Field Of Industrial Relations Research Articles

Reframing: a feminist reflection on Alan Fox

PurposeThis paper contributes to the broad aim of this special issue, reflecting on the relevance of the writing of Alan Fox to the contemporary industrial relations field. It offers an original reflection from a feminist perspective on Fox’s classic insights around frames of reference.Design/methodology/approachWe concentrate on Beyond Contract, Work, Power and Trust Relations (1974a) and Man Mismanagement (1974b, 1985) as the texts setting out Fox’s influential frames of reference theory, before moving on to subsequent literature in the field making use of Fox’s frames. In undertaking this review from a feminist perspective, we specifically look at the extent to which work considers standpoint, gender relations and political engagement. We draw further on wider feminist scholarship within industrial relations, critical race theory and intersectionality perspectives.FindingsDespite the concept of inequality forming the core of Fox’s analyses, there is a lack of attention to gender or to other diversity strands in his work and, notwithstanding the weight of feminist scholarship within the industrial relations field since, this neglect has been carried forward into subsequent use of Fox’s work. We argue there is space for the frames to be interpreted and used in ways that leave space for attention to feminist concerns and call on academics to approach their use of Fox from a more critically-informed perspective.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper’s argument has implications for the field of industrial relations in terms of conceptual understanding and methodological approaches. With space, it would have been useful to apply our revised understanding of Fox’s key concepts to empirical cases.Practical implicationsGreater clarity in what constitutes “unitary” and “pluralist” perspectives and categories will help employment relations actors.Originality/valueWe present a novel feminist re-framing of Fox’s work, providing new understandings of the strengths, weaknesses and applicability of the frames of reference within contemporary industrial relations research and practice. We advocate for methodological and scholarly approaches which advance theoretical and empirical justice in the field, moving beyond gender to draw on critical race theory and intersectionality frameworks.

Computational Mapping Analysis of Publications by Bibliometric Approach on Green Human Resource Management

This study aims to investigate the computational mapping analysis to delve into the evolution of green human resource management using VOSviewer and to identify its evolution towards research trend, thrust areas, citations, document type and source, authors and co-authorship, language, countries, keywords and period. Further, the study tried to identify the prolific authors and co-authorship patterns, commonly used keywords, country-wise and organization-wise analysis, research themes, theoretical foundations and simple statistics. This comprehensive exploration has provided valuable insights into the concept of green HRM, its objectives, and its potential benefits for businesses and society as a whole. The study has used the most pertinent recent articles of the last 20 years from the Scopus platform. The study reveals that China, the U.K. and the USA are contributing more research in the area of GHRM. Human resource management has become environmentally friendly in all its functions using green HRM but less thrust has been given up to now in the field of industrial relations.

The value of industrial relations research(ers): Activism inside and outside the UK Academy

AbstractBased on an in‐depth study of the lived experiences of industrial relations (IR) researchers in the United Kingdom, we demonstrate that IR has survived and thrived as a result of activism both inside and outside the academy. By adapting teaching and research to reflect the contemporary problems for labor, appropriating the study of human resource management, and creating synergies between service, teaching and learning, and both pure and applied research, the field of IR has experienced renewed intellectual vitality. The activism of IR academics in the United Kingdom signifies a promising future and an experience that IR research(ers) elsewhere can draw on.

Психологические предикторы несвоевременного обращения больных раком предстательной железы за онкологическим лечением

<p>Among oncological diseases, prostate cancer ranks third after lung and stomach cancer. A timely (early) application of patients for medical help, early diagnosis and early treatment are the factors of a favourable course and survival rate. The purpose of the study is to identify a set of psychological predictors associated with untimely primary care-seeking in men with prostate cancer. 81 men diagnosed with prostate cancer took part in the study, aged from 53 to 85 years old (mean age — 64.4, standard deviation — 8.8), 42 men at early stages of the disease (I, II), 39 men at late stages (III, IV), who first sought professional medical help in the Chelyabinsk Regional Clinical Centre of Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Seeking medical help at the early stages of the disease (I, II stages) is timely, or an early application, while treatment at later stages (III, IV) is late treatment. The study used survey methods, in particular, psychodiagnostic techniques: the World Assumptions Scale (R. Janoff-Bulman; adapted by M.A. Padun, A.V. Kotelnikova), the Level of Subjective Control method (E.F. Bazhin, E.A. Golynkina, L.M. Etkind), the Life Orientation Test (M.F. Scheier, C.S. Carpenter, adapted by D.A. Tsiring, K.Y. Evnina), the S. Maddi test of resilience, adapted by D.A. Leontiev, E.I. Rasskazova, the SF-36 “Quality of Life Assessment” questionnaire (the translation into Russian and the approbation of the methodology was carried out by the Institute of Clinical and Pharmacological Research, St. Petersburg). The study found that men who do not seek medical help in a timely manner experience intense pain that interferes with their daily activity, they are also internalized in the field of industrial relations, showing more personal responsibility for successes and failures in the professional sphere. Also, men with prostate cancer who seek help in the late stages of the disease are close to a pessimistic expectation of the future.</p>

Elizabeth Gaskell: An overlooked political economist and proto theorist in the field of industrial relations

AbstractThis polemical essay argues that Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, and her novels North and South, and Mary Barton, portray her as an overlooked, early political economist. The objective of the paper is three‐fold: (1) to dismantle taken‐for‐granted truth claims that Alan Fox is the preeminent thinker on pluralistic forms of employee engagement (2) encourage further development and enlargement of the field and what constitutes its history, and (3) to argue for the recognition of Elizabeth Gaskell as an early political economist. Guiding this exploration is the question: How do we also make sense of Fox’s privileged situatedness in scholarship and the absence of potential early theorists like Gaskell? The paper adopts a feminist reading and polemical writing to engage in feminist critical historiography. The author draws on audience theory to help readers reorient themselves to Gaskell and to help see her as an overlooked political economist. Feminism is conceptually presented as ontology, epistemology, method, and style of writing. Despite the ongoing credit Alan Fox receives as first theorizing the frames of reference and pluralistic forms of engagement starting in the 1960s, Elizabeth Gaskell was contemplating and critiquing the employment relationship starting in the 1850s. She not only provided a rich historical understanding of the inequalities of class and wealth, but her ideas and insights remain unacknowledged in industrial relations scholarship. The paper offers a unique feminist perspective on Elizabeth Gaskell and makes the case that she is neglected early political economist. Further, the paper makes a link between the world of Victorian era fiction as historical understanding of early capitalist society and demonstrates how ideas are taken up by the field in unconscious and unjust ways.

PENYELESAIAN PERSELISIHAN HUBUNGAN INDUSTRIAL DILUAR PENGADILAN MELALUI ARBITRASE

Arbitration provides a procedure or process for resolving disputes peacefully and out of court. Arbitration opportunities for the sustainability of industrial relations in Indonesia are minimal things that will be implemented by all disputing parties because the community prioritizes settlement in terms of winning or losing through court settlements. It is very important that there are ways to support this arbitration as an option for resolving industrial disputes so that it is of interest to the public. The research method used in this study is a normative juridical research method with a descriptive approach, with the aim of providing direction and finding logical realistics by looking at library materials or other information using primary and secondary data. The results obtained from the conclusion of this discussion are the knowledge of the mechanism of arbitration in the settlement of disputes in the field of industrial relations and the advantages and disadvantages of arbitration in resolving problems in the field of industrial relations.
 Keywords: Arbitration, Industry, Disputes.

Peran Dinas Tenaga Kerja dalam Mengawal Perekonomian Masyarakat Melalui Upaya Peningkatan Kesejahteraan Pekerja dan Hak Atas Upah yang Layak di Kabupaten Pati Berdasarkan Perspektif Islam

This study aims to determine: 1). The role of the labor service in overseeing the community's economy through efforts to improve the welfare of workers in Pati district 2). The role of the labor service in overseeing the community's economy through efforts to increase the right to decent wage for workers in Pati district. This research uses qualitative research methods with the type of approach used is field research Data collection used observation and interviews. The results showed that 1). The government of the manpower office in the field of industrial relations always monitors and coordinates by visiting companies, where companies must be able to provide welfare services and facilities for workers both for work interests and in terms of muamalah.2). The role of the labor service in efforts to increase the right to a decent wage for workers includes conducting coaching and monitoring and monitoring.

Climate change and industrial relations: Reflections on an emerging field

What does climate change mean for the field of industrial relations? In this article, we argue that a meaningful disciplinary response to climate change requires more than simply widening the scope of industrial relations scholarship to include environmental dynamics. It demands recognition of the ways in which the categories of analysis and intellectual preoccupations of the discipline have been shaped by what we term the ‘fossil capitalist inertia’ exerted by their largely 20th-century origins. Climate change requires critical reflection of the extent to which industrial relations processes that were introduced to increase fairness and equality in a fossil capitalist context have the potential to contribute to different kinds of unfairness and inequality in an era of climate instability. The article identifies four frontiers of the scholarly development already underway that give effect to this conceptual enlargement: critical engagement with the concepts of (a) ‘sustainable development’ and (b) ‘just transition’ (c) analyses of reconfigured union identities and strategies and (d) discussions of the roles and influence of employer associations and state actors in labour and environmental relations and transitions. The article concludes by introducing five new articles that advance existing scholarly reflections on the challenge of a changed climate for industrial relations along each of these frontiers.

Inequality, worker mobilisation and lessons from history: Australia 1788-1900

ABSTRACT Neoliberalism has wrought fundamental changes in the world of work, leading to rising inequality, substantial weakening of organised labour and a decline in industrial relations as a field, especially in relation to teaching. Drawing on historical ‘big data’ this paper argues that examining the history of worker mobilisation provides a better understanding of these developments, including the importance of considering diverse forms of organisation and action as well as multi-pronged methods built around a key set of issues. It can also inform efforts to address challenges posed by neoliberalism. We conclude by arguing that an historical perspective can better equip the field of industrial relations to meet challenges extending beyond the world of work.

Strikers versus scabs: violence in the 1910-1914 British labour revolt

ABSTRACT Over the last 200 years of British labour history there have been frequent examples of aggressive and sometimes violent mass picketing aimed at stopping non-striking scab or so-called ‘blackleg’ labour [sic]. Yet remarkably little detailed attention has been given within the field of British industrial relations or even labour history to the contributory causes, characteristic features, impact and broader implications of this violent dimension of the strikers/scabs relationship within industrial militancy. This paper attempts to fill the gap, focusing on one of the most intense and graphic illustrative time periods, the pre-First World War Labour Revolt between 1910-14. Drawing on an extensive range of secondary literature and new archival material, it explores the way in which working class violence as a form of active collective defence became justified by the way in which it was directly provoked by the employers’ encouragement and/or importation of scab labour, combined with the partisan intervention of police, troops, civil authorities and government as a means of attempting to defeat workers’ struggles. In challenging the legitimacy of public order and state power, such action encouraged a culture of community solidarity and self-defence that embraced many local supporters in the mass picketing against ‘blacklegs’.

Frames of reference in managing employment from the perspective of economics of conventions

AbstractIn their contribution to this symposium, John W. Budd, Dionne Pohler, and Wei Huang provided directions for understanding how conflicts and human resource (HR) practices are influenced by framing processes. The current literature on frames in the field of human resources and industrial relations tends to view individual actors as representatives of theories on employment relationship, and it focuses on the formal side of HR practices. These features limit scholars’ scope and ability to address the agency of the actors involved in framing processes, particularly employees. Therefore, this article develops an analytical perspective based on the economics of conventions to help realize the promise of Budd, Pohler, and Huang's work for a deeper understanding of the co‐construction of frames and changes in HR practices in work organizations.

‘We’re in the coal business’: Maintaining fossil fuel hegemony in the face of climate change

Despite the worsening climate crisis and market shifts towards decarbonization, Australia remains heavily invested in carbon-intensive activities. As one of the world's largest exporters of coal and gas, Australian political economy has been dominated over the last several decades by fossil fuel expansionism. In this article, we explore how Australian corporate and political elites have defended the continuation of fossil fuel extraction and use in the face of calls for a transition to a low-carbon energy future. Through an analysis of public statements by industry associations, corporate leaders, politicians and trade union officials, we identify how these actors have constructed a hegemonic temporal narrative stressing the historical importance of fossil fuels and that a transition to renewable energy represents a threat to Australia's future. Our analysis contributes to the growing literature within the field of industrial relations attending to the complex industrial dynamics underlying the maintenance of fossil fuel hegemony. We also contribute to recent discussions on hegemony by demonstrating the importance of temporality in linking diverse actors together in defending hegemony. Finally, we highlight the critical importance of corporate power in fundamentally shaping climate and energy politics.

Patterns in the Press Releases of Trade Unions: How to Use Structural Topic Models in the Field of Industrial Relations

Quantitative text analysis and the use of large data sets have received only limited attention in the field of Industrial Relations. This is unfortunate, given the variety of opportunities and possibilities these methods can address. We demonstrate the use of one promising technique of quantitative text analysis – the Structural Topic Model (STM) – to test the Insider-Outsider theory. This technique allowed us to find underlying topics in a text corpus of nearly 2,000 German trade union press releases (from 2000 to 2014). We provide a step-by-step overview of how to use STM since we see this method as useful to the future of research in the field of Industrial Relations. Until now the methodological publications regarding STM mostly focus on the mathematics of the method and provide only aminimal discussion of their implementation. Instead, we provide a practical application of STM and apply this method to one of the most prominent theories in the field of Industrial Relations. Contrary to the original Insider-Outsider arguments, but in line with the current state of research, we show that unions do in fact use topics within their press releases which are relevant for both Insider and Outsider groups.

Justice and solidarity in the perceptions of working-class youth in service industries

The modern approaches to the concepts of solidarity and justice that are basic for society have been examined in the article. In the Russian intellectual tradition, solidarity practices were considered within a moral and axiological dimension. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the specifics in the perceptions of new working-class youth involved in service sector of the economy of social justice and solidarity, interconnection of class self-awareness and corporate solidarity practices. The article contains an analysis of the original empirical material obtained by the implementation of qualitative sociological research tools. The object of the study was the working-class youth employed in the service sector of the economy, both in the field of customer service and in the infrastructure field of industrial production. Novelty of the article lies within generalization of this youth’s perceptions of justice, types and forms of solidarity. The research yielded such conclusion that the most significant and recognized issues of justice and solidarity for the working-class youth are in the field of industrial relations. As it was revealed during the research, the youth of the service sector is objectively vulnerable to the highest precarity of industrial relations. However, its actual dangers have not yet gained enough recognition of public consciousness and are not studied by Russian sociologists. Issues of the first employment of the youth, discrepancy between professional qualifications and labor markets, intergenerational crisis in industrial relations remain the most acute problems of justice. The respondents view solidarity as relations in a particular workforce, usually in a passive manner; the awareness of class solidarity is virtually nonexistent. The working-class youth demonstrates indifference towards political forms of solidarity and to political life.

From gradual erosion to revitalization: National Social Dialogue Institutions and policy effectiveness

We explore the factors behind the long-term erosion of National Social Dialogue Institutions (NSDIs) to provide insights about the conditions for their revitalization. By applying policy analysis insights into the industrial relations field, we argue that limited policy effectiveness goes a long way towards explaining the erosion experienced by many NSDIs worldwide in recent years. Drawing on a global survey and on case studies of NSDIs in Brazil, Italy and South Korea, we show that these institutions’ policy effectiveness crucially depends on combinations of their problem-solving capacity, an encompassing mandate to deal with relevant socioeconomic issues and an enabling environment that grants the inclusion of social dialogue into decision making. With regard to rekindling their role, the article provides substantial evidence that two sub-dimensions of effectiveness are key: enjoying political support and having an ‘effective mandate’ as opposed to relying on just a formal remit to deal with socioeconomic issues of interest.

Global Value Chains and Industrial Relations in the Global South: Social Upgrading Paths in Different Industries

Abstract The article compares social upgrading trends in four global value chains (apparel, automobiles, electronics and it services) and six developing and emerging economies (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Vietnam). It applies a framework, which combines analyses of industry-specific governance modes with recent theoretical approaches from the field of industrial relations. The empirical results show that prospects for social upgrading within similar segments of a particular value chain considerably depend on the national context. The article thus highlights the importance of integrating the role of national institutions into global value chain analysis in order to better explain variegated upgrading dynamics across different countries and industries.

Workers’ organizations and the fetishism of the trade union form: toward new pathways for research on the labour movement?

ABSTRACT In the field of labour studies and industrial relations, there's a long-standing tradition, common to both the reformist and Marxist left, of focusing the analysis on the trade unions, the par excellence form of workers' organization. Changes in the global political economy in the past decades have completely altered the productive and social landscape in which trade unions have historically been inserted questioning the extent to which existing trade unions are still representative of broader working-class interests. I argue that despite this adverse context, labour relations research on collective organization and conflict has remained trapped into a logic which I call, paraphrasing Marx, of trade union fetishism. My critique is a methodological call to abandon the comfort zone of the capital labour relation and of its ‘symbiotic relationship’ with trade unions to advance the field of study toward a truly working-class analysis, based on actually existing social processes of struggle.

Decent Work and Economic Growth under Nigerian Labour and Industrial Relations

The concept of decent work and economic growth which is the 8th Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations is set to serve as a catalyst in the field of labour and industrial relations by year 2030. The aim of this goal is to ensure that policies geared towards social protection of workers is held in utmost importance. There was no better time to have set the wheels of this goal into motion other than now following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which has served as a threat to job creation and existence globally. The concept of decent work to other global climes could mean a simple amendment in their existing labour legislation but for a country like Nigeria, it is a different narrative. This work focuses on the viability of the concept of decent work under the existing Nigerian labour legislation while also examining the state of the Nigerian economy on the other hand in other to catch a better glimpse of the twin concept of the 8th Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations. This work suggests the fact that the United Nations should have adopted decent work and economic development rather than economic growth because economic development has a much more reaching impact positively on the people rather than economic growth which is more concerned on the national income.

From a ‘Moral Commentator’ to a ‘Determined Actor’? How the International Labour Organization (ILO) Orchestrates the Field of International Industrial Relations

AbstractCollective action on the part of the International Labour Organization (ILO) has always been dependent on the ability of the International Labour Office, the permanent secretariat of the ILO, to orchestrate a consensus between the Organization's tripartite constituents of Government, Employer and Worker representatives. This consensus fell with the Berlin Wall, prompting the Office to bypass states by engaging with external interactants in order to promote international labour standards and decent work. Most recently, in order to shift the emphasis from ‘moral commentary’ to ‘determined action’, the Office has reverted to managing states, albeit in the face of determined Employer counter‐framing. Employer opposition, supported by several member States, cannot be underestimated, as any orchestration within the international industrial relations field is contingent on concerted action.

The Industrial Relations Field 100 Years Later: The “Labor Question” Is More Important Than Ever: Letter from the Editors

The Industrial Relations Field 100 Years Later: The “Labor Question” Is More Important Than Ever: Letter from the Editors