Structure and Agency — The Dynamics of Workplace Activism

Abstract

As Laurie Clements argued in the 1970s, ‘it is necessary to insert any analysis of trade union consciousness within specific structural locations and historical periods; changing socio-economic and political conditions will affect the balance upon which a “progressive” or “reformist” consciousness will dominate’ (Clements, 1977, p. 328). This chapter explores the changed context for trade union organisation since the 1970s. It describes the structural barriers to activism, particularly those arising from changes in work organisation and the intensification of work over the past 30 years, but also the shift in the political and ideological climate undermining government and employer support for collective bargaining and collective organisation. The chapter explores how far these structural constraints and an increasing tension between collective organisation and individual representation influence the subjective and ideological dimensions of union activism.