Interest representation and industrial relations in the age of digitalization ‒ an outline

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3-2020) ◽  
pp. 255-285
Author(s):  
Berndt Keller
Keyword(s):  
Labor Markets ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Dual System ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
Interest Representation ◽  
The Third ◽  
Platform Economy

The article deals in an interdisciplinary perspective with the consequences of progressive digitalization processes which are controversially discussed in the current discourse for the dual system of employment relations. After initial comments, the first part deals with the changing contours of forms of interest representation in the existing economy, i. e. requirements and options for works councils and trade unions. The second part focuses explicitly on the platform economy and its emerging forms of corporate actors, trade unions and works councils as well as platform operators/employers. The third part concentrates on perspectives of employment relations for the established economy as well as for platform work. The fourth part elaborates on measures of regulation that should be taken at company and sectoral level. A short outlook concludes the article. Processes of digital transformation have the tendency to weaken the existing institutions of labor markets, in particular forms of employees’ representation.

scholarly journals Institutional Transfer: Industrial Relations in Eastern Germany

1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 601-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hyman
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Dual System ◽  
Cultural Inheritance ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
Eastern Germany ◽  
Interest Representation ◽  
Formal Identity ◽  
Western Germany ◽  
Close Integration

Can industrial relations be successfully transferred between countries? This paper reviews experience in eastern Germany since unification in 1990. The evidence is that the close integration in western Germany between the two elements of the `dual system' of interest representation - trade unions and works councils - has not been replicated in the east. Hence the formal identity of institutions does not prevent substantial differences in their functioning. This may be explained both in terms of the adverse economic circumstances in the east since unification, and of the distinctive socio-cultural inheritance of the former 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.

scholarly journals Explaining cross-national variation in workplace employee representation

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Forth ◽  
Alex Bryson ◽  
Anitha George
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Employee Representation ◽  
Legislative Support ◽  
Cross National

Debates on the desirability of workplace employee representation are rarely evidence based. We use a workplace survey covering 27 EU countries to show that its incidence is strongly and independently correlated with the degree of centralization in a country’s industrial relations regime and the extent of legislative support. Industry profits are important in explaining trade union presence but are unimportant in the case of works councils. We find support for the exit-voice model, traditionally associated with Anglophone regimes, whereby worker representation is associated with poorer perceptions of the employment relations climate and with lower voluntary quit rates.

Laboratories of the new Europe: trade unions, employee interest representation and participation in foreign investment enterprises in central and eastern Europe

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-591
Author(s):  
Eckhard Voss
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Shop Floor ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
New Member States ◽  
Interest Representation ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Foreign Investment Enterprises

This article examines a number of aspects of the industrial relations practices of foreign investors in central and eastern Europe, focusing on trade union structures, employee interest representation, and consultation and social dialogue at the company level. Based on evidence from selected companies in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, the paper argues that the experiences of multinational companies with regard to employee interest representation and shop-floor trade unionism should be regarded as ‘laboratories of learning processes' which are not only having an impact on the ongoing transformation of industrial relations and corporate cultures in the new Member States but also on the whole of Europe, most notably the future shape of institutionalised employee participation.

Borders in a European Labor Market

2018 ◽  
pp. 96-114
Author(s):  
Ines Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Labor Rights ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Societal Actors ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Labor Market Regulation

Chapter 5 adopts a more explicitly spatial perspective and looks at how borders are constructed in both regulatory and workplace terms. It analyzes the contours of the new structure for employment relations that emerges within the pan-European labor market and studies the reshaping of the nation state from the micro-level points of view of societal actors such as mobile workers, public administration officials, firms, and trade unions. Findings demonstrate that two types of borders are significant in relation to posting in a pan-European labor market: (1) borders for labor market regulation that inhibit the enforcement of labor rights and (2) the border of the firm—that is, the border between the main and subcontracting firms that isolates workers from the host-country industrial relations systems. These borders impact the institutional separation between posted workers and host-country trade unions.

The Field of Study of Industrial Relations

1977 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.J. Geare
Keyword(s):  
Work Environment ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Intermediate Step ◽  
General Acceptance ◽  
The Third ◽  
University Courses ◽  
Opinion Polls

As indicated by the extent of news coverage, the results of opinion polls and by the growth of university courses in the area, industrial relations is seen as an increasingly important subject. However, there has yet to be anything like general acceptance as to what constitutes industrial relations. This paper con siders various current definitions and evaluates Dunlop's major contribution to industrial relations theory and the criticisms levelled at his work. This paper submits an alternative definition, postulating that what Dunlop suggests as the objective of industrial relations, rules, are in fact a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. Thus rules are considered an intermediate step towards the true objectives which are increased labour-related productivity, increased satisfaction of those needs which oblige people to take jobs, and increased power in the work environment. The first objective is sought by managers and the govern ment, the second by workers and trade unions, and the third by managers and some work groups and trade unions. In addition actors may seek one of the other objectives as a means to achieving their primary objective. This definition overcomes the deficiencies of earlier definitions and is intended to provide a basis for teaching and research.

Workers' representation at company level in CEE countries

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav Stanojevic ◽  
Grigor Gradev
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
Collective Interest ◽  
Social Dialogue ◽  
Interest Representation ◽  
Workplace Relations ◽  
The Social

Current workplace relations in central and eastern European candidate countries are strongly influenced by the legacy of fragmented workers’ interests and at best undeveloped semi-autonomous forms of collective interest representation. In addition, most trade unions have been unable to develop adequate strategies to cope with the pressures of radical marketisation and to forge collective identities. In this environment the mechanical implementation of social dialogue institutions could trigger opposition from the trade unions, conflicts between unions and works councils in companies where autonomous trade unions exist, and even serious damage to the unions. The social dialogue institutions will only have the desired effects in CEE companies if they are developed on the basis of trade unions that have been strengthened, or even, in the case of non-unionised companies, created. This article draws on empirical research into the operation of trade unions and works councils in the CEE countries, in particular Hungary and Slovenia.

scholarly journals Pluralisms? Social philosophy, social science and public policy in employment relations and human resource management

2021 ◽  
pp. 002218562098397
Author(s):  
Peter Ackers
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Social Philosophy ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Political Pluralism ◽  
Liberal Democratic

Alan Fox's frames of reference has sparked over half a century of debate between employment relations/human resource management pluralists, radicals and unitarists. But the notion of industrial relations pluralism itself continues to be highly disputed. This commentary tracks the journey from classical pluralism to neo-pluralism, then addresses three articles that offer a variety of radical pluralist alternatives. A fourth paper discussed, suggests a quantitative approach to testing Fox's frames, but this article makes a case for retaining the qualitative, case study method. A fifth explores the revival of paternalism on the border between unitarism and pluralism. Overall, the article argues that classical pluralism, based on trade unions and collective bargaining, is now outdated, but that neo-pluralism is capable of carrying forward its pragmatic, institutional spirit to explore the empirical complexity of contemporary employment relationships around the world. Finally, the discussion of employment relations pluralisms needs to re-engage with the wider political pluralism debate about liberal democratic societies and market economies.

scholarly journals Exploring Factors that Shape the Inclusion and Nature of Work–Life Balance Policies within Collective Agreements in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
George Chipindiku
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Employment Agreement ◽  
Depth Analysis

<p>The aim of this research is to identify factors that influence the nature and inclusion of work–life balance (WLB) policies within collective employment agreements (CEAs) in New Zealand organisations. Due to the increasing challenges of dual careers, aging population and single parent families, WLB practices are progressively becoming more significant issues amongst employees and management in New Zealand workplaces. As a result, identifying these factors is crucial in informing organisational human resources policy development, its design and implementation on issues pertaining to WLB. Similarly, it informs the government on policy changes and legislation, at the same time enlightening trade unions on bargaining strategies. In the first phase, an in-depth analysis is carried out on collective employment agreements (CEAs) housed within the Industrial Relations Centre at Victoria University of Wellington. The focus is to develop a comprehensive coding typology of collective employment agreement (CEA) provisions which constitute WLB measures. This process is carried out in order to identify WLB provisions in CEAs negotiated from 1998 to 2008. The second phase is concerned with the identification of any WLB policy provisions outside those included in the CEA. This dimension is critical to the research as it offers insights into the extent to which companies have shifted beyond the statutory minimum for WLB arrangements and the factors that have prompted them to take these voluntary actions. The study covers the period from 1998 to 2008. It is critical to evaluate this subject between these two benchmark years, as it allows ample time after the enactment of two cornerstone employment relations Acts – the Employment Contracts Act 1991 (ECA) and the Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA). Second, and related to this, they enable a comparison of WLB initiatives under quite different social policy, political, economic – and indeed, bargaining – arrangements (Deeks, Parker, & Ryan, 1994; Rasmussen, 2009). The study discovered that the inclusion of WLB policies in collective employment agreement in New Zealand was mainly determined by legislation, in particular the Employment Relations Act 2000 and The Employment Relations (Flexible Working Arrangements) Amendment Act 2007. These two legislative changes made a positive impact in the recognition and response to the demands of employee well-being. Similarly, there are other factors that made an impact in the inclusion of WLB policies within CEAs. These include industry trade union density and female participation rate at industry level, the type of industry (health and community services, education, government administration and defence services, finance and insurance services being more prominent providers) and type of organisation (whether public or private ownership). It emerged that public organisations are at the forefront in terms of providing WLB policies. The research highlight the significance of ensuring that organisations recognise the issues pertaining to WLB, at the same time recognising the role of trade unions and collective bargaining as an effective mechanism for the instigation of WLB policies.</p>

scholarly journals Exploring Factors that Shape the Inclusion and Nature of Work–Life Balance Policies within Collective Agreements in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
George Chipindiku
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Employment Agreement ◽  
Depth Analysis

<p>The aim of this research is to identify factors that influence the nature and inclusion of work–life balance (WLB) policies within collective employment agreements (CEAs) in New Zealand organisations. Due to the increasing challenges of dual careers, aging population and single parent families, WLB practices are progressively becoming more significant issues amongst employees and management in New Zealand workplaces. As a result, identifying these factors is crucial in informing organisational human resources policy development, its design and implementation on issues pertaining to WLB. Similarly, it informs the government on policy changes and legislation, at the same time enlightening trade unions on bargaining strategies. In the first phase, an in-depth analysis is carried out on collective employment agreements (CEAs) housed within the Industrial Relations Centre at Victoria University of Wellington. The focus is to develop a comprehensive coding typology of collective employment agreement (CEA) provisions which constitute WLB measures. This process is carried out in order to identify WLB provisions in CEAs negotiated from 1998 to 2008. The second phase is concerned with the identification of any WLB policy provisions outside those included in the CEA. This dimension is critical to the research as it offers insights into the extent to which companies have shifted beyond the statutory minimum for WLB arrangements and the factors that have prompted them to take these voluntary actions. The study covers the period from 1998 to 2008. It is critical to evaluate this subject between these two benchmark years, as it allows ample time after the enactment of two cornerstone employment relations Acts – the Employment Contracts Act 1991 (ECA) and the Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA). Second, and related to this, they enable a comparison of WLB initiatives under quite different social policy, political, economic – and indeed, bargaining – arrangements (Deeks, Parker, & Ryan, 1994; Rasmussen, 2009). The study discovered that the inclusion of WLB policies in collective employment agreement in New Zealand was mainly determined by legislation, in particular the Employment Relations Act 2000 and The Employment Relations (Flexible Working Arrangements) Amendment Act 2007. These two legislative changes made a positive impact in the recognition and response to the demands of employee well-being. Similarly, there are other factors that made an impact in the inclusion of WLB policies within CEAs. These include industry trade union density and female participation rate at industry level, the type of industry (health and community services, education, government administration and defence services, finance and insurance services being more prominent providers) and type of organisation (whether public or private ownership). It emerged that public organisations are at the forefront in terms of providing WLB policies. The research highlight the significance of ensuring that organisations recognise the issues pertaining to WLB, at the same time recognising the role of trade unions and collective bargaining as an effective mechanism for the instigation of WLB policies.</p>

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