jobs. Safety standards set by better informed trade unions are output and welfare increasing.
Abstract
Historically, worker movements have played a crucial role in making workplaces safer. Firms traditionally oppose better health standards.
According to our interpretation, workplace safety is costly for firms but increases the average health of workers and thereby the aggregate labour supply.
A laissez faire approach in which firms set safety standards is suboptimal as workers are not fully informed of health risks associated with jobs. Safety standards set by better informed trade unions are output and welfare increasing.
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