Representation Of Employee Interests Research Articles

TRADE UNION REPRESENTATION OF EMPLOYEE INTERESTS AT THE WORKPLACE LEVEL

The article discusses trade union representation of employee interests at the workplace level. The author analyzes the structure of the company trade union organization, the facilitations in its functioning and the most important rights, including the right to collective bargaining. The analysis is the basis for assessing the current regulation and formulating conclusions for the future.

Influence of EU law on Collective Labour Law in Poland (Institutions at the National Level)

Although the competences of the EU in the field of industrial relations are limited, European standards concerning collective labour law have significantly affected domestic legal systems, including Polish law. EU legislation forced a reconstruction of a model of collective representation of employee interests. Polish law shifted from single- to double-channel representation with trade unions and employee councils (involved in information and consultation procedures). Under the influence of EU law the Polish legislator has established a number of collective procedures aimed at the protection of employee interests (e.g. collective redundancies, transfer of undertaking). As a rule, they reflect basic protective standards determined at the European level. There are, however, some lesser problems that weaken the effect intended by EU legislation. Nonetheless, implementation of European standards has contributed to the development of industrial relations and protection of workers.

Pro‐Social or Pro‐Management? A Critique of the Conception of Employee Voice as a Pro‐Social Behaviour within Organizational Behaviour

AbstractFor many years, the employment relations (ER) literature took the perspective that employee voice via trade unions could channel discontent and reduce exit, thereby improving productivity. In organizational behaviour (OB) research voice has also emerged as an important concept, and a focus of this research has been to understand the antecedents of the decision of employees to engage or not engage in voice. In OB research, however, voice is not viewed as it is in ER as a mechanism to provide collective representation of employee interests. Rather, it is seen as an expression of the desire and choice of individual workers to communicate information and ideas to management for the benefit of the organization. This article offers a critique of the OB conception of voice, and in particular highlights the limitations of its view of voice as a pro‐social behaviour. We argue that the OB conception of voice is at best partial because its definition of voice as an activity that benefits the organization leaves no room for considering voice as a means of challenging management, or indeed simply as being a vehicle for employee self‐determination.

Employee interests in the light of human resource management concepts

Representation of employee interests is addressed, as reflected in the modern human resource management concepts. By attending to the need of respecting employee interests, companies may greatly increase their chances of reaching company business objectives and increase their effectiveness, as a result of improved employee involvement. Direct and indirect expressions of this aspect in modern HRM concepts are discussed. Specifics of local approaches to the realization of employee interests are discussed, based on empirical studies of more than 200 companies operating in the Lower Silesia region of Poland. Based on the study results, the authors demonstrate that the practice of management in the area under study is only in part consistent with the model representations of human resource management, as recommended in professional literature.

Precarious delegates: irregular forms of employee interest representation in Germany

AbstractThe highly unionised dual model of industrial relations no longer represents the reality of employee representation in Germany. This article explores the case of irregular workplace delegates in service sector industries where the unionised dual model of employee representation is weakly entrenched. Identifying different configurations of the difficult employee access to co‐determination in precarious services, it argues for a differentiated view of the increasingly fragmented reality of national systems of employee representation.

More of the same, but faster? - The financial crisis and the representation of employee interests in the Baltic States

More of the same, but faster? - The financial crisis and the representation of employee interests in the Baltic States

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

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.

Twin Tracks—Employee Representation at Eurotunnel Revisited

The introduction of the European Directive on Information and Consultation and the recent implementation of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations into United Kingdom (UK) law have increased the focus on workplace representation arrangements. This paper examines the interplay between nonunion and union representative arrangements at Eurotunnel (UK) and assesses their effectiveness in representing the needs of employees over a 5‐year period. Importantly, the paper also examines the opportunities and challenges of both nonunion representation (NER) and union voice arrangements. The findings show that the effectiveness of nonunion structures as bodies representing the interests of employees in filling the lack of representation is questionable. However, union recognition through an employer–union partnership agreement has also raised important issues regarding the effectiveness, impact, and legitimacy of unions at Eurotunnel. The main implication of this research is that the existence of a mechanism—union or nonunion—for communication between management and employees at the workplace may not be a sufficient condition for effective representation of employee interests. In addition, while trade unions may provide greater voice than nonunion arrangements (thus the reluctance of management to accept such voice arrangements), the strength of voice is dependent on the legitimacy and effectiveness of trade unions in representing employees’ interests at the workplace. And that in turn depends on the union being perceived by the workforce as both representative and able to act independently. If the union cannot, it will not meet the needs of either employees or management—and could run the risk of being supplanted under the provisions of the new EU Directive on Information and Consultation with tougher requirements for compliance in terms of procedures for consultation and information disclosure.

The Representation Gap: Change and Reform in the British and American Workplace

For up to twenty years after the Second World War both in Britain and the US boasted `mature' industrial relations systems supported by their governments and, allowing for some differences in degree, by most employers. Since the early 1980s, these systems have been critically weakened. This comparative industrial relations text explains this development primarily through the withdrawal of public policy support and, mainly in Britain's case, its replacement by government hostility. An important consequence of this is the erosion of the effective defence and representation of employee interests as the managerial prerogative has been allowed, even encouraged, to extend its authority in the workplace. The `representation gap' has grown so that six out of seven US employees, and two out of three British, are not represented at work, at the same time as there has been increasing discussion of `team' working etc. This could be a serious negative development for economic performance. A growing body of research is indicating that employers who bargain with trade unions, or enter into partnerships with them, are likely to be more productive than their non-union competitors. More importantly, the size of the representation gap presents a clear denial of the democratic rights of citizens, in their role as employees, with potentially serious implications for social stability both within and beyond the workplace.

EWC agreements under review: arrangements in companies based in four countries compared

The provisions of the agreements establishing European Works Councils may facilitate or constrain their subsequent development as effective mechanisms of employee interest representation at a transnational level. Using information on 386 voluntary, Article 13 EWC agreements, the article investigates three issues: the extent to which there is provision for a trade union role; how far there are formal provisions equipping employee representatives to exercise their functions; and whether agreements put in place practices which will enable the employee side to sustain independent activity, and liaison with management, on a continuing basis. Although a trade union role has been secured in the operation of perhaps a majority of EWCs, there is considerable variation in the formal capacity of employee representatives to exercise their role and develop an active European-level structure. For each of the issues considered, the article compares the provisions of agreements concluded in multinational companies based in France, Germany, the UK and the USA. It is concluded that some differences in provision probably result in equivalent practice, but that others are likely to underpin differences in actual practice.

The Future of Employee Representation

This article examines the future of employee interest representation in Britain against the broader European background. An attempt is made to define the character of interest representation in terms of the concepts of autonomy, legitimacy and efficacy. The core section of the article discusses recent and current developments with a focus on five themes: the level, structure, process, agenda and outcome of representation. A brief conclusion considers alternative scenarios and policy issues for employee representation. Underlying the whole discussion is the question: What future for (British) trade unions? No more than an imprecise and ambiguous answer can be suggested.