Trade Union Involvement Research Articles

Involvement of trade unions to supervision and control of legislation on labor maintenance in the period of establishment in Ukraine in 1917–1921

In the article, on the basis of the conducted analysis of the resolutions, instructions, subtitles of the People's Commissariat of Labor of the UkrSSR, the memoranda of the local departments of labor as well-known and for the first time discovered in the archival funds, it was determined that the factory and plant committees and local service committees, being primary centers of All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions, served as a low authority to legislation on labor legislation maintenance. For this purpose, under the factory committees and trade unions permanent commissions were established for labor protection. The order of the involvement of trade unions to the election of labor (legal), out of district and sanitary labor inspectors, controllers of the People's Committee of state control is analyzed. It was clarified that in practice the involvement of trade unions in the activity of supervision and control bodies in the field of labor was not as active as it was decreed, and was partially replaced by the party representation.It is confirmed that due to proclaimed at the tenth congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) the necessity of full transfer of functions on labor protection from the People's Commissariat of Labor to the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions, the Labor inspectorate joined the board of trade unions with the preservation of all its state-compulsory functions, including control over the implementation of labor service, the fight against desertion. It is concluded that after the events of 1917, trade unions lost the role of antipodes of state power and began to play the role of its active ally, which stemmed from the class nature of the state of the proletariat, which was declared as a defender of the interests of workers.

Has the recast made a difference? An examination of the content of European Works Council agreements

The 2009 recast of the European Works Council (EWC) directive introduced substantial revisions to provisions on training, reporting back to employees and trade union involvement, together with amendments to the definitions of information, consultation and transnational competence. We use data from almost 1100 EWC agreements to evaluate its effect. We find a combination of direct effects from the recast and a general learning effect in the negotiation and renegotiation of EWC agreements. Which is dominant, depends on the issue under examination. The impact of the law tends to accelerate the development of EWCs as an institution in process.

Trade union involvement in work–family life balance: lessons from France

This article explores the challenges faced by union involvement in work–family life balance. It draws on the French case, where the state’s explicit call for firms to address the work–family life balance issue, notably through mandatory collective bargaining, has provided opportunities for union mobilization. Findings from qualitative research conducted at branch and company levels show that this public strategy has failed to stimulate innovation in related union policy and practices, even within a relatively feminized and partnership-oriented confederation. The reasons for this failure are discussed using a theoretical framework combining opportunity structure, and voice and choice issues. The article concludes that union underinvestment in work–family life balance results from a lack of effectiveness of the opportunity structure, but also, more specifically, from voice and choice factors which lead union representatives to downplay the issues at stake in this new bargaining agenda.

ROLA ZWIĄZKÓW ZAWODOWYCH W PODNOSZENIU KWALIFIKACJI PRACOWNIKÓW

THE ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS IN THE ENHANCEMENT OF EMPLOYEES’ QUALIFICATIONS Summary The aim of this article is to discuss the enhancement of employees’ qualifications as an area for the potential joint involvement of Polish trade unions and employers’ organisations, and particularly for the assessment of the negotiability of solutions to remedy the current situation, which is giving rise to concern. The author attempts to answer the question whether the policy pursued by Polish trade unions entails a commitment to the idea that the enhancement of professional qualifications may serve as an efficient tool to secure jobs. The same question is also put with respect to employers, who do not appear to be very interested in negotiating such issues or even in general in Staff training, either. The attitude of diffidence may be explained by the fact that in comparison with the 15 member states of the pre-2004 EU, in Poland entrepreneurs receive a relatively low level of state support for continuing professional training for their staff. This observation applies not only to insufficient fiscal incentives but also to inadequate counselling services. In the author’s opinion collective bargaining on effective professional training and qualification enhancement programmes cannot be conducted without a profound transformation of the model for the allocation of financing from the Labour Fund. This should also entail raising the joint responsibility of employers and trade unions, which cannot be done unless an incentive in the form of tax relief on professional training courses comes from the legislator. Until such changes are introduced, the issue will continue to be perceived as it has been up to now – as a matter concerning an individual’s right to work, not as the collective interest of employees represented by their trade unions.

Towards a green economy through innovations: The role of trade union involvement

In this paper, we address the overlooked issue of whether and how industrial relations might play a role in the process of greening the economy, primarily through the levers of innovation adoption and organisational change. We address our objective econometrically, assessing the quality of industrial relations as a driver of environmental innovation adoption, through the use of micro-data on manufacturing firms. The results yield two interesting main findings: being a unionised firm is not associated with the adoption of environmental innovation; however, when we consider the industrial relations climate, we observe a positive relationship between a cooperative industrial relations climate (union involvement) and the propensity to introduce environmental innovation. Two models are relevant: a managerially oriented model (unions are informed) and a participatory model (unions bargain on innovation adoption). The contents of environmental innovations are also important: union involvement is more relevant for adopting more complex and radical innovations to abate CO2 and EMS and ISO practices.

The Sydney Alliance: A broad-based community organising potential for trade union transformation?

This article reports on a study of trade union involvement in the Sydney Alliance – a broad-based community coalition organising for the ‘common good’. The article explores three main issues: the factors motivating unions to get involved in community-based organising; whether unions have the resources and capabilities to maintain long-term involvement with organisations outside the labour movement; and whether or not engagement creates the potential for rethinking union organising. Findings suggest that taking part in the Sydney Alliance has created opportunities for unions to reflect and act upon internal organisational change to facilitate revitalisation and member participation; to improve the public image of unions and their engagement with civil society networks; and to counteract the loss of political influence with the Labor Party. At the same time, union contribution to the coalition has also proved difficult to sustain, in the main because of the lack of strategic capability of unions.

Social dialogue and public pension reform in Greece and Turkey

This article explores the involvement of organized social actors (trade unions and business groups) in the reform of public pension systems in Greece and Turkey. Most early studies of the reform of welfare policies perceived benefits in a consensual policy process, but more recent neoliberal literature has been critical of the political involvement of trade unions. On the basis of interviews with actors involved in the reform process in Greece and Turkey, I conclude that the effectiveness of social pacts is contingent on the financial, political and organizational resources available to the actors involved.

Solidarity against All Odds

In an era of fiscal austerity and dualization of social protection, has organized labor become increasingly split along skill and industry lines? Against recent political science accounts of trade union involvement in social policymaking, this paper argues that, in the specific area of pensions, unions representing high-skilled workers and the core industrial sectors of the economy have paradoxically been led to increase their cooperation with unions representing the less privileged segments of labor, in order to improve coverage of private pensions across the board. These unions’ motivations for doing so and the strategies they have employed have nonetheless differed according to the preexisting institutional design of domestic pension systems. The argument is supported with case studies of British, French, German, and Belgian unions’ involvement in contemporary pension reform.

Participación de los ciudadanos de la Unión Europea en las elecciones al Parlamento Europeo y elecciones locales en España

En el presente estudio analizamos la participación política de los ciudadanos comunitarios residentes en España y, más concretamente en la Comunidad Autónoma Andaluza, poniendo el acento en su nivel de conocimiento y comportamiento político a propósito de sus derechos políticos, los mecanismos y vías de participación institucional y política en España, así como el estudio de la implicación en el fomento de la participación de los extranjeros europeos a nivel de la Administración pública (entidades locales y otras instituciones), partidos políticos, sindicatos, Embajadas y Consulados.

Solidarity Against All Odds: Organized Labor and Pension Privatization in Western Europe

In an era of fiscal austerity and dualization of social protection, has organized labor become increasingly split along skill and industry lines? Against recent political science accounts of trade union involvement in social policy-making, this paper argues that, in the specific area of pensions, unions representing high-skilled workers and the core industrial sectors of the economy have been paradoxically led to increase their cooperation with unions representing the less privileged segments of labor, and this in order to improve coverage of private pensions across the board. These unions’ motivations for doing so and the strategies they have employed have nonetheless differed according to the pre-existing institutional design of domestic pension systems. The argument is supported with case studies of British, French, German and Belgian unions’ involvement in contemporary pension reform.

Legislation and employment relations in South Africa: A narrative overview of workplace dispute

This paper provides an overview of legislative measures applied in handling grievances and disciplinary matters in the workplace from the South African perspective. South Africa is one of the unionised countries in the world and the involvement of trade unions in resolving disputes including grievances and disciplinary matters is crucial. Trade unions, employers’ organisations and the state play an integral role in employment relations. Unions represent their members during dispute proceedings at various institutions where they (trade unions) are recognised. The country’s statutory measures must always be adhered-to in the handling of grievances and disciplinary procedures. The author relates the manner in which grievances and disciplinary proceedings are handled in a unionised workplace environment.

An International Study of Trade Union Involvement in Community Organizing: Same Model, Different Outcomes

AbstractThis article reports on a two‐year study of union/community organizing in the UK, USA and Australia. It takes a particular model of organizing — that of the Industrial Areas Foundation — and analyses trade union engagement in coalition‐building activity in each of the three countries. Findings show mixed approaches to working with community groups from ad hoc instrumentalism to deep coalition‐building. While these variations may, in part, be explained by different industrial relations contexts, it appears that the ‘fit’ between ideology and culture of unions and their coalition partners, as well as the practices and strategies that reinforce this fit, have much greater effect on the attitude and behaviour of unions towards non‐workplace‐based organizing. The article contributes to debates about the conditions under which unions succeed (or not) in sustaining strong coalition‐building beyond their traditional constituencies.

Authentic Leaders: Women and Leadership in Australian Unions before World War II

What literature there is on women's trade union involvement in Australia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries emphasises the barriers to women's activism. This article considers case studies of women who did become activists and leaders and argues that they shared a number of commonalities, especially related to family and community and to political convictions. It also analyses the strategies they employed to overcome a range of obstacles to their full participation in the union movement, and the extent to which they were successful.

The role of pension funds in the financialisation of the Icelandic economy

This article explores the decisive role of pension funds in the neoliberal restructuring of the Icelandic economy, arguing that, through their involvement in the pension-fund industry, the labour unions contributed to laying the foundations for Iceland’s economic financialisation. The socioeconomic stability provided by the labour organisations was the crucial element upon which the new financial regime of accumulation relied, enhancing the national economic ‘credibility’ that helped the internal market to attract foreign speculators as well as gaining access to loans from international market. I begin by examining how the structural crisis of the Icelandic economy produced an explosion of inflation and industrial conflict in the late-1980s. I then retrace the way the implementation of a neo-corporatist pattern enabled lower inflation and stabilisation of the currency. Finally, I analyse the way in which the involvement of the Icelandic trade unions in the financial mechanisms through the pension industry generated a degree of identification with pro-market governmental policy on the part of union leaders, encouraging them to tailor their own strategies accordingly. My conclusion is that Icelandic unions’ consensus concerning the ‘stabilisation programme’ implemented by the neoliberal coalitions relies on their embeddedness into the financial structures of the national economy through occupational pension funds.

Collective and individual alternative dispute resolution in France and Britain

The paper compares trends and case studies of individual and collective employment conflicts in France and the UK. Its focus is on the extent to which conciliation, mediation and mediation are used within the two different industrial relations systems. In both, third-party intervention is associated with the legitimacy conveyed by the involvement of both employers and trade unions, or by the presence of an impartial judge. The research finds extensive use of alternative dispute resolution is taking place in both countries, with dispute resolution taking place commonly in the justice system in France, while in the UK there is extensive use made of the arms-length independent government agency, Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service. However, the research concludes that the most effective third-party interventions take place when they are combined with mobilisation, rather than merely being the sole form of dispute resolution.

Forced Labor: Coercion and Exploitation in the Private Economy

Two centuries after the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, at least 12.3 million people continue to be subjected to modern forms of forced labour characterized by coercion and exploitation. The original field research presented in this volume shows that the victims include not only indigenous workers in Andean countries or people of slave-descent in Niger, but also migrant workers trafficked into Europe and the U.S and vulnerable members of the labour force in Brazil or Pakistan. The book highlights some of the measures that can be taken to combat these unacceptable practices. The authors argue in favour of a labour market approach, which includes the regulation and monitoring of labour intermediaries, the strengthening of labour inspection systems, as well as a stronger involvement of trade unions and employment tribunals.

Social protection for developing countries: Can social insurance be more relevant for those working in the informal economy?

In this article, Nicola Smit and Letlhokwa George Mpedi critically evaluate the appropriateness of social protection, particularly social insurance, for informal economy workers. It addresses the question from a developing country perspective, focusing in particular on Southern Africa. The authors start by analysing concepts (such as “informal economy”, “employee”, “social protection” and “social security”) pertinent to the theme of making social insurance appropriate for informal economy workers. They then provide an overview of the labour market and social protection challenges, followed by recommendations on how to make social insurance more relevant to those toiling in the informal economy. On the one hand the authors consider ways to extend social protection to informal economy workers and their families and, on the other hand, investigate to what extent it is possible to strengthen the linkages between the informal and formal economies. They emphasise that the labour law concept of “employee”, which serves as a gateway to social insurance, has to be interpreted more widely. Secondly, social insurance schemes have to be adapted so as to make them amenable to partial or voluntary participation of the informal economy workers. Thirdly, options for making social insurance benefits suitable for those working in the informal economy should be further investigated. Fourthly, the administrative capacity of social insurance schemes should be improved. Furthermore, the informal coping strategies of people should be reinforced and, where possible, formalised. Most importantly, trade union involvement in and solidarity with those eking out a living in the informal economy should be encouraged.

Organizing training for union renewal: A case study analysis of the European Union steel industry

The central proposition of this article is that trade union involvement in training is essential to ensure that workers are in a position to adapt readily to changing circumstances and bargain from a strong position. The context in which this proposition is advanced is with reference to the restructuring of the EU steel industry. The argument has two dimensions. First, trade unions need to engage with training and workplace learning in more direct and involved ways than allowed for by current partnership arrangements. This involvement is to protect workers’ interests, promote worker development and to develop jobs as decent jobs. Second, such engagement requires that unions consider their organizational capacities in two respects, within national contexts and across borders. The article employs evidence from ongoing steel industry focused research, which includes observations from the EU Steel Sector Social Dialogue Committee and its steering group on Workforce Development, Recruitment and Retention.

The involvement of Polish trade unions in social dialogue and workplace governance: implications for reform

This article explores the involvement of Polish trade unions in social dialogue and workplace governance with a view to economic reform. Set against the background of modern theories of conflict and cooperation, and of social and political capital, it takes as its premise that Poland needs comprehensive structural change. For this to happen, however, an Irish‐style social pact is called for. Hence the study shows among other things the impact of trade union politicisation and the climate of confrontation and polarisation, and why Polish social partners have difficulty building a consensus and cooperating to produce benefits for the entire society. It argues that, on the one hand, trade unions – being able to accelerate or frustrate reform – have a big role to play and, on the other, that it is critical to improve the quality of social dialogue and workplace governance. Drawing on a short study from the mining industry, the article demonstrates that consensus and cooperation, rather than confrontation and intransigence, produce win–win outcomes. Building on these arguments, the article concludes by making some recommendations on how to enhance social dialogue and ameliorate workplace governance.

Experience of Sexual Harassment at Work by Female Employees in a Nigerian Work Environment

Among the prominent issues bothering the work experience of female employees is that of sexual harassment at work. This paper is an empirical study on this issue. The study seeks to uncover perceived experience of sexual harassment among female employees in a Nigerian work setting. Questionnaire was the main research instrument adopted to gather important data for the study. It found that majority of the respondents have experienced sexual harassment of one kind or the other usually from their male superiors. Socio-cultural factors dictated their varying responses ranging from concealment due to fear of shame to ignorance of channel of legal redress. Suggestions are made towards improving enlightenment campaign to female workers on their rights to legal redress if they were sexually harassed by their male boss, the formation of Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) to protect rights of female workers and the active involvement of trade unions in efforts meant to reduce the incidence of sexual harassment at the workplace.