scholarly journals Internal devaluation and economic inequality in Portugal: challenges to industrial relations in times of crisis and recovery

2021 ◽  
pp. 102425892199500
Author(s):  
Maria da Paz Campos Lima ◽  
Diogo Martins ◽  
Ana Cristina Costa ◽  
António Velez
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Economic Inequality ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
National Level ◽  
Wage Share ◽  
Recovery Dynamics ◽  
Wage Increases ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Wage Outcomes

Internal devaluation policies imposed in southern European countries since 2010 have weakened labour market institutions and intensified wage inequality and the falling wage share. The debate in the wake of the financial and economic crisis raised concerns about slow wage growth and persistent economic inequality. This article attempts to shed light on this debate, scrutinising the case of Portugal in the period 2010–2017. Mapping the broad developments at the national level, the article examines four sectors, looking in particular at the impact of minimum wages and collective bargaining on wage trends vis-à-vis wage inequality and wage share trajectories. We conclude that both minimum wage increases and the slight recovery of collective bargaining had a positive effect on wage outcomes and were important in reducing wage inequality. The extent of this reduction was limited, however, by uneven sectoral recovery dynamics and the persistent effects of precarious work, combined with critical liberalisation reforms.

Reducing the Impact of Unemployment through Work-Sharing: Some Industrial Relations Considerations

1983 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah M. Meltz ◽  
Frank Reid
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
National Level ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Work Sharing ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Impact

The Canadian Government has introduced a work-sharing program in which lay offs are avoided by reducing the work week and using unemployment insurance funds to pay workers short-time compensation. Compared to the lay-off alternative, there appear to be economic benefits to work-sharing for both management and employees. Reaction to the scheme has been generally positive at the union local level and the firm level, but it has been negative at the national level of both labour and management. These divergent views can be explained mainly as a result of short-run versus long-run perspectives. Managers at the firm level see the immediate benefit of improved labour relations and the avoidance of the costs of hiring and training replacements for laid-off workers who do not respond when recalled. The national business leaders are more concerned with work incentive and efficiency aspects of work-sharing.

Unions and collective bargaining in Australia in 2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Bray ◽  
Johanna Macneil ◽  
Leslee Spiess
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Collective Agreement ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Non Union ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
Industrial Disputes ◽  
Wage Outcomes

There is a storm brewing over the roles of unions and collective bargaining in Australian employment relations. Unions, frustrated with what they see as practical and legislative restrictions on protection of workers’ rights, seek to ‘change the rules’. Employers, on the other hand, have been successful in restricting or rolling back bargaining rights, supported by their associations, the Coalition government and an assertive interpretation of the Fair Work Act. Add to this the impending federal election and the scene is set for a tempest that could bring industrial relations back to the centre of Australian politics in 2019. The review explores the various elements contributing to the coming storm, including trends in union membership, structure and strategy. It also surveys trends in the number and coverage of collective agreements, wage outcomes and industrial disputes. Two idiosyncractically Australian versions of collective agreement making are also discussed: cooperative bargaining facilitated by the Fair Work Commission and non-union collective agreement making.

scholarly journals Contemporary Public Policy Issues in Industrial Relations

2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-32
Author(s):  
Noël A. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Present System ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Impact

The present system of collective bargaining is more an exercise in the use of coercive economic and political power by labour and management than a process of rational, logical argument and existing conciliation procedures have proven inadequate in reflecting the public interest in dispute settlement. What then is the impact of B.C. Bill 33 ?

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.

scholarly journals Evaluating Labour Market Flexibility Using the TOPSIS Method: Sustainable Industrial Relations

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 526
Author(s):  
Anna Galik ◽  
Monika Bąk ◽  
Katarzyna Bałandynowicz-Panfil ◽  
Giuseppe T. Cirella
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
National Level ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Topsis Method ◽  
Employment Policies ◽  
Labour Market Flexibility ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Impact ◽  
European Union Member States

This study evaluates labour market flexibility using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method. TOPSIS is employed by comparing spatial (i.e., different countries) and temporal (i.e., long-time horizon) terms. Sustainable industrial relations processes are considered in shaping the flexibility of the labour market in 15 European Union Member States from 2009 to 2018. Countries are grouped into classes to provide a basis for benchmarking results against social and employment policies implemented at the national level. A five-step quantitative MCDA method is formulated using published data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The results indicate that the TOPSIS method is an appropriate approach for measuring labour market flexibility internationally. Moreover, in relation to workforce phenomena, the findings show that the method offers the possibility of examining the impact of particular factors related to social and employment policies of a country in terms of sustainable development and socioeconomic growth. The lack of precision tools to forecast the development of national and transnational labour markets—particularly during the COVID-19 era—highlights the importance of such a method for workforce planners and policymakers. Developing sustainable industrial relations in terms of associated national externalities is the motivation of the research.

Ontstaan en betekenis van transnationale kaderovereenkomsten

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees Vos
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Voluntary Codes Of Conduct ◽  
The Impact

Origin and meaning of transnational framework agreements Origin and meaning of transnational framework agreements In recent years the number of transnational framework agreements (international and European framework agreements) has grown rapidly. In many respects it can be considered as a reaction to existing, voluntary codes of conduct. The question to be addressed in this article concerns the impact of this kind of agreements. Are they – as is sometimes expected – a sign of an emerging global industrial relations framework or of international collective bargaining? It is concluded here that global industrial relations are still a very distinct utopia, but framework agreements can be considered as a first step in the direction of a global arrangement.

Negotiating wage (in)equality: changing union strategies in high-wage and low-wage sectors in Czechia and Slovakia

2021 ◽  
pp. 102425892199536
Author(s):  
Monika Martišková ◽  
Marta Kahancová ◽  
Jakub Kostolný
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Wage Bargaining ◽  
Minimum Wages ◽  
High Wage ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
Labour Market Institutions ◽  
The Impact

Reducing wage inequality requires an understanding of the importance of labour market institutions, in particular statutory minimum wages and sectoral collective bargaining. This article argues that the impact of labour market institutions on wage inequality is enhanced by specific strategies of unions and employers. Empirical evidence is provided from the high-wage automotive sector and the low-wage retail sector in Czechia and Slovakia. Against the backdrop of the erosion of collective wage bargaining, trade unions have prioritised increases in the national statutory minimum wage as a mechanism for reducing wage inequalities. Trade unions’ leverage on minimum wages can compensate for their declining influence on wage distribution via collective bargaining.

The impact of collective bargaining on employment and wage inequality: Evidence from a new taxonomy of bargaining systems

2020 ◽  
pp. 095968012092077
Author(s):  
Andrea Garnero
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Decentralized Systems ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes ◽  
Lower Wage ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Wage Inequalities

To study the link between different types of collective bargaining systems and employment, unemployment and wage inequality, I use a novel taxonomy of bargaining systems in 36 OECD countries between 1980 and 2015. The results show that coordinated bargaining systems are associated with higher employment, better integration of vulnerable groups and lower wage inequality than fully decentralized systems. Uncoordinated centralized systems perform similarly in terms of unemployment to fully decentralized systems but are associated with higher employment and lower wage inequalities. These results suggest that the link between decentralization and good labour market outcomes is more nuanced than previously suggested.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document