Trade Union Participation Research Articles

Barriers to Trade Union Participation among Indonesian foreign Workers in Malaysia

Barriers to Trade Union Participation among Indonesian foreign Workers in Malaysia

Barriers to Trade Union Participation among Rural Migrant Workers in China: An Analysis of Labor Disputes, Employment Characteristics, and Socio-Demographic Factors

This study aims to understand the potential for migrant workers to join trade unions by analyzing labor disputes, employment characteristics, and socio-demographic factors. Utilizing data from a survey of 823 migrant workers conducted in Shanghai and nine other cities in China, this research examines both the associational (organizational membership) and behavioral (activity participation) aspects of trade union participation. The results indicate that rural migrant workers exhibit a low level of union participation, contrary to expectations based on their labor market position and the recruitment efforts by Chinese unions. Three primary barriers to union participation were identified: (1) migrant workers in state-owned firms are significantly more likely to participate in unions compared to those in private firms, where union presence is weaker; (2) occupational and employment status discrimination within workplaces hinders rural migrant workers from joining unions; and (3) trust in trade unions is relatively low among Chinese migrant workers, likely due to the close relationship between unions and the government, which may undermine union legitimacy and impede worker engagement. These findings highlight the systemic challenges that rural migrant workers face in engaging with trade unions in China.

Factors Preventing Public University Academic Staff Involvement in Trade Unions

Trade unions in Malaysia play an important role in upholding workers' rights through collective voice and consultation with employers to defend the interests of their members. However, there are various factors that prevent the academic staff of public universities from engaging with trade unions in their universities. The focus of this study is to identify factors that hinder the involvement of public university academic staff in trade unions. This study uses quantitative and qualitative methods to achieve its objectives. A total of 168 academic staff members responded to the questionnaire. The quantitative data obtained is then analysed using SPSS software. A structured interview session involving 13 informants among members and non-trade union members was also conducted. The results showed that the level of factors hindering the involvement of academic staff was moderate. While qualitative findings found four factors that hinder the involvement of academic staff in trade unions, namely (i) the roles and functions of trade unions, (ii) the influence of friends, (iii) the terms of membership, and (iv) personal responsibility. The study suggests that public university trade unions should organise various awareness programmes for academic staff to encourage their participation in trade unions.

Trade Union Participation and Influence at Norwegian Workplaces During the Pandemic

A central feature of the Nordic model of labor relations, namely, the collaboration between social parties at the workplace, has proven to be particularly effective during crises. This is the backdrop for our study of the experiences from Trade Union Representatives (TU-reps) during the corona pandemic. With a survey aimed at TU-reps from the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), which represents just under half of the total unionized employees, we asked how the pandemic affected their participation and influence at the workplaces. Referring to the pandemic as a game changer, we discuss signs of change in TU-reps’ possibilities for participation and influence under such difficult circumstances. According to theTU-reps, interaction between the social parties intensified during the pandemic. Formal participation between the parties stands out to be crucial for enabling dialog and can therefore be labeled as the backbone of the Nordic model in times of crisis.

The effect of ethnic diversity on the participation in social groups: Evidence from trade unions

This paper advances the hypothesis that individuals in more ethnically fragmented societies, participate less in social groups. More precisely, the empirical analysis places the spotlight on trade unions and investigates whether ethnic diversity affects the decision of workers to participate in them. The analysis takes place along two layers: (a) country-level and (b) individual-level. First, building on a set of innovative instruments derived from the parasite-stress theory of values and sociality, our country-level analysis seeks to exploit exogenous sources of variation in ethnic diversity and establish a convincing causal relationship between ethnic diversity and trade union density across countries. In turn, we employ individual-level data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and investigate whether immigrants who cοme from more ethnically fragmented societies participate less in trade unions in their European countries of residence. Consistent with the prediction of the theory, both layers of the empirical analysis provide robust evidence of a negative, sizeable and highly significant effect of ethnic diversity on the participation in trade unions.

PROTECTION BY THE TRADE UNION OF MEDICAL WORKERS AT THE STAGES OF PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION AND JUDICIAL REVIEW

An analysis of legislation affecting the possibility of trade union participation in the protection of the rights of medical workers who have been prosecuted for iatrogenic crimes has been carried out. Statistics of complaints against medical workers are given, where the Udmurt Republic was among the five leaders, which determines an increased interest in the protection of medical workers. The procedural procedure for the protection of medical personnel is not determined taking into account the peculiarities of the procedural procedure. A similar situation is observed for subjects involved in the protection of a medical worker. The article draws attention in detail to the peculiarities of the union's protection of medical workers at the stages of pre-investigation, preliminary investigation and consideration of the case in the court of first instance. A conclusion is drawn on the need to develop and consolidate institutional and legal mechanisms and develop appropriate procedures. Examples of the participation of the professional union in the protection of the rights of medical workers are given on the example of two high-profile criminal cases for the Udmurt Republic. It is proposed to supplement article 76 of the Federal Law "On the Basics of Health Protection of Citizens of the Russian Federation" dated 21.11.2011 No. 323-FZ (ed. 02.07.2021). The materials of this article are both practical and more theoretical in nature, based on its doctrinal nature and the results of its research will help to build a system of protection for medical workers at the stages of pre-investigation, preliminary investigation and consideration of the case in court.

Macroeconomic Policy Changes and Its Impact on Trade Unions, an Empirical Study on OECD Countries for the Period 2001-2020

This study examines the macroeconomic variables affecting trade union rate membership in OECD nations from 2001 to 2020. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has 38 of the most industrialized countries globally, which counts more than 80% of the global GDP; analyzing the macroeconomic movements of these countries means that we most likely know the variance of the global macroeconomic changes. We target the effect of employability, expenditure on education, unemployment, inflation, FDI, economic growth, wages, and salaries on trade union participation of employers. To conduct this research, we used data from World Bank, ILO, and OECD for 38 countries during the period 2001-2020, conducting a panel data Fixed Effect non-linear regression model with robust effect considering the non-normality and the possibility of heteroscedasticity of some of the variables. The results show that employers in the industry, the productivity in the service sector, and wages will increase the enrolment in a trade union, but on the other side, an increase of FDI and unemployment rates will decrease the association of employers to be in a trade union.

Partycypacja pracownicza w krajach UE – analiza porównawcza

Przedmiot badań: Partycypacja pracownicza obejmuje reprezentację pracowniczą na poziomie przedsiębiorstwa, reprezentację w organach nadzoru korporacyjnego oraz partycypację związ­kową, tj. poziom uzwiązkowienia i zasięg umów zbiorowych. Autorka prezentuje kraje Unii Eu­ropejskiej, które są liderami w poszczególnych obszarach partycypacji oraz definiuje czynniki, które determinują tę sytuację. W artykule podkreślono również zmiany w sile „pracowniczego głosu” spowodowane kryzysem ekonomicznym.
 Cel badawczy: Celem artykułu jest porównanie trzech komponentów Europejskiego Indeksu Par­tycypacji (EPI) w krajach UE i określenie zmian wartości tego wskaźnika w okresie 2009–2019 między poszczególnymi krajami.
 Metoda badawcza: Artykuł został oparty w znaczniej mierze na przeglądzie wybranych publika­cji, dostępnych danych statystycznych z bazy OECD i ICTWSS oraz wynikach badań przepro­wadzonych w 2019 r. przez Europejską Fundację na Rzecz Poprawy Warunków Życia i Pracy i agencję Cedefop oraz badań Europejskiej Agencji Bezpieczeństwa i Zdrowia Pracy. Podstawą analizy są wartości EPI oszacowane przez S. De Spiegelaere i S. Vitolsa z Europejskiego Instytutu Związków Zawodowych.
 Wyniki: W ramach przeprowadzonej analizy stwierdzono, że siła „pracowniczego głosu” w kra­jach UE w okresie 2009–2019 obniżyła się o 8%, przy czym największy spadek odnotowano w obszarze partycypacji związkowej. Największe wahania wartości EPI miały miejsce w Cze­chach, które w 2013 r. zajmowały 13 miejsce w rankingu i w następnym roku spadły na 20 pozy­cję, aby w 2017 r. awansować na pozycję 12.

A study of measuring the social determinants of subjective Well-Being of working women (With special reference to balangoda divisional secretariat division)

The measurement of Subjective Well-being (SWB) has advanced rapidly over the last two decades with the several segments. Subjective well being is defined as sum of three components-life satisfaction, presence of positive affect and absence of negative affect together called " happiness". However studies based on working women's well-being still is scarce. In this paper a attempt has made to measure the social determinants of subjective well-being for working women while identifying the variation among social determinants and subjective well-being for the selected area is the supplementary objective. Selected sample consisted with 187 married, employed women in the age group of 19–60, from 3 GN Divisions in Balangoda DS Division, through cluster sampling and convenience sampling methods, using a structured questionnaire. Weighted Principal Components Analysis (WPCA) is performed on variables for the indicators of Subjective Well-Being. Under this method, the loading from the first component of PCA are used as weights for the respective indicators. Finally the constructed social determinants of subjective well-being are classified into three categories as happy moderately happy and unhappy using cluster analysis. Indicators for community relationships, contribution of family members, social validity, organizing events and nature of the job lead to high satisfaction while working hours per week, working environment and trade union participation make less happiness among working women.

Diversity as job quality: toward the inclusion of trade unions in public procurement of social services

PurposeWhen union representatives are included in government procurement procedures for contracting-out of social welfare services, organizational diversity is enhanced if the job quality parameter, as reflected in the contract, is improved. Asking how unions are treated in government procurement procedures, this paper discusses an approach to diversity management based on the inclusion of unions.Design/methodology/approachAs part of a broader research project, interviews were conducted with six budget administrators and 16 occupational standards administrators employed by the Israeli ministries of Welfare, Education and Health; and with eight trade union activists. Grounded theory was applied for data analysis, revealing meanings of “trade unions” and “job quality.”FindingsBudgeting administrators manifested diversity resistance by means of only partially supporting trade union demands to enhance job quality. Their power position enabled them to prioritize the profit imperative of service providers; the diverse labor force operating the contracted-out service were consequently denied the ostensible benefits of workplace diversity.Practical implicationsUnionization, and trade union participation in social welfare procurement processes, is a potentially effective path to improving job quality and enhancing workplace diversity. However, more must be done to develop the institutional-level processes that will ensure that this potential is utilized to the full.Social implicationsIncluding trade unions in social welfare procurement processes is a potentially effective path to improving job quality and enhancing workplace diversity. However, specific actions are required to develop the willingness of budgeting administrators to recognize the association between union participation, job quality and the acknowledged benefit of promoting organizational diversity.Originality/valueAn institutional work perspective was used to detail how budgeting administrators involved in public procurement processes resisted diversity by undermining trade union action for job quality. By identifying three social processes deployed to side-track trade union campaigns for improved job quality, this research shows how the power struggle between budgeting administrators and union representatives ultimately undermines workplace diversity.

The ILO and the Seeds of International Development (1930-1945)

6 | International Union Rights | 26/2 FOCUS | THE ILO AT 100 The ILO and the Seeds of International Development (1930-1945) The ILO is 100 years old. Born out of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, it survived the League of Nations, the Second World War and found a place in the new international configuration of the United Nations. Its centenary is an opportunity to review its contribution to the history of internationalism, of which it was both the witness, the actor and the heir. Here, I would like to highlight in particular the history of ILO’s early development discourse and experiences. For the vast majority, international development dates back to the post-World War II era. The historiography usually makes the beginning of the Cold War the trigger for it, referring in particular to the founding speech of US President Harry S. Truman on 20 January 1949, in which he announced, as the fourth principle of US foreign policy, the dissemination of technological know-how for the benefit of ‘underdeveloped’ nations. This American-centred vision has made invisible other traditions of development of the interwar period1, which, while closely linked in the case of the ILO to the American liberalism of the 1930s and 1940s, are not limited to a project of economic modernisation. That being said, the ILO has never considered its action as a development action in the interwar period, even though, following the Great Depression, it started to build a set of ideas and practices that attested to the emergence of a matrix thinking on development2. Development as part of the« esprit du temps » Development is a historical process and it is therefore difficult to reconstruct all its logics and origins. Regarding the ILO, development ideas were inspired by the civilising mission rhetoric and the 19th Century European social reform movements, which evolved with the idea that society can be organised and the negative effects of capitalism corrected and repaired, like a machine by an engineer. After the First World War, the diffusion of social justice in the world became the ILO’s fundamental objective and international labour conventions ratified by governments the main means to provide safeguards against the exploitation of workers. The war and European experiences of economic organisation at national and international levels have also had a lasting impact on the thinking and action of many ILO stakeholders. Albert Thomas, a French socialist and first Director of the International Labour Office, the Secretariat of the ILO, used his influence to defend the idea to reluctant employers and governments that economic organisation and social progress were two inseparable factors for prosperity and peace. Today, in the face of all-powerful liberalism, the ILO continues to reaffirm this idea and advocates an economic development policy that is socially acceptable and profitable. In the 1930s, development discourses and practices at the ILO were part of the ‘esprit du temps’, as they responded to new challenges reflecting the main concerns of the period: combating mass unemployment in Europe, saving capitalism, combating unfair competition, expanding the global consumer market, and raising the standard of workers in less developed countries, including those in Europe. The ILO became the principle place, if not the only one, where the idea of an international economic organisation was affirmed. This idea was however the subject of heated debates. Employer representatives were generally opposed to it and to trade union participation in national economic policy. Trade union representatives, who, although in favour of a national and international economic organisation, were above all concerned with unemployment, working hours and reduced wages. This opposition lines reflected the limits of tripartism in the 1930s when it came to national and international economic planing in Europe, but also everywhere else in the world. The appeal of planist ideas in the 1930s nevertheless caused a change in how the International Labour Office came to perceive the role of social policy. Social policy issues were then seen as part of national economic recovery and development strategies. The global economic crisis of the 1930s also guided the ILO on finding solutions to save the international economy. The British Harold Butler, the second Director of the International Labour Office, advocated adjusting...

Trade Unions in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives: What Shapes Their Participation?

There is a growing concern about the extent to which multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs), designed to improve social and environmental sustainability in global supply chains, give a meaningful voice to less powerful stakeholders. Trade unions are one particular civil society group whose participation in MSIs has received little scholarly attention so far. The objective of this paper is to examine the determinants that enable and constrain trade union participation in MSIs. Based on interviews, focus groups, observations and document analysis we determine local trade union participation in three MSIs, operating at company, national and transnational level respectively, in the Costa Rican pineapple industry. To explain the limited encountered trade union participation, an analytical framework is developed combining structural and agency dimensions, namely the MSI design and trade union’s power resources. The findings show shortcomings in the representativeness, procedural fairness and consensual orientation in the design and implementation of the MSIs. These are, however, not sufficient to explain weak trade union participation as trade union power resources also have an influence. Strong network embeddedness and improved infrastructural resources had a positive effect, whereas the lack of internal solidarity and unfavourable narrative resources constrained the unions’ participation.

Unions and social media: Prospects for gender inclusion

The emergence of web 2.0 technologies led to optimistic predictions that social media (SM) might alter traditional gendered patterns of member participation in trade unions. Greene, Hogan, and Grieco and others suggested that the forms of communication and engagement these technologies offered to unions and their members had the potential to foster gender inclusion and contribute to union diversity, arguably central to effective representation. This article reports on a survey of union members’ experiences with and perceptions of their union's SM services, to identify whether there is a gendered dimension to members’ use. The findings indicate that for most union members regardless of gender, more traditional communication channels such as face‐to‐face contact and email remain the preferred means of communication. However, the findings also show that women are just as likely as men, if not more so, to engage with union SM. Given that historically, women largely participated less in union activities than their male counterparts, this broad parity of use by women supports the conclusion that SM has substantial potential to improve women's participation in unions.

Stosunki przemysłowe w krajach Europy środkowo-wschodniej. Perspektywa porównawcza

Celem artykułu jest porównanie elementów składowych stosunków przemysłowych w krajach Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej (EŚW) i określenie poziomu ich konwergencji w stosunku do średniej unijnej. Analizy dokonano na podstawie danych statystycznych z bazy Eurostatu, OECD, ILO, AMECO i ICTWSS. Do oceny siły „pracowniczego głosu” w tych krajach wykorzystano Indeks Partycypacji Pracowniczej (IPP) obejmujący partycypację związkową, reprezentację pracowniczą w postaci rad zakładowych oraz reprezentację w organach nadzoru. Wyniki analiz wskazują, że pomimo upodabniania się stosunków przemysłowych w grupie krajów EŚW zróżnicowanie między poszczególnymi krajami jest nadal znaczne. Okazało się, że najwyższe wartości IPP posiadają Słowenia i Chorwacja, z kolei w Bułgarii siła „pracowniczego głosu” jest najniższa.

Unemployment, the Great Recession, and apprenticeship attrition in the U.S.

The author estimates the impacts of the local rate of unemployment and the Great Recession on the quit and graduation rates of the U.S. construction trade apprentices over the 2001–2014 period. Trade union participation in training sponsorship had a strong influence on attrition rates. The impacts of the business cycle and the Great Recession on the attrition rate also varied across sponsor types. During downturns, apprenticeship duration of the quitters in union-employer jointly sponsored programmes was longer, suggesting that the trainees were able to stay with the programme as jobs become scarcer. However, during the Great Recession the quit hazard among these trainees increased, which indicates declining long-term career prospects. In contrast, apprentices in unilateral multiple-employer programmes dropped out at faster rates during the downturns, except during the Great Recession. The increase in the staying power of the quitters in employer-only programmes during the Great Recession is a puzzle. The eventual probability of cancellation was lower among the union-employer joint programmes than in the employer-only programmes, although the difference narrowed down during the Great Recession.

What about the workers? The implications of Brexit for British and European labour

In June 2016, a small majority of voters called for Britain to leave the EU. In this article, we discuss the referendum itself and the form which Brexit may take. It has become clear that the current UK government is committed to a ‘hard’ Brexit which will rupture most existing ties with the EU. While much uncertainty remains, there are alarming indications that ‘regaining sovereignty’ – a key slogan of the Brexit campaign – will translate into abject subservience to the most erratic right-wing US administration in history. We examine the implications of Brexit for labour rights in general and for British trade union participation in European Works Councils in particular: there are many reasons for apprehension. We assess the economic and political fall-out, and end by exploring possible consequences for international trade union solidarity in Europe. In general, trade union policy-makers in Europe are committed to resisting ‘divide-and-rule’ strategies by employers, but there will undoubtedly be tensions.

Trade union participation in CSR deliberation: an evaluation

AbstractWhereas there has been considerable interest in the concept of political corporate social responsibility (CSR), trade unions have been largely omitted from such scholarly discussion. This article explores the potential of trade unions as the other in political CSR and the contribution of trade unions to deliberative democracy with the firm. We discuss the importance both of the legitimacy and the efficacy of the other in political CSR. We proceed to assess trade unions as legitimate and effective deliberative partners with the firm towards CSR, evaluating the contribution of trade unions to deliberative democracy and also the potential outcomes for trade unions in adopting this role.

Measuring the social determinants of subjective well-being of working women (with special reference to Balangoda Divisional Secretariat Division)

The measurement of Subjective Well-being (SWB) has advanced rapidly over the last two decades with the several segments. Subjective well being is defined as sum of three components-life satisfaction, presence of positive affect and absence of negative affect together called happiness. However studies based on working women's well-being still is scarce. In this paper a attempt has made to measure the social determinants of subjective well-being for working women while identifying the variation among social determinants and subjective well-being for the selected area is the supplementary objective. Selected sample consisted with 187 married, employed women in the age group of 19–60, from 3 GN Divisions in Balangoda DS Division, through cluster sampling and convenience sampling methods, using a structured questionnaire. Weighted Principal Components Analysis (WPCA) is performed on variables for the indicators of Subjective Well-Being. Under this method, the loading from the first component of PCA are used as weights for the respective indicators. Finally the constructed social determinants of subjective well-being are classified into three categories as happy moderately happy and unhappy using cluster analysis. Indicators for community relationships, contribution of family members, social validity, organizing events and nature of the job lead to high satisfaction while working hours per week, working environment and trade union participation make less happiness among working women.

Does the Prosperity Level of States Affect Participation in Trade Unions? A Quantitative Research

<p><em>International differences in wage inequality remain a reality, despite efforts of negotiations and demands of the unions and contrary to the will of international organizations and associations for an international minimum wage. At the same time, the fall in wages and, specifically in minimum wages, combined with the decline of unionization are facts that seem connected.</em></p><p><em>This article presents the results of a quantitative research</em><em>-</em><em>using the </em><em>Mann-Whitney non-parametric test and the linear bivariate correlation—which examines the potential connection between the Gross Domestic Product and union density in 33 member-states of the OECD, while examining the type of the correlation between them. The research results showed that high Gross Domestic Product is directly proportional to the size of union density and that there is a positive correlation between the two.</em><em></em></p>

Subsidiarity or Freedom of Association? A Perspective from Labor Law

The principle of subsidiarity has long been central to political deliberation about the regulation of work. Historically, it reflected “a tangible concern for the economic rights of workers as they sell their labor on the market.” The activity of work has the potential either to uplift or destroy the human spirit. Where work is “decent work,” the worker can exercise her imagination, initiative and creativity in the workplace. The sphere of work also provides an opportunity for workers to learn the norms of reciprocity and solidarity through trade union participation, with trade unions functioning as vital mediating institutions interposed between the market and the state. Through collective bargaining, workers are empowered to create and shape the norms that regulate their working life. Where work is degrading, consisting of mindless and monotonous tasks and in circumstances of economic deprivation and insecurity, the moral consequences for human beings can be catastrophic. The eclipse of independent trade unionism in contexts of degrading work leads to further disempowerment, anomie, and a loss of collective self-mastery over the terms under which employment is conducted. Such work is an affront to the dignity of human beings, denying workers the opportunity to forge a life for themselves in circumstances of self-respect. Subsidiarity contributes to the promotion of decent work through its identification of the fundamental point of all coordinated human activity, including productive economic activity, which is to enable each human being to participate as fully and actively in living their own life: “anyone who is never more than a cog in big wheels turned by others is denied participation in an important aspect of human well-being.”