Sweden: At the Turning Point?

1994 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olle Hammarstrom ◽  
Rianne Mahon
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Pay Equity ◽  
Bargaining Process ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Past ◽  
Enterprise Level

The Swedish industrial relations system has undergone significant changes in the past decade, as employers have vigorously pursued a strategy to decentralise the collective bargaining process. Issues of co-worker agreements and pay equity dominated the 1993 bargaining round, with employers seeking to limit the unions' role to the enterprise level. Union membership levels, however, have remained high and there has been greater cooperation between blue and white collar union groups. The return of a Social Democratic led Government may see greater support for national agreements and representative forms of participation.

Moderated Mobilization: A New Model of Enterprise-level Collective Bargaining in South China

2019 ◽  
Vol 242 ◽  
pp. 418-439
Author(s):  
Siqi Luo ◽  
Tao Yang
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
South China ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
Bargaining Process ◽  
New Model ◽  
Local Initiatives ◽  
Enterprise Level ◽  
Party State

AbstractIn response to a series of strikes in south China in 2010, a new model of collective bargaining has emerged, featuring what this article describes as “moderated mobilization.” Distinct from what is typically known as China's quadripartite industrial relations system, whereby workers are separated from the party-state, official trade unions and employers, this model shows workers and enterprise-level trade unions in collaboration with one another. According to our observations from 2012 to 2017, some enterprise unions have successfully mobilized workers throughout the collective bargaining process. These unions are democratically elected by workers and are relatively independent from the official authorities. At the same time, they have “moderated” such mobilization particularly to reduce labour militancy, given the political and institutional constraints within which they must work. The implication of this new model is significant. Although it might be far from solving the quadripartite dilemma, it has signalled an increase in local initiatives among enterprise unions – a previously neglected but pragmatically favourable channel for workers.

Managing Decentralization: The Strategy of Institutional Differentiation in German Industrial Relations

1999 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 52-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Schroeder ◽  
Rainer Weinert
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Organization ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Collective Bargaining Agreement ◽  
The Political ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Institutional Differentiation ◽  
The Welfare State

The approach of the new millennium appears to signal the demiseof traditional models of social organization. The political core ofthis process of change—the restructuring of the welfare state—andthe related crisis of the industrywide collective bargaining agreementhave been subjects of much debate. For some years now inspecialist literature, this debate has been conducted between theproponents of a neo-liberal (minimally regulated) welfare state andthe supporters of a social democratic model (highly regulated). Thealternatives are variously expressed as “exit vs. voice,” “comparativeausterity vs. progressive competitiveness,” or “deregulation vs.cooperative re-regulation.”

scholarly journals The « Cooperative Wage Study » and the Canadian Steelworkers

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Bean
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Steel Industry ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Job Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Programme ◽  
Union Participation ◽  
Systematic Knowledge ◽  
Policies And Practices

Summary In contrast to a wealth of information relating to the techniques of implementing a fob evaluation programme relatively little attention has been given to the industrial relations aspects of such a scheme or to conditions necessary for securing union participation in it. In this paper it is our intention to analyse the CWS joint union-management job evaluation programme adopted in the Canadian steel industry from the standpoint of union objectives in pressing for its installation, collective bargaining aspects of the evaluation and internal union membership reactions. At the same time it is hoped to throw more light upon the wage policies and practices of the United Steelworkers — usually recognized as the largest and most powerful industrial union in Canada, about which little systematic knowledge at present exists.

Why worker-supported collective bargaining may still fail

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 471-491
Author(s):  
Siqi Luo ◽  
Tao Yang
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Industrial Structure ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Chain Structure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Enterprise Level ◽  
Systematic Understanding ◽  
Supply Chain Structure ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that some enterprise unions in South China, as strategic labor actors, made local progress in collective bargaining, but further elaborates on why gainful bargaining would require a more systematic understanding of the prevailing industrial structure. Design/methodology/approach This paper is mainly drawn from intensive site visits and 51 in-depth interviews in 2013 and 2014, and several follow-ups up to 2018. Three cases of collective bargaining, featuring different union strategies of assertive negotiation, informal cooperation and direct confrontation, are discussed in detail. Findings The study illustrates that viable collective bargaining with worker-supported unions is possible in China. However, the effectiveness of bargaining does not count on this alone; the supply chain structure also imposes significant constraints, mainly by narrowing the bargaining scope of each supplier and differentiating the structural power of their unions. In these cases, institutionalized union coordination beyond individual suppliers is proposed. Research limitations/implications These cases began as post-strike bargaining in Japanese auto supply chains and became the frontier of industrial relations in China. The impact of the supply chain in different sectors or regions requires further study. Originality/value This paper draws attention to the effect of an “invisible” but increasingly significant factor, industrial structure, on enterprise-level collective bargaining in China, unlike many previous criticisms of unwillingness or incompetence among labor actors.

Fair Work Australia: Employer Association Policies, Industrial Law and the Changing Role of the Tribunal

2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 616-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Thornthwaite ◽  
Peter Sheldon
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Political Opinion ◽  
The Past ◽  
Industrial Action ◽  
Changing Role

In examining the changing role of the national tribunal in recent decades, this article explores the ways in which industrial relations changes that employer associations have sought in the past 25 years are reflected in the Fair Work Act 2009, and the implications of these for the role of Fair Work Australia. The article argues that the evolution of industrial law in Australia since the mid-1980s owes much to the collective efforts of employers, not only to reorient political opinion concerning collective bargaining and the conciliation and arbitration system, but also to achieve concrete changes to the legal framework governing industrial relations institutions and processes. To explore the implications of these changes for the role of the tribunal, we apply Perlman's typology of the tribunal's work, which identifies three main roles – including judicial, legislative and facilitative functions. The analysis concludes that while under contemporary industrial law the tribunal now has less work to do in these areas, the Fair Work Act has expanded the tribunal's role in policing bargaining behaviour. Although this policing role has intensified the tribunal's influence on union industrial action, it has also focused attention on employer conduct in bargaining, an outcome that employer groups had not sought when lobbying for change.

scholarly journals Perception of collective bargaining and satisfaction with collective bargaining on employees’ job performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-301
Author(s):  
Sunday Samson Babalola ◽  
Ajibola Abdulrahamon Ishola
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Job Performance ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Bargaining Process ◽  
The Public ◽  
Educational Qualification ◽  
Incremental Change ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

This study explores the influence of collective bargaining and satisfaction with bargaining on employees’ job performance. A structured questionnaire was distributed to selected sample of 181 unionized employees in the public sector organizations. The results revealed two models, with the first model indicating that satisfaction with collective bargaining (β = .56, p < 0.01) was a significant direct predictor of job performance among employees. The second model showed 35% incremental change in employees’ job performance. This indicated that age (β = .27, p < .01), and educational qualification (β = .58, p < .01) were significant independent predictors of employees job performance. This study showed that collective bargaining process is very critical in determining organizational industrial relations which in turn help to improve job related outcome such as employees’ job performance

Industrial relations in the czech republic

1999 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Kleibl ◽  
Zuzana Dvořáková
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Top Down ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Active Population

Czech representative democracy was initiated from the top down afterNovember 1989. Citizen's associations, trade unions and Tripartite are themajor mediators and interest-representing bodies outside political parties.Trade unions are highly centralised an donly bargain and conclude collectiveagreements on behalf of employees. Union membership dropped sharply from100% of the economically active population in 1989 to 21% in 1997. Tradeunions worked in partnership with government to formulate social policy inthe years 1990-1997, most often in Tripartite. This partnership contributedto the general support of economic transformation and influenced thewillingness of people to carry the burden of privatization. However, since1997 these partners have demonstrated efforts to rely less on Tripartite.Instead, they make representations directly to Parliament and rely upon thelegal provisions on collective bargaining.

scholarly journals The Collective Bargaining Process

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-45
Author(s):  
Alton W.J. Craig
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Bargaining Process ◽  
Task Force Report ◽  
Labour Relations

This paper attempts to highlight the parts of the Woods 1 Report dealing with the collective bargaining process. The author discusses how the goals (inputs) of labour and management are converted to outputs via the mechanisms of collective bargaining, and gives his personal opinions on the positions advanced in the Task Force Report. 1. Canadian Industrial Relations, The Report of the Task Force on Labour Relations, Ottawa, the Queen's Printer, 1969. This document will be referred to throughout this paper as the Task Force Report.

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