ABSTRACT Technology and power are shaped by social context, linked to interactions and relationships among organisational actors. New technologies such as algorithmic management (AM) represent novel sources of contestation, raising questions for workers and unions. Our study examines the social processes union leaders use to navigate the transformation of rules that organise work and power relations under AM in hotel housekeeping. Drawing on everyday social processes at the workplace and applying a relational lens, we identify three interrelated strategies: (1) collective sensemaking through skill‐building and coordination of shared interests; (2) consultation and negotiation, which involve relational dimensions with management; and (3) collective action, which leaders adapt to the context of technology. These strategies modify rules to realise workers’ interests and, in some cases, coalesce into new institutional rules. We show how union leaders build power from the bottom‐up and how power resources, and worker power in the context of technological change, can be situated in everyday social processes.

ABSTRACT Despite their significant and growing role in the European workforce, to date, little research attention has been paid to immigrant workers’ attitudes towards trade unions and provided mixed results. On the one hand, immigrants are expected to be more positive towards unions due to their lower economic capital and greater need for job protection. On the other hand, immigrants may hold more pessimistic attitudes towards unions because of their reduced social network, lower perceived benefits of collective action and unions’ historical aversion to immigrant workers. Here, we contribute to this understudied field of research by concentrating on increasing job precarity in non‐standard employment forms which is highly concentrated among immigrant workers. More specifically, we ask to what extent does the internationalization of the workforce and the increasing presence of non‐standard employment relate to attitudes towards trade unions in advanced democracies? We argue that immigrants in precarious employment face a double vulnerability where the distinct importance of the workplace for the social and political integration of immigrants, the reinforcement of pre‐existing immigrant‐specific labour market discrimination, and the link between employment and residence status could explain why job precarity has particularly negative effects on immigrants´view of unions compared to natives. Using an original survey data from 13 Western European countries, we show that while immigrant status alone is not a predictor of attitudes towards unions, immigrants in temporary contracts have significantly more adverse attitudes towards unions than those immigrants in permanent contracts. Importantly, when compared with native workers, there is a wider cleavage in attitudes towards unions among immigrant workers based on the precarity of their employment status, highlighting this clear intersection of immigrant status and employment precarity in shaping attitudes towards unions. Our findings highlight a crucial issue that needs to be addressed for the future sustainability of social dialogue and industrial relations in Europe.

ABSTRACT Productivity is a crucial goal for firms, yet training investments to develop employee skills and enhance productivity face scrutiny. Despite considerable research into training inputs and performance outcomes, several gaps remain. We investigate the differential effects of managerial and staff training on labour productivity, drawing on human capital theory to explain the value of training investment for workforce development. The analysis focuses on 19,289 firm‐year observations from the UK Employer Skills Survey and Investment in Training Survey paired with the Business Structure Database in five waves over a 9‐year period, accounting for potential selection bias. Examining several measures of training for different occupational categories and formal‐informal modes of training, we find that productivity rose with greater training investment for both managers and staff. Among staff occupational categories, training for professionals and associate professionals yielded particular benefits for the firm. The interaction of staff and managerial training generated further gains, illustrating the value of complementary skill development for different employee levels, especially prioritizing intensity of training expenditure over broad coverage.

ABSTRACT This paper examines the distributive impact and labour market spillovers of Uruguay's wage policy, which combines a national minimum wage with over 200 sectoral wage floors established through collective bargaining. Using matched employer–employee administrative data, we find that the wage policy reduces wage inequality by 3–6 log points in the lower tail of the wage distribution, particularly among male workers and in the early years of its implementation. Analysis of job dynamics reveals that inequality persists in specific groups with higher job displacement rates (4–8 percentage points), primarily observed in the lower end of the wage distribution and in highly impacted sectors. Despite this displacement, employment effects are minimal for these groups and virtually non‐existent for those experiencing lower job displacement.