Trade Union Activity Research Articles

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The Army as Internment: Forms of the Repression During the Martial Law in the Years 1982-1983 Against Activists of the Anticommunist Opposition Placed in Military Special Camps (Part I)
 The work focuses its issues on one of the repression forms used in the martial law introduced on 13th December 1981 to pacify the society which tried to change the fossilised communist system through activity in the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity”. It was not a new solution in the Polish People’s Republic – just after the Second World War the communist authority drafted into “alternative military service” opponents of sovietisation of the country, directing them to forced labour in mines. Fearing a social rebellion before the second anniversary of the independent trade union registration, communist authorities interned in military special camps, functioning in Poland from 5 November 1982 to 3 February 1983, 1450 trade union activists and members of the political parties unaccepted by communists. 264 younger colleagues of these people were drafted into the basic military service lasting two years in three units intended for this purpose.

Powers of Trade Union Activists Engaged in Self-Employment – Assessment of Polish Legislation

The objective of the foregoing article is an analysis of the rights which the Polish legislature granted to self-employed trade union activists after the extension of coalition rights to these persons. In this regard, the trade union law extended to self-employed persons working as sole traders protection, which until 2019 was reserved exclusively for employees. Pursuant to the amendment of July 5, 2018, self-employed trade union activists were granted – based on international standards – the right to non-discrimination on the basis of performing a trade union function, the right to paid leaves from work, both permanent and ad hoc in order to carry out ongoing activities resulting from the exercise of a trade union function, and the protection of the sustainability of civil law contracts which form the legal basis for the services provided. the exercise of a trade union function, and the protection of the sustainability of civil law contracts which form the legal basis for the services provided. The author positively assesses the very tendency to extend employee rights to self-employed persons acting as union activists. However, serious doubts are raised by the scope of privileges guaranteed to non-employee trade union activists and the lack of any criteria differentiating this protection. Following the amendment of the trade union law, the legislator practically equates the scope of rights of self-employed trade union activists with the situation of trade union activists with employee status. This is not the right direction. This regulation does not take into account the specificity of self-employed persons, who most often do not have such strong legal relationship with the employing entity as employees. The legislature does not sufficiently notice the distinctness resulting from civil law contracts, which form the basis for the provision of work by the selfemployed the separateness resulting from civil law contracts, which constitute the basis for the performance of work by the self-employed. According to the author, the scope of rights guaranteed de lege lata to self-employed union activists constitutes an excessive and unjustified interference with the fundamental principle of freedom of contract on the basis of civil law employment relations (Art. 3531 of the Civil Code). From the point of view of international standards, it would be enough to ensure the right of these persons to non-discrimination on the basis of performing a trade union function; the right to unpaid temporary leaves from work in order to perform current activities resulting from the performed trade union function; the right to high compensation in the event of termination of a civil law contract with a self-employed trade union activist in connection with the performance of his functions in trade union bodies and full jurisdiction of labour courts in cases arising from the application of trade union law provisions. The disadvantage of the regulation at issue is also that Polish collective labour law does not in any way differentiate the scope of the rights and privileges guaranteed to self-employed trade union activists, ensuring the same level of protection for all. In that area, it appears that the legislature de lege ferenda should differentiate the scope of that protection by referring to the criterion of economic dependence on the hiring entity for which the services are provided.

The Legal Nature of Remuneration for Periods of Release From the Obligation to Perform Work for Trade Union Activists

In this article the Author analizes the issue of legal character of trade union activists released from work, covered by employers. The Author underlines the latest extension of subjective rights in this matter by Polish legislator to other than an employee persons who perform gainful work. In her opinion the remuneration for work, paid by employers at abovementioned basis may be qualified as work-related benefits of a social (even public) nature. In her opinion the current regulations in this matter are questionable in the light of the principle of the independence of trade unions and the principle of proportionality.

THE STATUTE OF TRADE UNIONS AS A LIMIT OF ABUSES AGAINST EMPLOYERS – SELECTED ISSUES

The article attempts to answer the question whether the economic freedom of the employer is not blindly limited by the model of trade unions, which do not conform to the modern economic reality, which, in the light of the principle of self-governance, often abuse their dominant position in the labor market. The author points to selected problems in the self-government of trade unions at the level of non-employment, pointing to the importance of the trade union statute, which determines the scope of protection of trade union activists in the sphere of individual labor law. The author puts forward the thesis that the basis for the balance of social partners is the observance of internal regulations by trade unions.

TRADE UNIONS AS SUBJECTS OF LABOR LAW

The article is devoted to issues related to the activities of trade unions as subjects of labor law. The procedure for state registration of trade unions has been presented. Their rights and obligations are considered. Deficiencies in the current legislation are identified and ways of their resolution are proposed.

Protection of Trade Union Activities or Managerial Prerogative? Trouble with Email Lists in University College London v Brown

Protection of Trade Union Activities or Managerial Prerogative? Trouble with Email Lists in <i>University College London v Brown</i>

Transnational Labour Solidarity as Transformative Practice: Reframing the Role of Labour Transnationalism

In the 1980s and 1990s, a significant number of rank-and-file trade union activists in Canada became actively engaged in various forms of international labour solidarity. This activity, the end of the Cold War and the increasing impacts of neo-liberal globalisation combined to spark hopes for greatly expanding practices of labour transnationalism. This vision of transnationalising trade union organisation has not materialised and, in fact, inside Canadian unions there has been declining faith in the possibilities of building transnational solidarity. Starting with an analysis of the dominant dichotomies underlying the literature on labour transnationalism, I suggest that stepping outside these dichotomies can provide a different way of assessing the role of transnational labour solidarity within broader struggles for workers’ justice. In this article, drawing upon the case of transnational political solidarities built by workers inside Canadian unions in the 1980s and 1990s, I argue that assessing transnational practices with a longer view to class formation and the goals of workers’ emancipation can help to expand conceptions of what constitutes successful transnational practice. Such a reassessment of the role of labour transnationalism is particularly timely in the current context of right-wing populism.

Power resources and successful trade union actions that address precarity in adverse contexts: The case of Central and Eastern Europe

Is it possible for trade unions to fight precarity in an adverse global context? Although existing research suggests this is possible, there is limited understanding of the interplay of resources that enable unions to address precarity in deregulated markets. This study employs a power resource approach to investigate how unions overcome their external constraints. It draws upon 130 in-depth interviews with key informants across nine Central and Eastern European countries to investigate successful and unsuccessful union actions in sectors with differing external resources. In each sector, unions that mobilise their internal resources have been able to reduce various precarity dimensions, such as low wages, lack of voice, and irregular working time. The results reveal that unions whose objectives are based on convincing win–win discourses can make strides, acting as drivers of change in precarity patterns even in unfavourable conditions. Moreover, the study introduces a multi-dimensional conceptualisation of union success, identifying union actions that result in measurable improvements in precarity dimensions for all worker types. To deepen understanding of the role unions play in fighting precarity in adverse contexts, future research could investigate union actions that improve a wider range of precarity dimensions for all workers.

Digital Mobilization: New Mechanisms and Opportunities for Political Governance

The article examines the ways and methods of digital mobilization of citizens for protest marches in the cities of the Russian Federation (for example, the city of Pskov) on January 23 and 31, 2021. The research issue is the need to understand the system of digital mobilization — from campaigning to the transition to collective, public action.As part of the study, an expert interview was conducted among the organizers of rallies, the regional establishment, party workers, and trade union activists. The monitoring of protest groups in social networks (VKontakte, Telegram, Instagram) was also carried out for the tonality of information and the mechanisms for mobilizing citizens presented. They also used the method of observing the process of transition from digital mobilization to collective action and directly following the protest processions themselves.During the analysis, the author concludes that social media is a key channel of communication and consolidation of protest activity, with the social networks VKontakte and Telegram playing the main role in Russian political practice. In this connection, conclusions are drawn about the possibility of political management of protests using an information strategy aimed at stopping negative information labels and media occasions on VKontakte and Telegram, as well as developing an alternative protest agenda.

Civil Society in Hybrid Regimes: Trade Union Activism in Post-2003 Iraq

This article explores the relationship between hybrid regimes and civil society. It examines the extant debate between ‘neo-Tocquevilleans’ and their opponents over whether or not a robust civil society portends democratic transition and consolidation. It demonstrates the limits of these two models by arguing that civil society in hybrid regimes can in fact agitate against the state, advocate for democratic freedoms and achieve significant political reforms even when these do not lead to broader democratization. To demonstrate, this article documents the case of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions through 15 years of complex Iraqi politics, from the 2003 US-led intervention and during the incumbency of Prime Minister’s Maliki (2006–2014) and Abadi (2014–2018). By analysing primary materials produced by and about the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, it finds that this case holds important lessons for those seeking to understand the complex interface between civil society and the state in hybrid regimes.

Hours, Employment and Earnings of American Manufacturing Workers from the 19th Century to the 21st Century

For a century, two labour market empirical regularities characterized the movements of the hours of work, employment and hourly compensation of American manufacturing production workers. They resembled conditional labour supply functions. Increases in employment substituted for reductions in hours per worker. The implied elasticities of hours and employment with respect to hourly earnings declined in absolute value over time. The activities of trade unions and the effects of statutory legislation contribute to the explanations for what is observed. Recently, changes in real hourly earnings contribute little to understanding movements in hours of work and in employment of these workers.

The Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly as a Left-Democratic Alternative to the Communists and the Whites in the Civil War

The Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly (Komuch) was an option in the Civil War that was essentially distinct from both the Soviet and the White alternatives. Komuch differed from the Soviet and the White authorities, as it was characterised by a combination of advanced socioeconomic policy and a dogmatically principled commitment to parliamentary democracy. In the event of the military victory of such a power, the success of the social democratic model was not guaranteed (as the history of Europe during the interwar period demonstrated), but Russia’s chances of moving along a path that combined a social state and democratic institutions would have increased markedly. While criticising, and in many respects rightly so, the military policy of the Bolsheviks, the Social Revolutionaries and Mensheviks had to partially restore market capitalist relations. Their successful development was possible with the cooperation of the government and the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie demanded the dismantlement of “socialist conquests”, which Komuch was not going to do – both for ideological reasons and because the capitalist economy had begun to disintegrate during World War I and the Revolution. Komuch’s path involved the combination of a market economy (not necessarily just capitalist), state regulation, and broad social rights. After the Bolshevik promises, the workers and peasants took it quite calmly, fearing the possible cancellation of the social gains of the Revolution and expressing dissatisfaction with violations of promised civil rights. But the bourgeoisie, convinced of the “inconsistency” of dismantling institutions that infringed on the right of private property, stood in sharp opposition to Komuch, betting on its opponents in the anti-Soviet camp. At the same time, Komuch did not have time to build a state system for monitoring compliance with social rights and had to rely on the activity of trade unions, which, due to their social function, were critical of the government – in this case, Komuch. Komuch followed the law regulating the socialisation of land adopted by the Constituent Assembly and proposed a relatively successful version of regulating the food supply for the cities. Initially, the people’s army created by Komuch was also successful (enjoying support from the Czechoslovak Corps). However, Komuch faced a blockade by the Provisional Siberian Government. It was the opposition of more right-wing forces in the rear that predetermined the defeat of the Komuch alternative.

Inclusive advocacy? Trade-union activity in support of the rights of domestic workers in Continental Europe

Inclusive advocacy? Trade-union activity in support of the rights of domestic workers in Continental Europe

Revisiting the ‘boomerang effect’: the international relations of the trade unions in Turkey under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule

ABSTRACT This article examines the international activities of trade unions in Turkey and the influence of the AKP government policies on these activities between 2002 and 2018. It addresses the question of the limits of the influence of international organizations in social mobilizations in an authoritarian context. The first part puts forward the conceptual framework and discusses existing literature. The second part explains how the international relations of the Turkish trade unions are influenced by government policies. The third part focuses on the sectoral level in order to analyse the concrete consequences of this transformation in different industries. This paper is based on the fieldwork conducted between 2012 and 2016 in Turkey composed of 111 interviews with trade union representatives and observations at the three main Turkish trade union confederations, completed by 12 interviews with IndustriAll, ETF, EFFAT, ETUC representatives in Brussels in April 2018.

‘Heart of steel’: how trade unions lobby the European Union over emissions trading

ABSTRACT This contribution aims to provide a better understanding of trade unions’ engagement with climate change policies. It analyses the interactions between intra- and interorganizational bargaining, taking steel trade unions’ engagement with the 2018 revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) as a case study. The contribution finds that interorganizational bargaining with employers’ organizations strongly influenced the formulation of trade unions’ negotiating positions on the EU ETS. This is mainly due to the combination of three factors: the scope EU multilevel decision-making offers each level of trade union action to pursue its interests; trade unions’ lack of expertise on climate policies; and the tradition of concession bargaining in the manufacturing industry. By underlining the difficulties faced by trade unions in developing an independent course of action on the EU ETS, the contribution expands our knowledge of the socio-political obstacles to implementing effective emissions reduction policies.

Uzbekistan In The New Era Of Trade Union Development (2016-2020)

This article provides a comprehensive and comparative analysis of the activities of trade unions in Uzbekistan, in particular, the systemic measures taken by the federation in the field of social protection.

Researching around our subjects

This article explores the opportunities and obstacles of researching women’s trade union activism in the British film and television industries between 1933 and 2017. The surviving material on women’s union participation is incomplete and fragmented, and so my research has combined an examination of archival material—the union’s journal and the meeting minutes, correspondence and ephemera of three iterations of its equality committee—with new and existing oral history interviews. Sherry J. Katz has termed this methodological approach “researching around our subjects”, which involves “working outward in concentric circles of related sources” to reconstruct women’s experiences (90). While “researching around my subjects” was a challenging and time-consuming process, it was also a rewarding one, producing important insights into union activism as it relates to gender and breaking new ground in both women’s labour and women’s film and television history. This article concludes with a case study on the appointment of Sarah Benton as researcher for the ACTT’s Patterns report in 1973, revealing the benefits of this methodological approach in reconstructing events which have been effectively erased from the official record.

Challenging the trade union agenda: migrants’ interest representation and German trade unions in Hamburg in the 1970s and 1980s

ABSTRACT In the 1970s and 1980s, important transitions took place in Germany in both migration and labor market policies. The so-called recruitment of ‘guest-workers’ came to an end, and the patterns of cross-border movement changed significantly – and with them the ways unions as well as migrant organizations articulated their political claims. Taking these aspects into account, I examine union strategies concerning migrant workers’ interests. I discuss how migration challenged and changed the agenda of local trade unions in terms of content and processes. This paper puts forth the hypothesis that local trade union organizations could react to such challenges by broadening or narrowing their agenda. I draw on material gained from empirical research on trade unions and migrant organizations in Hamburg. Analyzing insights from qualitative interviews and primary sources, I discuss trade union activities regarding the inclusion of migrants, collective bargaining, and labor market policies, as well as migrants’ access to social and political rights. I also present initiatives against racism both within and outside of trade unions.

Hours, Employment, and Earnings of American Manufacturing Workers from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Centuries

For a century, two labor market empirical regularities characterized the movements of the hours of work, employment, and hourly compensation of American manufacturing production workers. They resembled conditional labor supply functions. Increases in employment substituted for reductions in hours per worker. The implied elasticities of hours and employment with respect to hourly earnings declined in absolute value over time. The activities of trade unions and the effects of statutory legislation contribute to the explanations for what is observed. Recently,changes in real hourly earnings contribute little to understanding movements in hours of work and in employment of these workers.

Political Marketing, or how to win elections?

The subject of the presented article is the problem of political marketing as a way to electoral victory. Marketing, promotion and advertising are useful instruments for achieving political goals. The ability to apply these means in practice is an expression of growing professionalism in the field of political knowledge. Marketing instruments are useful not only during election campaigns, but also in the everyday activities of political leaders, social institutions, political parties, trade unions and other participants in political life. This may concern the design and practical application of various political strategies, creating the image of a politician of a newly established political organisation, advertising to the public the government's policy of significant importance for the state or promoting the image of a country, city or region . In recent decades, election campaigns have taken on a permanent character, not being limited as before to the closed periods immediately preceding voting. Thus, knowledge of marketing has become more important in the political environments of modern countries. The adaptation of professional marketing techniques to the sphere of political action and the use of the potential of modern media have significantly influenced the way politics is conducted. The goals, methods and strategy of a political campaign are, in a sense, determined by the audience and the media. The American campaign model has become a model for many countries, especially those – like Poland – which have embarked on the path of democratic transformation after 1989.