The Impact of Unions on Pay Levels in Lower-Skilled Jobs

2001 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 76-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Forth ◽  
Neil Millward
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Employee Relations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sphere Of Influence ◽  
The Impact

The decline in trade union influence over the past two decades raises the question of whether pay levels in lower-skilled jobs now lie outside the unions' sphere of influence, as tacitly acknowledged by their acceptance and later endorsement of the principle of the statutory minimum wage. This article examines pay levels among lower-skilled jobs in the private sector in Britain using the Workplace Employee Relations Survey of 1998. It shows that trade unions still had a positive impact upon pay levels in lower-skilled jobs and identifies those forms of unionism associated with the largest premiums. However, the article also shows that the activities of trade unions did little to counteract the forces generating the lowest levels of pay.

Een halve eeuw vakbondslidmaatschap : Een verkennende longitudinale studie naar enkele cyclische determinanten voor de ledenontwikkeling van de Belgische vakbonden, 1946-1995

Res Publica ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-32
Author(s):  
Kurt Vandaele
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Econometric Model ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Union Density ◽  
Free Riding ◽  
Structural Variable ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
The Impact

This article explains the ebb and flow in Belgian trade union membership from 1946 to 1995 by replicating the econometric model by Bain and Elsheikhn in which changes in macro-economic variables are highly significant. Since the automatic indexation of wages and the extension of collective labour agreements invite free riding, the relevance of the change in inflation and real wage is quite striking. However, the free riding-effect is slowed down by the institutionalised presence of the trade unions on the work floor. The Ghent system explains the positive impact of the unemployment rate . The model is furthermore improved by the trade union density as a structural variable. The linear form reflects the enforcement effect, while the quadratic form mirrors the saturation effect on the trade union membership. Mainly due to the 'Allgemeinkoalitionsfähighkeit' of the Belgian government system, the impact of left parties on union growth and decline is not significant in a quantitative framework. With only four explanatory variables the model clarifies more than 75% of the fluctuations in Belgian trade union membership.

Ethnic Minorities and Equal Treatment: The Impact of Gender, Equal Opportunities Policies and Trade Unions

2001 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 105-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Noon ◽  
Kim Hoque
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
Equal Opportunities ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Non Union ◽  
Minority Men ◽  
The Impact

The article examines whether ethnic minority employees report poorer treatment at work than white employees, and evaluates the impact of three key features — gender differences, formal equal opportunities policies and trade union recognition. The analysis reveals that ethnic minority men and women receive poorer treatment than their white counterparts. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that ethnic minority women receive poorer treatment than ethnic minority men. Equal opportunities policies are effective in ensuring equal treatment, but the presence of a recognised trade union is not. White men and women in unionised workplaces enjoy better treatment than their white counterparts in non-union workplaces, but the same is not true for ethnic minorities. By contrast, there is very little evidence of unequal treatment in non-union workplaces.

Was it worth it? The impact of the German minimum wage on union membership of employees

2021 ◽  
pp. 0143831X2110358
Author(s):  
Simon Ress ◽  
Florian Spohr
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
German Trade ◽  
The Impact

This contribution scrutinises how introducing a statutory minimum wage of EUR 8.50 per hour, in January 2015, impacted German employees’ decision with regard to union membership. Based on representative data from the Labour Market and Social Security panel, the study applies a logistic difference-in-differences propensity score matching approach on entries into and withdrawals from unions in the German Trade Union Confederation (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB). The results show no separate effect on withdrawals from or entries into unions after the minimum wage introduction for those employees who benefited financially from it, but a significant increase of entries overall. Thus, unions’ campaign for a minimum wage strengthened their position in total but did not reverse the segmentation of union membership patterns.

Political attitudes and trade union membership in the Nordic countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Strøby Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Impact

Do political attitudes influence the likelihood of employees being members of a trade union, and to what extent is this the case in the Nordic countries with their high aggregate levels of membership? In this article, I address these questions using European Social Survey data from 2012. The results show that left-wing political attitudes have the most impact on the likelihood of trade union membership in Sweden and to a lesser extent in Denmark. In Norway and Finland, there is no statistically significant impact. I argue that the impact of left-wing political attitudes on unionization in Sweden and Denmark reflects a conception among employees that trade unions are normative organizations.

A Half Century of Trade Union Membership. The Cyclical Macro-Determinants of Postwar Union Growth in Belgium

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Vandaele
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Real Wages ◽  
Half Century ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Union Growth ◽  
Seminal Contribution ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Leftist Parties

Based on the seminal contribution of Bain and Elsheikh, this article explains the ebb and flow in trade union membership in Belgium from 1948 to 1995. With only four explanatory variables, the model clarifies more than 75 per cent of the fluctuations in Belgian trade union membership. The results show that rises in inflation, real wages and, due to the Ghent system, unemployment have a positive impact on unionization. Although there is an enforcement effect, a saturation effect takes over, indicating that further union growth is hampered by the union's own size. Mainly due to the 'Allgemeinkoalitionsfähighkeit' of the Belgian government system, the impact of leftist parties on unionization is not significant in a quantitative framework.

Trade Union Ambivalence Toward Enforcement of Employment Standards as an Organizing Strategy

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Landau ◽  
John Howe
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Minimum Standards ◽  
The Past ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
Employment Standards ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Core Part

Trade unions in Australia have long played an important role in the enforcement of minimum employment standards. The legislative framework today continues to recognize this enforcement role, but in a way that is more individualistic and legalistic than in the past. At the same time that the law has evolved to emphasize the representation and servicing role of trade unions, the Australian union movement has sought to revitalize and grow through the adoption of an “organizing model” of unionism that emphasizes workplace-level activism. This Article explores how these seemingly opposing trends have manifested themselves in the enforcement-related activities of five trade unions. Considerable diversity was found among the unions in relation to the extent to which and how the unions performed enforcement-related activities. However, all five unions spent significant time and resources on monitoring and enforcing employer compliance with minimum standards and saw this work as a core part of what they do. The case studies suggest, however, that the way in which this work is undertaken within unions and by whom has changed significantly in recent decades. While there was evidence that enforcement work was used tactically by unions in certain cases, this was largely on an ad hoc basis and there was little indication that the enforcement work was integrated into broader organizing objectives and strategies. Overall, the unions were ambivalent, if not skeptical, as to the capacity for enforcement work to grow unions through building workplace activism and collective strength.

scholarly journals The impact of credits to the private sector and FDI on the economic growth in ASEAN

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-351
Author(s):  
Dang Van Cuong
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Estimation Method ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Fdi Inflows ◽  
Asean Countries ◽  
The Impact

The paper examines the impact of credits to private sector and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows on the economic growth of ASEAN countries in the period 1995-2017. The paper also validates the capital spread of FDI inflows to economic growth through credits to private sector. Using fixed effect estimation method (FEM), random effect (REM) and generalized least square (GLS) for panel data, we found that FDI inflows are positvely correlated with the economic growth of the ASEAN countries. This once again confirms the role of FDI in promoting the economic growth as evidenced in previous studies. Meanwhile, credits to private sector exert a negative impact on the economic growth in these countries which is an interesting finding given that few studies yield a similar result. To assess the spillover effect of FDI to growth through credits to private sector, we augment our model with a variable that reflects the interaction between credits to private sector and FDI. This variable is negative and statistically significant, suggesting that FDI is yet to show its positive impact on growth through spreading capital to credits to privatte sector.

scholarly journals The Impact of the Labour Relations Act on Minority Trade Unions: A South African Perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 284
Author(s):  
Johan Kruger ◽  
Clarence Itumeleng Tshoose
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
International Labour Standards ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

The advent of the new political dispensation in 1994 heralded the coming of a new labour dispensation. Labour relations and labour policies changed significantly from that which prevailed under the previous government. The review of the labour legislation framework was at that stage a priority for the new government, with specific focus on the review of the collective bargaining dispensation. The abuse of trade unions under the previous government gave rise to a unique entrenchment of labour rights in the Constitution. The drafters thereof were determined to avoid a repetition of this abuse after 1994. Section 23 of the Constitution goes to great lengths to protect, amongst others, the right to form and join a trade union, the right of every trade union to organise and the right of every trade union to engage in collective bargaining. In furtherance of section 23(5) of the Constitution, the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 was promulgated. One of the most significant changes of the LRA was that it now provided for legislated organisational rights. Commentators have often viewed the LRA as favouring larger unions and as conferring clear advantages on unions with majority support at the establishment or industry level.  It is within this context that this article examines the impact of section 18 of the LRA on the constitutionally entrenched right of every person to freedom of association, the right of every trade union to engage in collective bargaining, and the right of every trade union to organise. Furthermore, this article explores the justifiability of the impact of section 18 on minority trade unions in terms of international labour standards and the Constitution. In part one the article examines the concept of majoritarianism, pluralism and industrial unionism in the context of South African Labour market. Part two deals with the impact of section 18 of the LRA on minority Trade Unions. Whilst part three explores the concept of workplace democracy. Part five investigates the applicability of international labour standards in the context of the right to freedom of association. Part four ends up with conclusion and recommendations on the impact of section 18 of the LRA.

Industry perspectives on Malaysian hotel minimum wage issues

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-197
Author(s):  
Ann Selvaranee Balasingam ◽  
Kashif Hussain ◽  
Alwie Manaf
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Turnover Intentions ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Employee Productivity ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Wage Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hotel Managers ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the impact of the minimum wage order from the perspectives of two different stakeholders, namely, hotel managers and employees, in the Malaysian hotel industry. Design/methodology/approach For the study, qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews from three managers and three employees from hotels in West Malaysia. Findings From the managers’ perspective, minimum wage implementation has resulted in managers adopting the best payment structure to reduce labour costs for the operators, deciding to reduce the service charge allocation to employees and having to deal with minimal improvement in employee productivity and motivation. In contrast, the positive impact from the managers’ perspective is lower turnover intentions and social justice for foreign workers. From the employees’ perspective, there is a rather negative impact – minimum wage policy has resulted in a minimal increase in the salary. From a positive perspective, employees said that they have experienced an improvement in living standards. Originality/value This research presents current responses from hotel participants regarding the latest wage increase impact, some six years after its implementation.

scholarly journals Do union-management learning partnerships reduce workplace conflict?

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Employee Relations ◽  
Significant Finding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
North West ◽  
Learning Partnerships ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Management Learning ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative study of the views of a cross-section of managers and union officials engaged in joint learning projects on the impact more generally on the employee relations climate in those organisations. Design/methodology/approach – Findings are based on an analysis of interview data incorporating the views and experiences of 32 union representatives and managers engaged in promoting learning in a number of case study projects in North West England. Findings – Findings suggest that union-led learning and development has a clear impact on pre-empting potential performance issues for individuals in terms of better equipping them with the skills to achieve expected performance levels, assisting individuals with managing work-related stress and also to prevent discrimination against workers. Collectively, the managing of downsizing in particular through union-led learning support to retrain in order to redeploy effected staff or better prepare them for new employment opportunities was also a significant finding. Research limitations/implications – The research suggests that successful union-management learning partnerships can also have a positive impact on managing conflict in those organisations. However, further research is needed to test these assertions in other union organised sectors. Practical implications – There are implications for management in recognising the “added value” that partnership working with their unions on learning can bring in terms of also both pre-empting and resolving individual and collective disputes in the workplace. Originality/value – The research is one of few studies that focuses on the link between promoting learning through union-management partnerships and managing conflict in organisations and offers a clear insight into how this can be achieved in practice.

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