Trade Union Activity Research Articles

The Impact of Trade Unionism on Staff Welfare in Nigerian Public Institutions: A Focus on Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU)

Public institutions in Nigeria, including universities, had long faced persistent challenges related to staff welfare, such as poor working conditions, inadequate remuneration, and limited career advancement opportunities. These issues had led to frequent industrial actions and strained relationships between university management and staff unions. This study investigated the impact of trade unionism on staff welfare in Nigerian public institutions, with a particular focus on Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU). The study addressed three main objectives: examining the effect of trade union activities on working conditions and benefits at AKSU, assessing the relationship between lobbying efforts and staff welfare, and evaluating the impact of strikes on staff welfare at the university. The findings revealed that trade union activities significantly impacted the working conditions and benefits of employees at AKSU. Unionized staff reported better access to resources, improved remuneration, and more favorable working environments compared to their non-unionized counterparts. The study also found a positive relationship between lobbying and staff welfare in AKSU, as effective lobbying efforts by trade unions contributed to the implementation of policies and programs that enhanced staff welfare, such as salary reviews and career development opportunities. The study concluded that trade unionism played a vital role in shaping staff welfare in Nigerian public institutions, as exemplified by the case of Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU). The findings highlighted the importance of constructive engagement between university management and trade unions to address staff welfare concerns and foster a conducive work environment. The study recommended that the university management and the state government establish regular dialogue and collaborative platforms with trade unions to address staff welfare issues proactively. AKSU should also develop comprehensive staff welfare programs that address the diverse needs of its academic and non-academic staff and strengthen its internal dispute resolution mechanisms to minimize the frequency and impact of strikes.

Reflecting (on) power?Critical reflections by healthworkers in Germany on racial power and privilege

Abstract Background Healthcare users have increasingly reported on experiences of racial discrimination in healthcare encounters in Germany (Aikins et al. 2020). While research on the experiences of racialised users predominates, examining the perspectives of white professionals, especially those holding positions of authority, regarding their internalised stereotypes and discriminatory practices is also crucial. This study therefore investigated the prevalence of conscious or unconscious biases related to critical whiteness and anti-racism among healthcare workers (doctors, nurses and therapists) and how these attitudes shaped their professional practice. Methods Problem-centred expert interviews (Döringer 2021) with 20 healthcare professionals from medicine, nursing, and therapeutic professions working in hospitals or rehabilitation facilities across three German federal states. Data were analysed using documentary method (Bohnsack 2002). Results Respondents exhibited varying degrees of reflective abilities, and there are limited opportunities for structured self-reflection focused on recognizing and addressing racism. The research interview constituted a much-needed space for such reflection. Those who are sensitised about their own positions of privilege often are so due to external influences and personal trajectories (teenaged children, trade union activism) rather than through the values or structures of their institutions. Unconscious racism nonetheless still manifests, demonstrating the need to create more inclusive environments where critical self-reflection on racism is encouraged. Conclusions To effectively combat racism, German healthcare institutions must systematically implement anti-racist and intersectional interventions. This also entails creating spaces for reflection where staff can openly examine and acknowledge their own biases, fostering an environment conducive to collective action for promoting anti-racist workplace practices. Key messages • Opportunities for self-reflection critical of racism should also be offered across institutions in order to ensure trusting, non-hierarchical spaces. • Reflections on one’s own social positioning and privileges are not common in all circles, so the necessity of this attitude should be communicated in an error-friendly manner.

Rankings and the Organizational‐level Implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Case Study

ABSTRACTThis article examines the organizational‐level implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in higher education institutions, with a particular emphasis on the roles of rankings in this context. Drawing on translation theory and a case study of a Saudi Arabian university, the article shows that rankings played a central role in motivating our case organization to implement SDGs and in navigating the implementation process. The article moreover shows that the reliance of rankings on self‐reported data allowed for gaming and manipulation, as the case organization was, for example, able to present politically compliant staff associations as evidence for trade union activity, and a segregated college for female students as evidence for the empowerment of women. The article, however, also argues that the flexibility this reliance on self‐reported data affords higher education institutions can play a crucial role in adjusting the transnational SDG framework to the political, social, and institutional realities of the many different contexts in which it is implemented. Without this flexibility, the entire SDG framework, including the genuine sustainability advances it brought about, might have been rejected outright in the Saudi Arabian context.

Specifics of the Constitutional Right to Establish and Operate the Trade Unions

Introduction. In the framework of the legal regulation of the trade union activities in Russia, a number of regulations cause certain contradictions with regard to establishment of the social and labour relations. Difficulties in interaction of the trade unions with the employers and the state, supplemented by the competition with the private labour, arise the problem of preserving the institution under study as the one aimed at the formation of a system of social partnership, development of the labour environment, national economy and social equality. Therefore, the research strives to investigate the constitutional requirements for establishment and operation of the trade unions to enable harmonization of the social and labour relations. By finding the legislative gaps in the process of implementing the rights of citizens to establish and operate the trade unions, it is possible to modernize the regulatory legal institutions in this field. The aim of the research is to study the specifics of the constitutional right to establish and operate the trade unions.Materials and Methods. The methodological framework was organised based on the selection, analysis and systematisation of the relevant regulatory and legal data and research works in the subject area. The use of a set of general scientific (dialectical, logical, systemic) and specific scientific methods of cognition (comparative legal, dogmatic legal, sociolegal) made it possible to study the principles of state regulation of the trade union activities, identify the gaps in their work and shortcomings due to be eliminated, as well as to summarise the factors of applicability of the constitutional operational procedure to the activities of the trade union organisations in Russia.Results. The constitutional right to establish and operate the trade unions has been analysed. It has been acknowledged that determination of the legal advantages of the trade union members does not correlate with the process of declining the popularity of this institution in the Russian Federation. It has been revealed that this trend is caused by the several problems, i.e.: the multiplicity of the legislative requirements creates a number of contradictions in the relations between the trade unions and employers preventing the full freedom of organisations’ activities; the process of establishing the trade unions is complicated by the need to incorporate the legal entity, the legislative predetermination and formality do not give freedom to the organisations in compiling the charter and making changes to it without permission of the state; the principles of the internal relations regulation must comply with the standard provisions of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation, which also limits the trade union activity; the court defence of the rights of the trade union members needs to be revised and modernized to eliminate the ambiguous provisions and reduce the bureaucratic processes. The use of the variable collective agreements and principles of social partnership aimed at harmonisation of the social and labour relations have been proposed as the solutions to the identified problems.Discussion and Conclusion. The study has identified the key issues and underdeveloped aspects of the constitutional regulation of the trade union activities in the Russian Federation, which could be solved through the optimisation of the excessive legislative requirements, issuing the updated provisions on court defence of the trade union members, establishing the full independence and autonomy of such organisations in the matters of internal regulation, as well as through the development of the system of social partnership. The theoretical and practical conclusions drawn in the paper could be used for further research in the field of improving the legal literacy of the trade union members.

Estimating Determinants of Contractualization of Workers in Organized Sector in India

The structural adjustment programme adopted in 1990 led to the removal of all existing pre-reform regulations and restrictions imposed on the Indian industries. This radically transformed India’s trade relations with international markets. The liberalization of Indian economy on one hand accelerated foreign capital as well as technology influx while on the other hand increased competition for the domestic economy. Thus the increased openness and flexibility arising from the economic transformation prompted the domestic producers to resort to alternative informal routes of employment thereby leading to increased contractualization of employment substituting of regular workers by contract workers in the manufacturing industries. Thus this paper is an empirical study which focuses on exploring and identifying the industry specific factors which are affecting the degree of casualization in Organized manufacturing sector of India. Panel regression using STATA has been used and the econometric analysis reveals that average firm size, value of output, capital intensity, profit per worker and welfare benefits for workers have considerable favourable effect on the employment of contractual workers while trade union activity and the ratio of male to female workers employed have significant negative impact on contract worker employment in the manufacturing industries of the organized sector in India. Keywords: contractualization, capital intensity, trade union activity, feminization, panel regression JEL Classification: C33, J21, L60

The Periodicals that Puzzled Dickens: The Weekly Balance Sheets of the Preston Lock-Out, 1853–1854

Charles Dickens was puzzled and intrigued by a type of print publication which was central to the Preston strike and lock-out of 1853–1854 and hundreds of other industrial disputes in the nineteenth century, the strike balance sheet. This first academic study of the periodical genre summarises its structure and contents (a stirring opening address, long lists of donations sent in support of the locked-out workers featuring meaningful and allusive nicknames, snatches of verse, and threats against those who refused to contribute) and examines how it was produced, received and interpreted. Strike balance sheets demonstrated the collective and financial power of the unions, while their creation of an independent, worker-controlled public sphere of print reduced the imbalance of cultural power between workers and masters. They are also significant for what they tell us about the size, spread and consistency of the financial and moral support for the Preston workers, and as snapshots of broader trade union activity across the nation. They reveal intraclass debates and conflicts, and the rhetoric and values of the union leadership and lower-tier district delegates. Most intriguing of all, they make up a large body of print material in which nineteenth-century working-class voices are heard. This article was published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

The role of the labor movements in the colonial spaces: trade unionism in Palestine and Lebanon in the colonial era (1920-1948)

ABSTRACT This article aims to demonstrate how the working class evolved and was organised in Palestine and Lebanon between 1920 and 1948. Palestine and Lebanon, which share characteristics such as being a part of the Ottoman Empire and being governed by mandates, also share similar experiences in combating sectarianism based on nationality or religion. The establishment of British rule in Palestine and French administration in Lebanon after World War I also influenced the trade union movement in these two countries: Nationalism flourished, trade unions became tools of politics, and the divide and rule policy of the colonial administration made organization difficult. Although these administrations were referred to as ‘mandates’ of the League of Nations, they actually experienced a colonization process and its effects similar to those in Africa. In this study, particularly the concept of colonization will be used, and the activities of trade unions in colonial regions will be examined through two Middle Eastern countries. While the Palestinian trade unions, which struggled against both British colonization and settler colonialism, were effective in preserving Palestinian identity, the Lebanese trade unions, dealing with French colonization as well as sectarianism, also managed to significantly preserve working-class unity.

Профсоюзы: от насильственного социального протеста к мирным акциям

The article discusses the evolution of the activity of trade unions, which is manifested in their desire to give the protest movement not a spontaneous and often destructive character, but to see a peaceful and creative meaning in the expression of the demands of workers, to form not only among their members, but also in society a kind of culture of social protest . This explains the understanding by the authorities of the need to legalize the activities of trade unions. It is also shown that trade unions are assisted in the formation of such a culture of social protest by authoritative international organizations, in particular, the ILO and the UN, and the very activity of trade unions is based on the rights of workers enshrined in the International Bill of Human Rights.

The Role Of Trade Unions In Health Protection And Provision Of Safe Working Conditions For Medical Workers Part 2. Health care Workers' Trade Union Activities

Introduction. Healthcare workers are an important part of national healthcare systems ensuring its sustainability. Thus, it is necessary to introduce state mechanisms aimed at protecting their health and ensuring safe working conditions. Moreover, protection of rights and interests of healthcare workers is a matter of social justice. International and national public organizations and especially trade unions of healthcare workers play an important role in dealing with these issues. The purpose of the study is to consider examples of trade union activities on health protection and provision of safe working conditions in a number of countries upon the data on health issues that experience medical specialists as well as factors influencing these issues. Materials and methods. A content analysis of the official Internet pages of trade union organizations and their reporting documents for 2015-2024 was performed. Also, such methods as analysis, synthesis, secondary analysis and systematization of data were used. Results. Around the world, healthcare workers face occupational risks of infectious diseases, and are constantly exposed to various types of biological and non-biological hazards due to their working conditions, which are considered unsafe. Even cases of ill-treatment, threats, attacks or insults during the performance of professional duties are documented. Therefore, protection of health and safety of medical professionals, as well as their social and labor rights and interests is one of the main areas of trade unions as public organizations created on the initiative of healthcare workers.

“A Bloody Migrant Who Thinks He Can Run a Union”: The Case of Jerzy Bielski, a Migrant Trade Unionist in 1950s Australia

Jerzy Bielski, a Polish displaced person (DP) who resettled in Australia in 1949, was the first post-war migrant to work for an Australian trade union. He was recruited in 1951 by the Australian Workers Union (AWU) as a migrant unionist and, some years later, established his own migrant trade union: the New Citizens Council. The council faced heavy criticism from within the trade union movement, including by right-wing DPs who, acting as Cold War warriors, were instrumental in the Labor Party split in the mid-1950s. Ultimately, this article argues that migrant trade union activism has a longer post-war history than is commonly acknowledged.

Resilient or declining? An institutional analysis of employer associations and their implications for companies in the European Union

Institutional transformations in recent decades have limited the weight and power of collective actors. Notwithstanding this, literature on employer associations (EAs) has argued a resilient performance in terms of affiliation. In this paper, we use comparative institutional analysis to evaluate the actual scope of these associations in terms of membership and the share of workforce employed by their members. Moreover, by utilising a logistic regression approach we delve into the drivers of the choice to join these organisations. Our results show a general decline of EAs, and point to large manufacturing companies as the great reservoirs of affiliation. However, institutional variations across Europe cause significant differences between countries. We thus demonstrate how membership is strongly influenced by the institutional framework, the relevance of the variables related to the provision of collective goods as a counterbalance to trade union activity and adherence to collective bargaining schemes.

Zakładowe źródła prawa pracy a legalność sporu zbiorowego

The article argues that where the subject matter of a collective dispute only partially falls within the limits of a legitimate collective dispute, the employer does not have an obligation to enter into negotiations. Taking a different position, that the employer is obliged to negotiate with respect to the elements of the claims that do constitute legitimate subject matter of a collective dispute, as the Supreme Court found in its judgment of 16/03/2022 (II PSKP 47/21), is contrary to the Act on the Resolution of Collective Disputes ,the principles of criminal liability, and the principle of voluntary bargaining recognized in international law. It also carries the risk for the employer that it will not be possible to hold trade union activists acting during such a collective dispute accountable in the future. In addition, the article discusses the possibility for the employer to submit a protective letter to the minister competent for labor matters in order to prevent the appointment of a mediator as a means of legal protection against the continuation of a collective dispute that goes beyond the legitimate subject area of the dispute.

Assessment of the trade union activity information system by the members of the Samara University trade union

The article is devoted to the analysis of the mechanisms of trade union information dissemination in modern digitalization conditions. The authors give an overview of the latest research on the transformation processes taking place in trade union organizations, including those, working in the domestic higher education system, and also provide data from their own empirical research conducted in the fall of 2023 among the members of the Samara University workers' union. The performed research, based on the data of the questionnaire survey of the university trade union ordinary members (N=107) and semi-formalized interviews with the chairmen of trade union bureaus (N=10), made it possible to analyze the way the university employees assess the quality of the Samara University trade union information work. Conclusions are drawn about the main existing information sources for the trade union ordinary members about its activities, the employees' preferences in the used information channels and the assessment of its reliability, as well as the greater need to obtain information on the protection of labor rights, improvement of working conditions and the collective agreement management. Based on the study results, practical recommendations are formulated for the trade union committee on improving the effectiveness of information work and operational feedback between the trade union leadership and its ordinary members.

A Critical Examination of the Constitutionality of the Immunity of Trade Unions Against Tortious Liability Under the Nigerian Law

It is common place for trade unions to embark on industrial actions, work to rule, picketing and other forms of protests during union agitations, thereby infringing on the rights of members of the public and co-employees which inevitably give rise to perceived tortious acts. The central aim of this research is to examine whether the prevailing legal provisions adequately safeguard trade unions from civil prosecutions and delineate the nature of tortious acts that can lead to liability under the Nigerian Trade Unions Act as well as appraise the constitutionality of any protection thereof. This paper uses the doctrinal legal research methodology to examine existing statutory provisions; research literatures, and case law; to mention just a few to review the divide between the legal regulations governing trade unions in Nigeria which provide immunities for trade union activities and to assess the constitutionality and fairness of the immunities. The findings revealed that the protection granted to trade unions under Sections 24(1) and (2); 43 and 44 (1) & (2) of the Nigerian Trade Unions Act is not absolute as acts conducted outside the contemplation of these sections can result in civil liabilities for trade unionists. The said civil liabilities may take the form of damages awarded to the aggrieved party or an injunction to restrain certain actions. At the end of the work, recommendations were made that the existing legal framework should be expanded to balance the interest of trade unions and third parties in consistent and plausible manners; to incorporate alternative dispute resolution mechanism as a means of balancing any tortious liability that may ensue; among other recommendations.

Workers' Perceptions Towards the Establishment of Workplace Forums in South African Industries

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of workers towards the establishment of workplace forums in South Africa industries. Workplace forums are committees of employees elected by employees for employees in a workplace. These bodies promote the interests of all employees in the workplace, not only of trade union members. In this study, 30 respondents (management and employees of all races and gender) were selected to participate from 230 employees using a simple random technique. The cluster system was used to divide the industry into departments from which the final respondents were selected. The observation method and most of the official records and statistics were also used to collect and solicit the necessary information for this research. The central view held by this study was that workplace forums are very useful in achieving efficiency in the workplace and that they help in improving trade union activities. The critical view of the study was that there are few workplace forums established in South African industries. This showed that, the industries should provide some possible measures for the establishment of the workplace forums to reduce industrial unrest. But the problem is that trade unions did not encourage this because they see workplace forum as a threat to them. Nonetheless, special attention was on workplace forums because it was taken as a second channel of representation which intended to be one of the primary instruments of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) to democratise the workplace. The study recommended that; workplace forums should be established in all industries. Trade unions should be involved in the workplace forums. There should be the prevention of the establishment of other forums within one organisation. Management and workers should work together to prevent impending conflict.

Unfeminine women and angry men: the Irish Post Office in 1902–1918

ABSTRACT The Post Office was the United Kingdom’s single largest employer and possessed the majority of female workers in the Civil Service before the First World War. This article concentrates on the self-perception and trade union activities of the Irish women who became permanent postal staff by successfully qualifying in the public examination. It first examines the meaning of educational standard to these women by exploring the decline of open competition from 1902. In this process, it demonstrates their professional commitment and pride which was consolidated and amplified after the breakout of the First World War – attitudes sometimes denounced as inconsistent with feminine propriety. These “unfeminine women” constantly fought against discriminatory social norms amid the attacks from “angry men” and survived in the public sphere even after the war.

The Role Of Trade Unions In Health Protection And Provision Of Safe Working Conditions For Medical Workers.
 Part 1. Health And Safety Of Healthcare Workers As a Medical And Social Problem

Introduction. Healthcare workers are an important part of national healthcare systems ensuring its sustainability. Thus, it is necessary to introduce state mechanisms aimed at protecting their health and ensuring safe working conditions. Moreover, protection of rights and interests of healthcare workers is a matter of social justice. International and national public organizations and especially trade unions of healthcare workers play an important role in dealing with these issues.
 The purpose of the study is to consider examples of trade union activities on health protection and provision of safe working conditions in a number of countries upon the data on health issues that experience medical specialists as well as factors influencing these issues.
 Materials and methods. A content analysis of the official Internet pages of trade union organizations and their reporting documents for 2015-2024 was performed. Also, such methods as analysis, synthesis, secondary analysis and systematization of data were used.
 Results. Around the world, healthcare workers face occupational risks of infectious diseases, and are constantly exposed to various types of biological and non-biological hazards due to their working conditions, which are considered unsafe. Even cases of ill-treatment, threats, attacks or insults during the performance of professional duties are documented. Therefore, protection of health and safety of medical professionals, as well as their social and labor rights and interests is one of the main areas of trade unions as public organizations created on the initiative of healthcare workers.

Building a democratic expertise to inform labour’s struggle for a just transition

ABSTRACT Increasingly, the concept of a just transition is shaping labour’s view of environmental justice but the experience of trade unions working towards just transitions has been mixed, although much action has built on the existing relationships that trade unions have had with their members, other trade unions and civil society organisations. Recent analysis of trade union environmental action has found that a more radical approach is needed that will promote the long-term interests of labour in what has been described as the just transition. This paper argues that if trade unions want future, more transformative strategies, they will have to build their own expertise, building on their own research which has informed their own democratic expertise. This paper makes a contribution to this process by identifying ‘Three Pillars’ which could be used to inform trade union thinking and action. The Three Pillars are: (a) critical analysis of current net-zero policies, (b) new green, industrial strategies supported by social infrastructure, (c) changing labour-environmental relationships. The paper includes a case study of a trade union which is campaigning for a new National Climate Service.

Профсоюзы и производственные советы: конкуренция или мирное сосуществование в современных условиях труда и экономики?

The article deals with certain issues of the purpose of works councils as an effective mechanism for managing an organization, their interaction with trade unions. The theoretical basis and norms of German legislation regulating the activities of works councils and trade unions are analyzed. The conclusion is made about the need for a more detailed study of the theoretical framework and amendments to the Russian legislation concerning the definition of their powers of works councils, delineation of competence with the trade union.

Wages and Labor Relations during Francoist Developmentalism: The Role of the New Unionism

AbstractThe relation between wage growth and the reconstruction of the labor movement in Spain, during the developmentalist Francoist regime (1957-1975), has been controversial. Applying the power resources theory in order to explain wage growth, this paper argues that the rise of the labor share was the result of the increased bargaining power of workers in spite of repressive policies of the Francoist government. The action of new trade unionism mobilized the following power resources. First, the structural power increased as a consequence of techno-economics transformations of Fordism and a generational change of the labor force. Second, the associational power increased due to new organizational forms, with more democratic modes of collective action and combining clandestine and legal actions, and the reappearance of collective bargaining with the Law of Collective Bargaining Agreements of 1958. These political opportunities opened up the possibility to the new trade unionist of developing the strategy of entryism that served as the driving force for worker mobilization.Consequently, the new trade unionists could mobilize their power resources in the three spheres, exchange, production, and politics, as a strategy by accelerating collaborative action, establishing a discursive and cultural framework, and allowing the articulation of the different trade union actions. In this way, internal solidarity was favored when a collective agreement was negotiated at the company or sector level (and not an individual contract, as it has been to date), due to the links with the social activities characteristic of the paternalistic management of labor relations and the presence of anti-Francoist organizations, the “network embeddedness” was strengthened. In turn, the successes in the consequence of wage increases and solidarity with other workers who were suffering repression increased the narrative resources that frame union actions. All this made it possible to counterbalance in part for the restrictions imposed by the dictatorship, which weakened the structural power of workers in the political sphere.The main contribution to the existing knowledge on the issue consists in explaining the apparent paradox between the wage policy of the Francoist government (oriented towards wage restriction) and the increase in labor share. This also serves to understand how labor markets and the wage-setting mechanism worked from a historical point of view. As a corollary, the previous analysis implies that the most important factor was the ability to mobilize workers successfully. The union strategy that combined democratic instruments of representation (assemblies) with clandestine and legal actions served as a catalyst for other productive and social changes. This reflects the primacy of the action of social actors for the worker mobilization theory.