Chile's labour reform will pass this year

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
Small Companies ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Broad Agreement

Subject The pending labour reform bill. Significance Complying with an important election promise, President Michelle Bachelet has presented a bill to Congress to strengthen trade unions and encourage more widespread collective bargaining in the private sector. Given the governing coalition's majority in Congress and broad agreement among its parties on the bill's terms, it is expected to become law largely in its current form, probably by mid-year. Impacts Small companies, where unionisation is now uncommon, are particularly concerned about the reform's implications. A key disincentive for union membership -- non-members' access to the benefits it obtains -- would disappear with the reform. Trade unions are urging authorisation of sector-wide collective bargaining but this would require constitutional reform.

Identification and assessment of the unionization factors of the US electrical construction trade

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisham Said ◽  
Aishwarya Mali ◽  
Ajay Deshmukh
Keyword(s):  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
The Us ◽  
Share Data ◽  
Trend Data ◽  
Industrial Projects ◽  
Practice Knowledge

PurposeConstruction trade unions have been a vital force in improving the job standards and wellbeing of trade workers. However, the union membership in the construction industry has dropped by half between 1983 and 2017. The objective of this study is to identify and assess the controlling factors of construction electrical trade unionization in the United States.Design/methodology/approachThe study involved four main steps. Literature review and industry townhall meetings were conducted to identify the electrical trade unionization factors. A new unionization trend metric was developed using available union market share data to quantify the growth and decline of local unions. Mixed-mode surveying was used to collect questionnaire and interview data on the unionization factors in different local units of the electrical trade union. Finally, the survey data from the questionnaire and interviews were merged and their correlation with the unionization trend data was assessed.FindingsThe study found that the unionization of this specialty trade is dependent on increasing the crew ratio, expanding the non-apprenticeship union membership program, organizing larger contractors, and continuing the union focus on public and heavy industrial projects.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the construction management body of knowledge by providing a data-driven industry-wide assessment of the factors that affect electrical construction unionization. The study advances the understanding of construction trade unions by narrowing the theory-practice knowledge gap, illustrating the use of macro quantitative empirical research methods, and developing a new unionization trend metric.

The changing nature of collective employment relations

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 645-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Marginson
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
Collective Actors ◽  
Common Interests ◽  
Firm Basis ◽  
Underlying Processes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to survey developments in four aspects of collective employment relations (ER) since the mid-1960s: collective representation and organisation; collective bargaining coverage and structure; the collective bargaining agenda; and joint consultation arrangements. It considers the reasons underlying change. Design/methodology/approach – A range of published sources are drawn on, including quantitative, survey based and qualitative, case-study and other evidence. Findings – The landscape of collective ER has changed markedly over the past half century. Membership of trade unions has fallen from around half of the workforce to one-quarter. Employers who mainly conducted collective bargaining through employers’ associations now negotiate, if at all, on a firm-by-firm basis. Collective bargaining coverage has sharply declined and now only extends to a minority of the private sector workforce. The bargaining agenda has been hollowed out. Joint consultation arrangements too are less widespread than they were around 1980. Originality/value – The paper contends that change has been driven by three underlying processes. “Marketization” of collective ER entailing a shift from an industrial or occupational to an enterprise frame of reference. The rise of “micro-corporatism”, reflecting increased emphasis on the common interests of collective actors within an enterprise frame. Finally, the voluntarism, underpinning Britain’s collective ER became more “asymmetric”, with employers’ preferences increasingly predominant.

Organizing Latin American workers in Japan

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Stewart ◽  
Andy Danford ◽  
Edson Urano
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Weight Of Evidence ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess difficulties facing the unionization of foreign workers focusing on the experience of trade unionists in Union MIE, an exemplar of what in Japan is known as a community union (sometimes described as a form of Minority union – Stewart, 2006). Union MIE is characterized by its orientation to the social and political agenda of Latin American workers, among whom Brazilians form the most numerous group. The paper also addresses the precarious nature of workers’ employment including the condition of labor. The increasing significance of community unions raises the question as to the possibility of the reregulation of worker interests in ways not fully encompassed by traditional labor market-focused unions. Design/methodology/approach The paper explores unique interviews using snowball technique and direct questionnaires to union membership of community union in Japan. Findings The increasing significance of community unions raises the question as to the possibility of the reregulation of worker interests in ways not fully encompassed by traditional labor market-focused unions. In addition to having relevance to the wider discussion on union decline, this paper contributes to the debate on migrant workers, their condition of labor and one form of labor organization responsive to their concerns. Research limitations/implications A comparative approach would add even more to the weight of evidence accrued in the paper. Practical implications Mainstream trade unions need to anticipate that the concerns of migrant and precarious workers will become increasingly common among their erstwhile “regularly” employed membership and so the activities of community and minority unions need to be taken on board in an organic, as opposed to an opportunistic, manner. Originality/value From unique interviews using snowball technique and direct questionnaires to union membership of community union in Japan, the paper presents original data not typically accessible in Anglo-Saxon research tradition.

scholarly journals The Impact of the Employment Relations Act 2000 on Collective Bargaining

1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett Lineham ◽  
Louise Fawthorpe ◽  
Boaz Shulruf ◽  
Stephen Blumenfeld ◽  
Roopali Johri
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Impact

This study carried out by the Department of Labour in 2007/08 aims to assess whether there have been any significant changes in the coverage of collective bargaining that can be attributed to the Employment Relations Act 2000. The research draws on administrative data relating to union membership and collective bargaining coverage, as well as qualitative data from employers, employees, union representatives and other employment relations stakeholders. The research shows that collective bargaining has yet to regain pre Employment Relations Act levels. Collective bargaining remains concentrated in the public sector, with low density in the private sector. The study concludes that the effects of the Act on collective bargaining are chiefly observed in the recovery of collective bargaining in the public sector, and the continued decline (in general) in the private sector. The research offers no indications that these patterns will change.  

Agendas, alternatives, and collective labour law

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siqi Luo
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Policy Issue ◽  
Guangdong Province ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Labour ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Law Making

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how different actors interacted to influence local labour legislation in the case of the collective bargaining regulations in Guangdong Province, China, using long-term observation and in-depth interviews. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the case study method to investigate the process of local labour law-making in China. First, the primary data focus on a series of in-depth interviews conducted in 2014. In Guangdong Province, the author collected the thoughts of three well-informed provincial and municipal-level trade union officials, one government official, five scholars and lawyers, four enterprise union chairs and three labour activists. Second, these interviews are triangulated with legislative documents and the author’s observation of three public meetings. Held at various times from 2011 to 2014, these meetings were organized to discuss different legislative drafts on collective bargaining. Findings The six-year process of adopting collective bargaining legislation in Guangdong presents a complex picture as different actors joined the process at different times and engaged in different ways. Labour strikes were a crucial force in drawing the attention of both the local and central governments and functioned as a means to repeatedly make collective labour relations a policy “issue” for the government, particularly in 2010. Another actor – the local official trade unions – played a decisive role by not only putting the “issue” into the decision-making agenda, but by also providing policy alternatives based on workers’ bargaining practices. At the same time, business associations, using slow economic growth as an excuse, exerted their economic leverage to pressure for suspension of the first two rounds of legislation. Nevertheless, the new political leadership assuming office in 2013, using an adoptive but restrained logic, pushed for the enactment of the compromise regulation. Research limitations/implications Guangdong Province and its emerging collective labour regimes are not representatives of China, but they are at the frontier of the labour field. Thus, this case study was an example of the “most dynamic” interaction with the “most participative” actors and perhaps the “most pro-labour” of China’s official trade unions. Originality/value This paper is original and draws special attention to the dynamic process of the local law-making and the rationales of different actors in China.

Annual hours, workplace partnership and mutual gains: exploring the links

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorraine Ryan ◽  
Joseph Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Secondary Material ◽  
The Creation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the capacity of annual hours (AH) to deliver gains to both workers and management and assesses the role of workplace partnership in three Irish companies that have adopted AH. Design/methodology/approach – Three case studies are compared and contrasted. The case studies were compiled through semi-structured interviews with management and trade union representatives, a survey of 205 workers and secondary material. Findings – The authors find that workplace partnership is not a prerequisite for achieving mutual gains where AH are concerned. The research draws attention to the importance of a mechanism for the creation of gains, in these cases, AH and that such gains can arise from different processes. Mutual gains output is not confined to workplace partnership but can arise from collective bargaining. Originality/value – The paper highlights the importance of comparing case studies so that the role of factors often seen as causal to mutual gains in exemplar cases can be critically evaluated. It also utilises directly workers’ opinions on AH and workplace partnership where typically, representative views of management and trade unions dominate the literature on these issues.

Private sector services: challenges to European trade unions

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 356-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Erik Dølvik ◽  
Jeremy Waddington
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Union Renewal ◽  
European Trade ◽  
Organisational Structures ◽  
Union Mergers

This article maps the challenges faced by European trade unions arising from the growth and diversification of employment in private sector services, and analyses union responses to these challenges. Focusing on recruitment, internal interest intermediation, and articulation between the central and local tiers of union activity, it shows that many unions are making considerable efforts to renew their organisational structures and policies, so as to reverse the decline in membership and strengthen their workplace presence in private sector services. Approaches include union mergers, extension of collective bargaining into new areas, development of new styles of organising, digital unions, and creation of unions for particular groups. A critical issue is how to combine the differentiation and decentralisation of unions with coordination of union objectives: union renewal is a contested process, implying difficult choices as regards target groups and internal power relations. The article suggests that although the reforms have been insufficient to turn the tide thus far, the breadth of change cautions against precipitate judgements about the demise of unionism in private sector services.

Industrial relations in France

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udo Rehfeldt
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Peak Level ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Social Regulation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strong State

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the actors, institutions and changing rules of the French system of industrial relations (IR). It questions whether the traditional view of the French model as “state-centric” is still adequate. Design/methodology/approach Based on institutionalist IR theories of social regulation and neocorporatism, the paper analyses the evolution of the French IR system from a “State-centric” model to the development of collective bargaining, both at the sector and company level, as well as of tripartite concertation. Findings Initially based on adversarial relations between trade unions and employers, compensated by strong state interventionism, the French IR system has experienced a series of reforms, adopted under the pressure of the unions in the 1980s and mostly under the pressure of the employers’ organisations since the turn of the century. These reforms boosted collective bargaining at the workplace level and tripartite concertation at the peak level. The paper analyses the limits of both developments and explains why a reversal of the hierarchy of norms was imposed in 2016 by law without prior concertation. Originality/value The paper presents an original explanation of the change of the initial French IR model, stressing the importance of power relations and the role of IR experts in the different reform moments.

9. Collective Labour Law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Smith ◽  
Aaron Baker ◽  
Owen Warnock
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
The Law

This chapter considers the laws that affect trade unions and employment relations at a collective level, with the exception of strikes and other industrial action which are examined in Chapter 10. The chapter begins by considering the legal status of a trade union and the statutory concept of trade union independence. The focus then shifts to the ways in which the law seeks to secure freedom of association, by provisions which protect and support union membership and activities including giving protection against discrimination and providing rights to time off for union duties and activities. The chapter then turns to the concept of recognition of unions for collective bargaining, and the legal rights that come with recognition. It also examines the statutory system for securing recognition. The law relating to domestic and European works councils is also considered.

Representivity: The Achilles heel of bargaining councils

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-42
Author(s):  
Maggie Holtzhausen
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
The World ◽  
Management Context ◽  
Huge Challenge

The legislative requirement of representivity of parties to bargaining councils remains one of the main challenges these institutions face. When trade unions and/or employers’ organisations are deemed to be unrepresentative, this could lead to the ultimate collapse of the council, or result in collective agreements not being extended to non-parties – thereby defeating the purpose of centralised collective bargaining. This research has thrown light on representation levels by demonstrating that they are not stagnant, but change constantly. The research indicates that today private sector councils especially are often faced with unrepresentative parties, mainly because of economic and political challenges and significant changes in the world of work. Examples are given of how councils deal with these challenges, if at all. The research indicates that even though representivity remains a huge challenge for councils, collective agreements are still in the main extended to non-parties. Nevertheless, there is evidence that the extension of agreements has been challenged. This article therefore throws light on and improves our understanding of non-representivity matters in certain bargaining councils, and by extension our understanding of non-representivity in other bargaining councils as well. It concludes with certain recommendations. Hence, this article contributes to existing knowledge by providing a more inclusive and integrated view of non-representivity and its consequences, thereby enriching the broader employment relations management context.

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