Public Service Unions Research Articles

The Forward March of Labour Resumed

This article, which explores the development of a new wave of industrial struggles, derives from a session at the symposium held in November 2023 to mark the 90th anniversary of the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School (MML). As the chair, John McDonnell MP explained that these mobilisations have been on a scale not seen for a generation; trade unions have been campaigning around pay, but also around working conditions and the future of their services, particularly public services. These struggles have been mobilising a new generation of trade unionists, demonstrating what can be achieved through determined trade union mobilisations. The contribution by Lord John Hendy KC focused on trade unions, the law and the importance of the role of trade unions in terms of building a popular front. Fran Heathcote, president of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), explained the contributions of her union in the most recent wave of industrial action, helping to coordinate a strategy that puts maximum pressure on employers and minimises the financial impact on low-paid members. Alex Gordon, president of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), has been at the forefront of some of the most significant industrial disputes in recent history, demonstrating the determination that a particular union can inspire in others. Building on the previous speakers’ contributions, he developed the discussion of the role of trade unions in developing a popular/united front.

2Committee on Freedom of Association (cfa) of the International Labor Organization (ilo): Complaint against the Government of Cameroon presented by the Confederation of Public Service Unions (cps), Case No 3428, June 2023

2Committee on Freedom of Association (cfa) of the International Labor Organization (ilo): Complaint against the Government of Cameroon presented by the Confederation of Public Service Unions (cps), Case No 3428, June 2023

Social Europe without Social Dialogue: Decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in C-928/19 P European Federation of Public Service Unions

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2 Court of Justice of the European Union: European Federation of Public Service Unions (epsu) v Commission, Case C-928/19 P, 2 September 2021, ecli:eu:c:2021:656

2 Court of Justice of the European Union: European Federation of Public Service Unions (epsu) v Commission, Case C-928/19 P, 2 September 2021, ecli:eu:c:2021:656

Understanding trade union usage of social media: A case study of the Public and Commercial Services union on Facebook and Twitter

AbstractThis paper provides the first cross‐platform examination of trade union social media posts, focussing on the online content of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union. Data scraped from the union's Facebook posts (n = 282) were compared with data obtained from the union's Twitter account (n = 1554) to investigate the extent to which social media reflects a union's identity and utilises the language of mobilisation theory to engage with their audience. Across a six‐month period (July–December 2019), findings demonstrated PCS behaved in an interactive manner on social media, avoiding the pitfalls of a ‘bulletin board’ approach through using the language of mobilisation theory. However, content was engaged with users to different extents depending upon which platform the content was posted. Findings also suggest that social media posts can reflect a version of union identity.

The South African public service wage bill deadlock in 2021: living on the edge

Subject area Macro-Economics. Study level/applicability Undergraduate and MBA. Case overview The COVID 19 pandemic-related restrictions devastated South Africa’s economy in 2020 and although the restrictions were generally less damaging than in 2020, the government had to budget for vaccinations and rebuild the economy. Public service unions had just announced that they were demanding an increase of 4% above inflation for their members and that they were preparing for a strike. They were bitter about the fact that the South African Government had withdrawn from the last year of a three-year wage agreement in February 2020 and their members had not received an increase for the two years. These demands and Finance Minister Mboweni’s response to them had to consider the structural and cyclical impact on the fiscus and economy. Expected learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: understand the general objectives of fiscal policy and stakeholders’ interests; understand the tradeoffs in fiscal policy and the implications of taking a position; and make recommendations based on reasoned judgements about those recommendations. Complexity academic level Undergraduate and MBA level courses on Macro Economics. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 10: Public Sector Management.

‘Women take care and men take charge’: The case of leadership and gender in the Public and Commercial Services Union

This article presents the findings of a case study that aimed to understand the specific leadership styles that are valued by women and men lay representatives in the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and to determine the gendered implications for increasing women’s leadership and representation in trade unions. Survey responses from PCS lay representatives (reps) show the majority of women and men agreed that the leadership style they value, and that makes a good union leader, is post-heroic (communal) leadership. This approach is associated with leadership characteristics such as being helpful, sensitive and kind and are generally practised by women. This contrasts with male union leaders who are associated with a traditional, heroic (agentic) leadership style characterised by confidence, self-reliance and decisiveness. Although some differences exist that highlight gender issues, both women and men lay reps have positive attitudes towards increasing women’s representation and participation in union leadership.

13 Court of Justice of the European Union, General Court (Ninth Chamber, Extended Composition): European Federation of Public Service Unions (epsu) and Jan Willem Goudriaan v European Commission, Case T–310/18, 24 October 2019

13 Court of Justice of the European Union, General Court (Ninth Chamber, Extended Composition): European Federation of Public Service Unions (epsu) and Jan Willem Goudriaan v European Commission, Case T–310/18, 24 October 2019

Can reminders improve adherence to regular physical activity and exercise recommendations in people over 60 years old? : Arandomized controlled study.

SummaryPurposeThe purpose of the study was to investigate whether additional reminders could enhance adherence to a 12-week program consisting of regular physical activity.MethodsThe study collective consisted of pensioners insured with the Austrian Insurance Fund for Civil or Public Servants. They were made aware of our program through the public service union. The subjects were randomized to an intervention group (group A) that received reminders and to a control group (group B) that did not receive such notifications. Adherence to physical activity was assessed by the use of diaries.ResultsGroup A performed 96 min more moderate intensity regular physical activity per week than group B (group A median 269 min, r = 0–1560 min; group B median 173 min, r = 0–2700 min). The Mann–Whitney U-test showed no significant differences (p = 0.080) between the study groups.There was no difference in muscle strengthening activity (group A: median: 2, r = 0–13 sessions; group B: median: 2, r = 0–20 sessions).ConclusionThe major positive observation was that both the experimental and control group participants exceeded the recommended level of physical activity. Nevertheless, there were some differences concerning the minutes of physical activity performed in favor of the intervention group.

Bargaining for the common good

18 | International Union Rights | 26/4 FOCUS | CLIMATE CHANGE & TRADE UNIONS Collective bargaining can and should be used to address climate change and to redistribute economic and environmental justice beyond the workplace. In 2014, newly elected President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1316, Mustafa Salahuddin, and his members in Bridgeport, Connecticut were able to do just that. Union members concerned with health, safety, and design issues of the buses they drove eight hours a day began negotiating for a union seat on the procurement committee for new buses. The union negotiated over design features that would make the buses safer for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians and that would phase out diesel-fuelled buses that often made drivers sick and fouled the air for passengers and community members. They also argued that cleaning up the air, reducing carbon emissions was a legacy issue for the company and the union. The result was an agreement to purchase a half-dozen hybrid and a half-dozen electric buses, with a goal to have a completely electric bus fleet by 2030. Now all of Connecticut’s Transit Authorities are aiming to electrify their bus fleets. This is an example of providing benefits for union members as well as bargaining for the common good of the community as a whole. Without taking anything away from the brilliant efforts of Local 1316, there was a pretty tight nexus between improving the bottom line for the Transit Authority and addressing a common good for the community. We need to encourage and support all union bargaining efforts, even when the nexus is not so close, whenever and wherever they are aimed at addressing climate change and the common good. The most well known examples of bargaining for the common good are the Los Angeles and Chicago teachers, who have gone on strike not just for a better contract but for affordable housing and immigrants’ rights. Someday, when the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act1 passes, and many of the welldocumented hindrances to union organising in the US are removed, not only will millions of workers have a fair shot at organising into unions but their right to strike, protest, and boycott over issues at the workplace and the broader community will result in significant leaps forward in social justice. We can and must organise for the passage of the PRO Act. But today, we also have to work on a level even higher than that. The labour movement needs to use every means available to us to organise with other movements to confront the two existential crises facing our planet: climate change and inequality. Transition is inevitable, but on whose terms? At a trade union event held in parallel to the COP21 talks in Paris in December 2015, Clara Paillard, president of the cultural section of the Public and Commercial Services Union, commented: ‘If the planet were a bank, we would have already saved it’. She couldn’t have been more right. Under cover of ‘so-called’ free markets, climate change and climate disasters will continue to kill off a profound number of species, including a significant number of human beings, exacerbate food and water shortages, force tens of millions of people to migrate from uninhabitable areas of the planet, destroy Island countries and coastlines, and dramatically and negatively impact jobs, health and safety, and income all around the world. Today, the majority of the world’s population are already unable to afford the price of a latte at Starbucks – never mind nutritious food and clean water. Extreme corporate greed and the political policies and systems that support it, are the driving force behind these existential crises. Fossil fuel companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising to extoll their efforts in investing in clean energy. These efforts include investments into solar, wind, and algae biofuels. The ads are also aimed at convincing people that a transition to clean, renewable energy by the year 2050 is too ambitious, despite the UN study projection of the need for major advancements by 2030. Instead they offer the year 2070 as an appropriate and achievable time frame. At the same time, since the signing of the Paris Climate...

Bargaining for the common good

18 | International Union Rights | 26/4 FOCUS | CLIMATE CHANGE & TRADE UNIONS Collective bargaining can and should be used to address climate change and to redistribute economic and environmental justice beyond the workplace. In 2014, newly elected President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1316, Mustafa Salahuddin, and his members in Bridgeport, Connecticut were able to do just that. Union members concerned with health, safety, and design issues of the buses they drove eight hours a day began negotiating for a union seat on the procurement committee for new buses. The union negotiated over design features that would make the buses safer for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians and that would phase out diesel-fuelled buses that often made drivers sick and fouled the air for passengers and community members. They also argued that cleaning up the air, reducing carbon emissions was a legacy issue for the company and the union. The result was an agreement to purchase a half-dozen hybrid and a half-dozen electric buses, with a goal to have a completely electric bus fleet by 2030. Now all of Connecticut’s Transit Authorities are aiming to electrify their bus fleets. This is an example of providing benefits for union members as well as bargaining for the common good of the community as a whole. Without taking anything away from the brilliant efforts of Local 1316, there was a pretty tight nexus between improving the bottom line for the Transit Authority and addressing a common good for the community. We need to encourage and support all union bargaining efforts, even when the nexus is not so close, whenever and wherever they are aimed at addressing climate change and the common good. The most well known examples of bargaining for the common good are the Los Angeles and Chicago teachers, who have gone on strike not just for a better contract but for affordable housing and immigrants’ rights. Someday, when the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act1 passes, and many of the welldocumented hindrances to union organising in the US are removed, not only will millions of workers have a fair shot at organising into unions but their right to strike, protest, and boycott over issues at the workplace and the broader community will result in significant leaps forward in social justice. We can and must organise for the passage of the PRO Act. But today, we also have to work on a level even higher than that. The labour movement needs to use every means available to us to organise with other movements to confront the two existential crises facing our planet: climate change and inequality. Transition is inevitable, but on whose terms? At a trade union event held in parallel to the COP21 talks in Paris in December 2015, Clara Paillard, president of the cultural section of the Public and Commercial Services Union, commented: ‘If the planet were a bank, we would have already saved it’. She couldn’t have been more right. Under cover of ‘so-called’ free markets, climate change and climate disasters will continue to kill off a profound number of species, including a significant number of human beings, exacerbate food and water shortages, force tens of millions of people to migrate from uninhabitable areas of the planet, destroy Island countries and coastlines, and dramatically and negatively impact jobs, health and safety, and income all around the world. Today, the majority of the world’s population are already unable to afford the price of a latte at Starbucks – never mind nutritious food and clean water. Extreme corporate greed and the political policies and systems that support it, are the driving force behind these existential crises. Fossil fuel companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising to extoll their efforts in investing in clean energy. These efforts include investments into solar, wind, and algae biofuels. The ads are also aimed at convincing people that a transition to clean, renewable energy by the year 2050 is too ambitious, despite the UN study projection of the need for major advancements by 2030. Instead they offer the year 2070 as an appropriate and achievable time frame. At the same time, since the signing of the Paris Climate...

Are public sector workers deemed unworthy of EU minimum labour standards?

FOCUS | UNION RIGHTS OF STATE ADMINISTRATION AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES WORKERS 21 26/1 | International Union Rights | According to EPSU, the European Federation of Public Service Unions, two recent developments are in sheer contradiction with an EU minimum social standard approach, which by definition must apply to all workers. The first concerns the 20 year-old right of trade unions and employers to co-design EU social legislation. In Spring 2015, the European Commission launched a consultation on reviewing the EU directives on the rights of workers’ representatives to information and consultation on restructuring, collective redundancies. Importantly, the Commission asked EU social partners whether these rights should apply to public administrations. This was welcomed by EPSU which had long argued that the directives should apply to both public and private sector workers. There is no reason why labour and tax inspectors, law-drafters, workers in social security, asylum officers, cleaners in a ministry, could not have a say on decisions affecting their workplace. As austerity measures became coordinated at EU level, it was all the more essential that EPSU members could at least benefit from EU labour standards. On-going digitalisation including the use of artificial intelligence in the state sector also makes the need for timely consultation rights of workers urgent. Together with 17 governments in their capacity as employers in the EU social dialogue committee, EPSU responded positively to the Commission. In December 2015, both sides reached an Agreement to provide workers and their trade union representatives with EU standards on information and consultation rights on matters of direct concern to them, such as restructuring, collective redundancies, health and safety and work/life balance. The Agreement closes an out-dated loophole in the EU legal framework on workers’ rights to information and consultation. As working conditions and employment relationships had become increasingly close to those of the private sector, both the employers and trade unions agreed that this loophole was oudated and deprived workers of EU legal protection enjoyed by others. To make the agreement legally binding on all central governments, both sides asked the Commission to transform the agreement into a directive for Council to decide upon, in line with the procedures provided for in TFEU Article 155.2. In March 2018, however, after years of delaying tactics and only a few months after the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, which reaffirms the importance of equal treatment between workers and EU-level social dialogue, the Commission took the unprecedented decision to reject the request by EPSU and the employers. For EPSU, the Commission has acted in flagrant disregard for the autonomy of the social partners protected by the EU Treaties. In the face of this unprecedented, opaque and poorly argued decision, the leaders of EPSU affiliates decided to launch legal proceedings against the Commission at the European Court of Justice. EPSU wants the decision to be annulled. It is the first time a European labour organisation takes the EU’s executive arm to court. As of today the judgment is still pending. It is expected to clarify the rules of the EU social dialogue, the criteria against which the Commission can decide or not to give social partner agreements legal strength. It is central to the so-called EU social model underpinned by EU-level collective bargaining. Whether the Court vindicates EPSU’s claim or not, the political case for EU social standards on information and consultation rights in governments will still remain to be won. Following the EU parliamentary elections in May 2019, the new Commission must reverse the decision made by the Juncker Commission and table a legislative proposal. The second development concerns the Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working conditions which was agreed last February by the EU institutions. It was introduced to update the Written Statement Directive of 1991 and improve rights for atypical workers, particularly those on low and/or unpredictable hours such as zero-hour contracts. It obliges employers to provide basic information about working conditions from day 1 of the employment and provides new rights. These new rights cover notice for shift changes; payment if work is cancelled; training paid by the employer, limits to probationary periods and...

Are public sector workers deemed unworthy of EU minimum labour standards?

FOCUS | UNION RIGHTS OF STATE ADMINISTRATION AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES WORKERS 21 26/1 | International Union Rights | According to EPSU, the European Federation of Public Service Unions, two recent developments are in sheer contradiction with an EU minimum social standard approach, which by definition must apply to all workers. The first concerns the 20 year-old right of trade unions and employers to co-design EU social legislation. In Spring 2015, the European Commission launched a consultation on reviewing the EU directives on the rights of workers’ representatives to information and consultation on restructuring, collective redundancies. Importantly, the Commission asked EU social partners whether these rights should apply to public administrations. This was welcomed by EPSU which had long argued that the directives should apply to both public and private sector workers. There is no reason why labour and tax inspectors, law-drafters, workers in social security, asylum officers, cleaners in a ministry, could not have a say on decisions affecting their workplace. As austerity measures became coordinated at EU level, it was all the more essential that EPSU members could at least benefit from EU labour standards. On-going digitalisation including the use of artificial intelligence in the state sector also makes the need for timely consultation rights of workers urgent. Together with 17 governments in their capacity as employers in the EU social dialogue committee, EPSU responded positively to the Commission. In December 2015, both sides reached an Agreement to provide workers and their trade union representatives with EU standards on information and consultation rights on matters of direct concern to them, such as restructuring, collective redundancies, health and safety and work/life balance. The Agreement closes an out-dated loophole in the EU legal framework on workers’ rights to information and consultation. As working conditions and employment relationships had become increasingly close to those of the private sector, both the employers and trade unions agreed that this loophole was oudated and deprived workers of EU legal protection enjoyed by others. To make the agreement legally binding on all central governments, both sides asked the Commission to transform the agreement into a directive for Council to decide upon, in line with the procedures provided for in TFEU Article 155.2. In March 2018, however, after years of delaying tactics and only a few months after the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, which reaffirms the importance of equal treatment between workers and EU-level social dialogue, the Commission took the unprecedented decision to reject the request by EPSU and the employers. For EPSU, the Commission has acted in flagrant disregard for the autonomy of the social partners protected by the EU Treaties. In the face of this unprecedented, opaque and poorly argued decision, the leaders of EPSU affiliates decided to launch legal proceedings against the Commission at the European Court of Justice. EPSU wants the decision to be annulled. It is the first time a European labour organisation takes the EU’s executive arm to court. As of today the judgment is still pending. It is expected to clarify the rules of the EU social dialogue, the criteria against which the Commission can decide or not to give social partner agreements legal strength. It is central to the so-called EU social model underpinned by EU-level collective bargaining. Whether the Court vindicates EPSU’s claim or not, the political case for EU social standards on information and consultation rights in governments will still remain to be won. Following the EU parliamentary elections in May 2019, the new Commission must reverse the decision made by the Juncker Commission and table a legislative proposal. The second development concerns the Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working conditions which was agreed last February by the EU institutions. It was introduced to update the Written Statement Directive of 1991 and improve rights for atypical workers, particularly those on low and/or unpredictable hours such as zero-hour contracts. It obliges employers to provide basic information about working conditions from day 1 of the employment and provides new rights. These new rights cover notice for shift changes; payment if work is cancelled; training paid by the employer, limits to probationary periods and...

Job Satisfaction in the Canadian Public Service: Mitigating Toxicity With Interests

During the 2015 Canadian federal election, political parties were polarized over the issue of job satisfaction in the public service. Critics and public service unions argued that there was a toxic environment under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau promised, if elected, to remedy this toxicity. Therefore, the job satisfaction of federal employees was a campaign promise of the now elected Liberals. Improving job satisfaction is not simple, as there are many competing factors impacting it. This study measures job satisfaction of Canadian public servants in 2014 and concludes that job satisfaction remained fairly high across the board, even under Stephen Harper, and that by far the strongest predictor of job satisfaction is how well employees’ interests match their job, followed by the relationship with their immediate supervisor, relationships with colleagues, and skills. Thus, human resource management policies are essential in improving job satisfaction.

Direct democracy and trade union action

Until recently, the political influence of trade unions primarily relied on ties to labour-friendly political parties. Since the 1990s, however, party-union relations have deteriorated, forcing unions to consider complementary political strategies. This article reviews different direct democratic instruments at local, national and EU levels. We distinguish popular consultations initiated by government from above from citizens’ initiatives initiated from below and discuss corresponding trade union experiences in Germany, Italy, Ireland, Slovenia and Switzerland. We also analyse the successful right2water European Citizens Initiative (ECI) of the European Federation of Public Service Unions and the failed fair transport ECI of the European Transport Workers’ Federation at EU level. Whereas unions have successfully used direct democratic instruments to (i) defend social achievements or (ii) as a lever to extract policy concessions, direct democracy is also challenging. Successful direct democratic campaigns require unions that are able to mobilise their own rank-and-file and to inspire larger sections of society.

The road to anomie: the rise and decline of public service unions in France

This article attempts to demonstrate that public service industrial relations in France are closely linked to a historical model that has its roots in the construction of the Republican system as early as 1880. The historical resilience of this model distinguishes it sharply from the one developed in the private sector which is much more related to the defence of the industrial working class. Public service unions emerged as a Left political force in the 1920s and still retain this function in the twenty-first century. Since 1946, civil service unions have developed a representation role of a political nature that challenges the political class. This article argues that the specificity of public service industrial relations is connected in France with a political conception of the employment relationship in the civil service. Therefore, new public management has failed to take root. However, unions are facing a serious crisis because they cannot curb the austerity policies pursued by both Right and Left governments. They have been forced to adopt a defensive strategy while civil servants are turning increasingly to the Far Right.

Reconstructing resistance and renewal in public service unionism in the twenty-first century: lessons from a century of war and peace

This special issue uses the occasion of the centenary of the Whitley Commission Reports to illuminate the contemporary crisis in public service industrial relations from a historical perspective. In all six countries studied—Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the USA—public service employment is labour intensive and quantitatively significant in the overall economy. Public services have also been major targets of neoliberal reforms, starting in the UK and the USA at the turn of the 1980s and in the other countries about a decade later. In addition, the relatively high union density and the political dimension of public services and public union strategies have been major targets of new public management and more latterly austerity. However, the regressive period has had a differential impact in different countries. In the liberal market economies of the UK and the USA, the neoliberal turn has destabilised traditional patterns of public sector industrial relations to greatest effect. While in the more coordinated market economies, traditional arrangements and values have been more resistant to austerity and neoliberal reforms. We attempt to shed light on these differential impacts through a critical analysis of the historical evolution of public sector industrial relations in each country.

Adaptation, evolution and survival? The political economy of Whitleyism and public service industrial relations in the U.K. 1917–present

The Whitley Reports, 1917–1918 were seen by contemporaries as conservative: they reflected pre-existing voluntaristic approaches to the labour problem rather than a radical departure. Largely neglected by the well-established private sector, for whom they were intended, Whitley Councils were taken up by the newly emerging public service unions. The interwar years demonstrated Whitleyism’s lack of clout. But, endorsed by governments during and after the Second World War, public sector Whitleyism came to embody the tenets of progressive public administration by providing nationally determined pay, career progression and a public service ethos. These hard-won union gains are under attack from neoliberal reforms that attempt to model public service labour relations on the private sector. The paper examines the major weaknesses and strengths of the Whitley model for managing public service industrial relations through an analysis of a century of Whitleyism.

Towards Customer Leadership

Today Australia's telecommunications market is strongly contested. Competitors with highly skilled, experienced and focused marketing teams battle for market position, market share and profit growth.This has not always been so.Telecom Australia was established in 1975 as the government owned national telecommunications carrier. Protected by regulated monopolies for network services and customer premises equipment, Telecom held perhaps 90% of the market. The predominantly engineering culture believed that it only needed a nominal marketing department and no sales force.In 1981 the monopolies were threatened. Telecom decided that it needed a sales force - quickly.This is a brief story of the building of that sales force over the first five years.In a government owned business steeped in the public service culture, strongly influenced by the public service unions and under a Labour government it was a grinding task.After five years the "subscribers" were more widely addressed and treated as "customers" and the sales force was operational. It was to be at least another six years before the sales force made the customers the focus of the business, and the skills, experience, management and culture of the force could match serious competitors in a de-regulated market.

Towards Customer Leadership

Today Australia's telecommunications market is strongly contested. Competitors with highly skilled, experienced and focused marketing teams battle for market position, market share and profit growth.This has not always been so.Telecom Australia was established in 1975 as the government owned national telecommunications carrier. Protected by regulated monopolies for network services and customer premises equipment, Telecom held perhaps 90% of the market. The predominantly engineering culture believed that it only needed a nominal marketing department and no sales force.In 1981 the monopolies were threatened. Telecom decided that it needed a sales force - quickly.This is a brief story of the building of that sales force over the first five years.In a government owned business steeped in the public service culture, strongly influenced by the public service unions and under a Labour government it was a grinding task.After five years the "subscribers" were more widely addressed and treated as "customers" and the sales force was operational. It was to be at least another six years before the sales force made the customers the focus of the business, and the skills, experience, management and culture of the force could match serious competitors in a de-regulated market.