scholarly journals Networking, lobbying and bargaining for pensions: trade union power in the Norwegian pension reform

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Skevik Grødem ◽  
Jon M. Hippe
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Pension System ◽  
Pension Reform ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Union Power ◽  
Pension Reforms

AbstractNorway reformed its pension system in 2011, introducing a Swedish-style, NDC system. Contrary to expectations, the reform was largely supported by the dominant confederation of trade unions, the LO. In this article, we look at LO involvement in the process at different stages. Through qualitative interviews with key reform architects, we have traced the process between 2005 and 2008, emphasising actors, meeting places and interests. Starting from the insight that unions can influence through lobbying, bargaining and (the threat of) mobilising, we suggest that lobbying can be a mutual process, where parties and unions move each other’s positions. In addition, bargaining can take the form of behind-the-scenes cooperation, as well as of negotiations in the classic, Nordic-style industrial relations sense. Expanding on this framework, we suggest that the literature on pension reforms should pay more attention to negotiated and voluntary labour market occupational schemes, and to the importance of expertise and networks.

scholarly journals Institutional resources as a source of trade union power in Southern Europe

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Rigby ◽  
Miguel Ángel García Calavia
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Union Power ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Institutional Resources ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes ◽  
Southern European Countries

Institutional resources are one of the sources of power available to trade unions, but recent literature has tended to pay less attention to these than to associational and organizational resources. We examine institutional resources in three Southern European countries, Greece, Portugal and Spain, which share many common characteristics. However, the character of institutional resources in Spanish industrial relations is distinctive. We examine the plasticity of industrial relations institutions in Spain in terms of labour market outcomes but argue that institutional security is an essential platform for unions seeking to develop other sources of power.

Incomes Policy and Industrial Relations: Britain, Sweden and Australia

1980 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Wright ◽  
Nixon Apple
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
Government Relations ◽  
Incomes Policy ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Increasingly, economic debate in Australia and other Western, developed economies is directed to the interdependence and potential conflict between the out come of labour market negotiations and government economic policy. Industrial relations becomes identified as a cause of economic problems and governments have been attracted to policies that seek to alter the outcome of labour market negotia tions, using what are often termed "incomes policies". However, because of the nature of industrial relations, incomes policies which might be established to express government demands also have an influence over the balance of powers and relations within the economy. This dynamic process presents problems for practitioners and academics assessing the full effect of incomes policies. The corporatist model developed by Leo Pantich is one useful model of the changes that can occur in trade union, employer and government relations under incomes policy conditions. Draw ing on the flexibility of such a process model, this article details the development of incomes policies in Britain and Sweden, examining the changing relationships and powers that have occurred when the parties (and especially the trade unions) have responded to the demands such policies make on industrial relations. The differences in trade union reactions to industrial relations adjustment provide lessons and experiences for any economy where the government seeks to direct labour market negotiations. In terms of the impact on trade unions particularly and industrial relations in general, the British and Swedish lessons offer valuable insights for Australia. Examining the dynamic incomes policy effects in Australia, we conclude that only if industrial relations practitioners and trade unionists are aware of the dynamic pressures of intervention and respond in a structured manner can they avoid the traps identified by British experience and benefit from the opportunities offered by Swedish initiatives.

Understanding the diverging trajectories of slaughterhouse work in Denmark and Germany: A power resource approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Wagner ◽  
Bjarke Refslund
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Meat Products ◽  
Union Power ◽  
Power Resource ◽  
Power Position

Germany and Denmark are among the world’s largest exporters of meat products. Two decades ago their labour markets were similar, but since then they have diverged significantly. The industry in Denmark has maintained high wages and good working conditions, while in Germany there has been a rapid growth in precarious employment, with widespread use of subcontracted and posted migrant workers. We argue that the key explanation for this radical difference is the power position of the trade unions, which also affects how employers position themselves. We show how trade union power embedded in the local and sectoral industrial relations systems influences the wages and working conditions in German and Danish slaughterhouses.

scholarly journals Changing Power of Union in India: A Study of Actors’ Perception

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Manoranjan Dhal
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Power Structure ◽  
Manufacturing Industries ◽  
Union Power ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Union Leaders

Abstract — With the growing globalization of market, out sourcing of production, and downsizing of manpower trade unions are losing their power across the globe. This paper tries to explore the perception of actors, i.e. workers, trade union leaders and managers about the changing power structure of union. Attempt was made to study the perception of actors about the function of union, industrial relations climate and its impact on power of union. This study is based on 640 structured interviews conducted in manufacturing industries across different sectors in India. Keywords: Actors; Trade Union; Union Power

Legal Expertise: A Critical Resource for Trade Unionists? Insights into the Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Guillaume
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Institutional Power ◽  
Collective Redress ◽  
Critical Resource ◽  
The Law ◽  
Legal Expertise

Abstract Based on in-depth qualitative research conducted in one of the major French trade unions (the CFDT), this article explores to what extent and under what conditions trade unions adopt different legal practices to further their members’ interests. In particular, it investigates how ‘legal framing’ has taken an increasingly pervasive place in trade union work, in increasingly decentralised industrial relations contexts, such as France. This article therefore argues that the use of the law has become a multifaceted and embedded repertoire of action for the CFDT in its attempt to consolidate its institutional power through various strategies, including collective redress and the use of legal expertise in collective bargaining and representation work.

scholarly journals Trade Union Practices in the EU and Latvia: Experience for Eastern Partnership Countries

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-118
Author(s):  
Sergejs Stacenko ◽  
Biruta Sloka
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Eastern Partnership ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Dialogue ◽  
Eastern Partnership Countries ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe article will show major dimensions in the experience of EU Member States that could be shared with the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries. The framework of the study is the EU concept of trade unions in social dialogue and social partnership in the public sector. This study outlines the concept of social dialogue as a core element of industrial relations and will focus on industrial relations specifically in the public sector. The authors have elaborated the approach to industrial relations and social dialogue taking into account comparative approach to definitions provided by international institutions such as ILO and OECD, as well as institutions in the EU and Latvia. Latvia is also a case study for Eastern Partnership countries as these countries and their trade unions are in a transition period from socialist structures to structures that possess liberal economies. Trade unions in these countries are members of the International Trade Union Confederation. The major transformation that trade unions underwent from being part of the socialist system and becoming an independent institution since Latvia regained independence in 1991 has been studied. The paper discusses the current developments related to the position of Latvian Free Trade Union Federation in the system of decision-making process related to the public administration management. Finally, the prospective role of trade unions in the EU and in Latvia is analysed and possible revitalisation of trade union is discussed. This approach could be applied to the Eastern Partners of the EU.

Australian Labour Market Issues: an Historical Perspective

1998 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 690-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Isaac
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Institutional Arrangement ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Women's Wages ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Wage Inflation

This paper provides an historical perspective on topics related to recent developments in the Australian industrial relations system discussed in this issue of the Journal— the 'living wage' concept and the safety net, 'fairness' in relative wages, women's wages, the Accord, labour market decentralisation and the role of trade unions. It concludes that recent legislation was not necessary to facilitate increased productivity because the prevailing system had shown sufficient responsiveness to the needs of the economy, both macro and micro. By limiting the jurisdiction of the AIRC and reducing the power of the weaker unions, recent legislation bas created a dual system with a less equitable pay structure and an institutional arrangement less able to deal with wage inflation under more buoyant economic conditions.

Purging the Trade Unions

2020 ◽  
pp. 343-373
Author(s):  
Ewing Mahoney
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Service Trade ◽  
Public Sector Employment ◽  
Legal Foundations ◽  
Legal Position

This chapter looks at government attempts to ban trade unions, considering the steps that were taken in lieu of an outright ban on trade union membership. Consistently with other measures taken at the time under the cover of security, government intervention to deal with the alleged menace of Communist infiltration of the civil service trade unions did not take the form of legislation. The legal position reflected both the lack of legal regulation of industrial relations generally and the lack of legal regulation of public-sector employment in particular. In practice, governments rarely needed to reveal or justify the legal foundations for their actions. The benefit for government is that although security policies might well be announced and made public, there would be little accountability thereafter if operated unobtrusively.

scholarly journals Brazilian Trade Unions

2009 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Lang ◽  
Mona-Josée Gagnon
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Union Leader ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Heavy Body ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Labour Legislation

Many analysts of Brazilian industrial relations share a determinist vision of the country’s trade unionism, according to which the unions maintain a paradoxical yet atavistic relationship with the heavy body of laws that provide them with advantages while limiting their freedom. We tested this vision by conducting field enquiries into the daily activities of two Brazilian unions: the ABC Metalworkers Union and the Seamstress Union for the Sao Paulo and Osasco Region. In this article, we present the results of our case studies and what they reveal about Brazilian trade unionism’s relationship with the labour legislation. We also briefly discuss former trade union leader and current President Lula’s recent attempts to reform the country’s labour relations system.

scholarly journals Young Workers’ Perceptions of Trade Unions in Portugal

2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 574-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilona Kovács ◽  
João Dias ◽  
Maria da Conceição Cerdeira
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Young Workers ◽  
Family Status ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
High Concentration

This paper seeks to capture how unions are perceived by young workers in Portugal and to identify different types of perceptions. Our analysis considers both structural factors and subjective experiences and is based on semi-structured interviews with young people working in sectors with a high concentration of youth employment. The fact that young workers are increasingly exposed to the pressures of unemployment and precarious work might suggest that there is homogeneity in their perceptions about trade unions and collective action. However, our results show that young workers’ perceptions are not homogenous and that they interconnect with distinct segments, characterized by different socio-economic conditions, as defined by family status, education level and position in the labour market. Three types of perceptions were identified by content analysis of the interviews: positive, negative and critical perceptions. A final segment of younger and less-skilled workers, of families with low educational and economic resources and having left school prematurely, have neither information nor any understanding about unions. Our findings support the thesis that diversity of educational and early labour market experiences, which characterize transition processes to adulthood, shape the relation between young workers and unions, in particular the motivation to join unions. Capturing the diversity of young workers experiences and perceptions is a challenge to industrial relations research, as well as to trade unionism. It can provide unions with important insights into how to adapt their strategies to recruit new young members and to mobilize the latent interests of young workers in collective action.

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