Social Harmony and the Small Firm: A Reappraisal

1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Goss
Keyword(s):  
Small Firm ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Small Enterprises ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Media ◽  
Depth Interviews

Government, academics and the media have, over the past decade, entered fully into the spirit of ‘small business revival’. Many of the contributions to this debate, however, have taken for granted the nature of small firm employment relations. It has frequently been remarked that workers in a small firms behave in ways more compatible with the goals and interests of their employers than employees in large firms. Thus, industrial relations are assumed to be more harmonious. In support of this assertion attention is usually drawn to the relative infrequency of conflict and industrial disputes, and the absence of militant trade unionism as an indication of the small firm workers' greater commitment to the goals of the enterprise and the interests of the employer (Ingham 1970). This paper suggests that such assumptions are unwarranted and provide a potentially misleading starting point for studies of employment relations in small firms. Data from a small number of in-depth interviews with small firm personnel is used to illustrate some of the complex and contradictory processes through which capital-labour relations may be constituted within small enterprises.

Labour regulation in small firms

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ida Regalia
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Traditional Theory ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Labour Regulation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight a series of critical points in the traditional theory (and practice) of ER/IR, in search of a more comprehensive paradigm. Design/methodology/approach After an introduction based on a literature review, the paper draws on the results of recent empirical research, and particularly of a survey of employment relations in Italian small firms, in order to explore the extent to which practices conform to traditional expectations on the functioning of collectively mediated IR systems. Findings Through the combination of two dimensions – the representation of labour and the degree of workplace welfare – a typology of ER models in small firms is thus delineated unveiling the diffusion of “anomalous” configurations, in which labour organization and workplace welfare are disconnected from one another. Research limitations/implications The research results, which are here instrumentally used as an example of a much broader range of facts and behaviours that challenge the traditional wisdom, disclose a number of implications at theoretical level, that still need to be fully appreciated. They include the need to consider: the structure and composition of resources available to ER/IR actors both within and beyond workplaces; and the conditions for good labour relations also in absence of representation. Originality/value The paper contributes to the debate on the possibilities of positive and socially acceptable ways of setting the rules of work in the globalized scenario by focussing not on new, fashionable issues, but on an old problem often neglected by classic studies on industrial relations in the golden age.

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 New Actors in Employment Relations in the Periphery: Closing the Representation Gap amongst Micro and Small Enterprises

2011 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Webster ◽  
Christine Bishoff
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Small Enterprises ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Community Based ◽  
First Response ◽  
Workplace Organization ◽  
Micro And Small Enterprises ◽  
Mapping Exercise

This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of how the representation gap in micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in nine countries can be closed through a mapping exercise (both horizontal and vertical). The study draws on peripheral workers in MSEs predominantly from countries on the periphery of the global economy. The assumption underlying the research is that the failure of traditional industrial relations actors, especially trade unions, to respond to the representation gap has created the space and the need for new actors to fill the gap. We identify a number of dimensions in trade union responses to non-standard employment relations and focus on their awareness of the specific nature of non-standard workers’ interests and their willingness to innovate with representation models.The paper identifies four main responses by trade unions to non-standard employees. The first response is where trade unions are indifferent to workers in MSEs as they are seen as marginal and unorganizable. Secondly, there are trade unions that are very much aware of the need to revise and revitalize their representation strategies, but they respond by attempting to extend existing forms of representation. Thirdly there are those who believe that non-standard employment should be resisted. The fourth, and most interesting response, is where unions create specific kinds of representation and protection for the new forms of employment.While there were positive outcomes both individually and organizationally from this mapping exercise, as an organizational tool designed to recruit members into the union, mapping is limited. In five of the nine case studies peripheral workers were recruited into a union or worker association. The paper confirms the existence of new actors in employment relations in developing countries. In particular the emergence of NGOs and community based worker associations and co-operatives have been identified as crucial intermediaries in developing new forms of workplace organization.

Small Firm Flexibility in Turkey: The Case of OSTIM Industrial District at Ankara

1997 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 87-104
Author(s):  
Nadir Sugur
Keyword(s):  
Small Firm ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Work Force ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Production Techniques ◽  
Large Production ◽  
Turkish Case

This study draws upon fieldwork to examine the role of the small firm in developing countries with special reference to the Turkish case. The fieldwork was conducted at OSTIM during 1992-93. The study will critically examine the theory of ‘flexible specialization’, which claims that certain developments in capitalist economies, such as a rapid change and differentiation in demand and growth of trade unionism in large production plants, increasingly undermine the system of mass production in large scale firms, and thus favor the growth of small firms. More specifically, it will inquire whether the Turkish case confirms the growth of the small firm sector of the economy in relation to the use of new technology, flexible production techniques, flexible work force and design.

scholarly journals Award, Agreement or Nothing? A Review of the Impact of S132(a) of the Labour Relations Act 1987 on Collective Bargaining

1970 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond Harbridge ◽  
Stuart McCaw
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Collective Agreement ◽  
Court System ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Court Of Appeal

The on-going saga of the G.N. Hale redundancy dispute appears now to have run its course. From grievance committee, to the Labour Court, to the Court of Appeal, and back to the Labour Court, the case has attracted considerable attention - from the media and naturally from industrial relations practitioners, eager to learn the view of the New Zealand court system on the vexed matter of redundancy compensation. In the most recent Labour Coun decision on Hale (WLC89/90), Goddard C J held that while the employer was able to prove that the worker was genuinely made redundant the dismissal was unjustifiable because "the circumstances called for the payment of compensation; none was paid; and the amount that was offered and refused was fixed by unilateral decision of the employer and was inadequate". The effect of this decision is profound. Employers planning to make employees redundant have a new set of requirements to meet before their actions can be taken as justifiable. While it will remain the case that there is no right to compensation for a dismissal on the grounds of redundancy unless that right is conferred by a redundancy agreement or by an award or collective agreement, there may still be a right to compensation if the dismissal, although genuinely on the grounds of redundancy, is unjustifiable and thereby gives rise to a successful personal grievance. An employer will now need to focus on the circumstances of the redundancy to detetuaine whether it calls for compensation and where it does, the employer will need to offer, and have accepted, compensation that is both adequate and negotiated.

Creating value and mitigating harm: Assessing institutional objectives in Australian industrial relations

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel E Cutcher-Gershenfeld ◽  
Joe Isaac
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Jel Codes ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Industrial Disputes ◽  
Employment Legislation

The degree to which legislation on labour relations and other societal institutions creates value and mitigates harm is explored in this article through a framework designed to guide both the authoring and the analysis of objects of such legislation. Creating value and mitigating harm are typically explicit in the objects of public policy and implicit in adjudication, administration and adherence under public policies. Although conceptually distinct, creating value and mitigating harm can be both complementary and detrimental to each other. This article reviews various combinations of legislative objects over more than a century of Australian labour and employment relations policy. The objects examined include the prevention of industrial disputes, the introduction of a social minimum wage, the expansion of enterprise bargaining, expansion or curtailment of tribunal powers by government and other developments. Questions of ‘for whom?’ value is created or harm is mitigated are key. As an inductive study, the article concludes with hypotheses to guide future research, including implications that reach beyond Australia and employment legislation. JEL Codes: K31; K38; M14; M52

Labour Legislation Compliance within the Small-Enterprise Sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nkhuliseni Elijah Luvhengo ◽  
Adele Thomas
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Small Enterprise ◽  
Small Enterprises ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
African Government ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Labour Legislation ◽  
Conditions Of Employment

The purpose of this study was to investigate how compliance with labour law—particularly the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)—could be promoted as sound governance practice. The study adopted a qualitative approach, and eight experts in the field were purposefully sampled and interviewed. The results suggested that small-enterprise owners were not knowledgeable about labour laws, hence their inability to comply with them. It was found that owners experienced labour laws as cumbersome, and their forced implementation had a negative impact on governance. It is suggested that different legal requirements be applied to the small-enterprise sector. Guidelines are proposed which legislators could use to assist the South African government in modifying the requirements of the LRA and the BCEA in respect of small enterprises. This study fills a gap in existing literature on small enterprises and governance in South Africa in the field of employment relations.

The Rise and Rise of Market Relations in the British Public Sector: Implications for Industrial Relations

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob Carter ◽  
Steven Davies ◽  
Peter Fairbrother
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
The State ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Changing Patterns

Having outlined a traditional model of British public sector industrial relations, this article focuses on developments from the 1980s to 2001. It argues that there has been a reorganisation of the state through privatisation and an historical shift in employment relations, from the state as a ‘model’, administrative employer to an increasingly managerial employer. In effect, a depoliticisation of employment relations has taken place, with the withdrawal of central government from direct control over operational and organisational activity in the public services. As part of these processes, the public services in Britain have been marketised, with the creation of a public service sector, no longer defined by ownership but by the service provided. These developments are reflected in the changing patterns of industrial relations activity in the public services, with profound implications for trade unionism.

Social Dialogue Under Globalization in Nigeria: Does Democracy Add Value?

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ifeanyi P. Onyeonoru ◽  
Kehinde Kester
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Work Place ◽  
Consensus Building ◽  
International Labour Organisation ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Social Dialogue ◽  
Modest Contribution ◽  
Social Partners ◽  
Oil Sector ◽  
The Government

Social dialogue as an aspect of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is aimed at promoting industrial democracy by encouraging consensus building among social partners in the work place. The significance lies, among others, in minimising conflicts to enable harmonious industrial relations. This study utilized specific case illustrations to examine the inclination of the Nigerian government towards social dialogue in government-labour relations, with particular reference to the Obasanjo era 1999-2007— a period associated with the globalization of democracy. The cases included the minimum wage award 2000, University Autonomy Bill, the price deregulation of the downstream oil sector and the Trade Union Amendment Bill 2004. It was found that the government exhibited a penchant for authoritarianism in spite of the globalization of democracy. This was evident in the incapacity of the Obasanjo government to engage the social partners in social dialogue as indicated by the cases reviewed. The study, however, highlighted the modest contribution to social dialogue made by the wider democratic structure. It was concluded that the government had limited capacity for consensus building, accommodation of opposition and negotiated outcomes in government-labour relations

scholarly journals COVID-19 in Southeast Asia: Implications for workers and unions

2021 ◽  
pp. 002218562110000
Author(s):  
Michele Ford ◽  
Kristy Ward
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
First Year ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Market Effects ◽  
Export Orientation ◽  
Health Measures

The labour market effects in Southeast Asia of the COVID-19 pandemic have attracted considerable analysis from both scholars and practitioners. However, much less attention has been paid to the pandemic’s impact on legal protections for workers’ and unions’ rights, or to what might account for divergent outcomes in this respect in economies that share many characteristics, including a strong export orientation in labour-intensive industries and weak industrial relations institutions. Having described the public health measures taken to control the spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam, this article analyses governments’ employment-related responses and their impact on workers and unions in the first year of the pandemic. Based on this analysis, we conclude that the disruption caused to these countries’ economies, and societies, served to reproduce existing patterns of state–labour relations rather than overturning them.

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