Union Organization Research Articles

A review of the state of trade union-based worker education

ABSTRACT Worker education is crucial for developing alternative perspectives and collective responses to the socio-economic and ecological challenges facing the working class. This paper summarises findings of research commissioned by the Worker Education Committee of the Human Resources Development Council on the nature and provision of worker education. The research was conducted with trade unions, labour service organisations and institutions involved in worker education. The research process collectively defined worker education as education for workers, controlled by workers and their organisations for their own needs and purposes, and oriented towards building collective organisation to advance workers’ struggles. Worker education includes the employed (in both precarious and “standard” employment) and the unemployed. Key challenges include the lack of sustainable financing of worker education, the lack of time-off for workers to access education, and fragmented worker education initiatives. The revitalisation of worker education requires a reassertion of the historical character of worker education, organically linked to working class struggles and union organising, rather than narrowly focused on skills acquisition for individual advancement. Revitalising worker education cannot solve the problems facing the labour movement on its own. Rebuilding worker organisation and relationships of solidarity and collective action within and between organised and unorganised workers is integral to the revitalisation of worker education.

Long term exposure to low level air pollution and mortality in eight European cohorts within the ELAPSE project: pooled analysis

ObjectiveTo investigate the associations between air pollution and mortality, focusing on associations below current European Union, United States, and World Health Organization standards and guidelines.DesignPooled analysis of eight cohorts.SettingMulticentre project...

Avatares de la lucha obrera en la época neoliberal: la experiencia de la Sociedad Cooperativa Trabajadores Democráticos de Occidente

This document sets out, in general terms, the process of development of the Cooperative Society of Democratic Workers of the West, from its origins in the Unique Revolutionary Union of Euzkadi Workers, at the beginning of the years thirty, to the present, in order to highlight the way in which he has overcome the challenges that the economic and political context of the country has raised at different times of its evolution historical. It is an experience worth telling because it is full of nuances, of advances and setbacks that force a constant change of strategies such as those that it means moving from one union organization to another cooperative and finally managing both forms of social participation, without losing sight of what determines, ultimately, is to achieve the direct appropriation of the value generated in the productive process.

An Ecological Insight Into the Design and Integration of Attacking Principles of Play in Professional Rugby Union: A Case Example

This is an exciting era for applied research in high-performance sporting environments. Specifically, there are growing calls for researchers to work with coaches to produce “real-world” case examples that offer first-hand experiences into the application of theory. While ecological dynamics has emerged as a guiding theoretical framework for learning and performance in sport, there is a caveat to its use in the field. Namely, there is a general paucity of applied research that details how expert coaches have brought life to its theoretical contentions in practice. In light of this, the current paper offers a unique insight into how a professional Rugby union organization set out to ground their preparation for competitive performance within an ecological dynamics framework. More directly, this paper details how the Queensland Reds designed and integrated a set of attacking game principles that afforded players with opportunities in practice to search, discover, and exploit their actions. While this paper offers insight specific to Rugby union, its learnings are transferrable to coaches in other sports looking to situate their practice design within an ecological dynamics framework.

Politicising digital labour through the politics of body

AbstractBy analysing the recent emerging labour movement of Korean digital game workers, this article seeks to explore a relatively novel issue – the importance of a politics of body in digital labour. By employing Elaine Scarry’s concept of ‘language of agency’ and ‘analogical substantiation’, the article first investigates how digital game workers express their work experiences and their embodied pain by analysing the mechanism of ‘crunch’ practice. Second, by examining ‘karoshi (overwork to death)’ and a series of suicides of digital game workers in Korea, it seeks to explore the problem of death as the final form of bodily pain – focusing on how these death events led workers to develop new forms of politics and solidarity by organising labour unions. Finally, by analysing the newly established digital game worker unions’ opposition to the violation of worktime regulation as a ‘struggle for recognition’, this research illuminates how digital game workers not only acquire self-respect but also achieve social recognition for their bodies as working labour. By examining this labour union organisation practice in Korea, the study ultimately argues that recognising the politics of body in digital labour offers the possibility that an emerging social category of precariat can actually co-exist and connect with the existing social class of proletariat.

The Second World War: Remaking the British Working Class?

In the post-war years, to the 1970s, most historians’ verdict on the Second World War was abundantly clear: it represented a watershed in social and political relations, shifting Britain in a social-democratic and more egalitarian direction. In more recent years, this verdict has increasingly been called into question. Some historians began to judge the war’s results, especially in terms of the flattening of social and gender hierarchies, to have been considerably exaggerated. Geoffrey G. Field has produced a sizeable, detailed and well-produced work which reaffirms the judgements of the ‘war as dramatic watershed’ school. He synthesizes much of the work on British society and the working class in the Second World War, interspersed with analysis of the vast holdings of The National Archives, the Mass Observation Archive, as well as film and literary sources. This review focuses on industrial relations, particularly the arms industries: where unionization, collective bargaining and workplace union organization were transformed. Joint production committees, however, proved ephemeral.

STRATEGI KOMUNIKASI ORGANISASI SERIKAT PEKERJA NASIONAL PT. PARKLAND WORLD INDONESIA DALAM MENINGKATKAN KESEJAHTERAAN KARYAWAN

Labor is an important element in the development process. Labor development is directed at improving the quality and contribution of the workforce. The more labor, the more demands / problems from workers to the company will be. The purpose of establishing a Tongue Workers Union or as a mediation between workers and companies is to fight for and protect the rights of workers. The purpose of this study was to find out the Communication Strategy used by the National Workers Union in improving the welfare of employees of PT Parkland World Indonesia and To find out the inhibiting factors and drivers of the National Workers Union in improving the welfare of employees of PT Parkland World Indonesia. This study uses a methodology of case studies or case studies. The results of this study are that PT Parkland World Indonesia's National Trade Union organization communication strategy in improving employee welfare has been effective. It is seen from the lack of employees conducting demonstrations to companies demanding wage increases because the National Labor Union negotiates with companies in an effort to increase wages, but in the process communication also found obstacles that occurred in the field, for this reason the task of the National Labor Union of PT Parkland World Indonesia was to give trust to its members

Identity Under Construction: Workers’ Collective in an Argentine Metallurgical Factory

In the 1970s, Argentina lived moments of great effervescence and labour conflict. The Santa Rosa metallurgical factory, located in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, became a centre of workers' struggle and resistance not only against the management and the state but also against certain union practices. From this factory, a union recovery movement was promoted that, in constant dialogue with the neighborhood and other factories in the area, disputed not only the leadership of the regional union but also the meaning of the union organization and of being a worker and a Peronist. In this article, I propose to analyze the process of construction of this workers’ collective that emerged from the experience at the workplace.
 To understand the factory not just as a space but also as a process, as a social construction of a relational type allow us to see the determinations that this space exercises over the construction of the workers’ collective, reflecting forms of belonging and solidarity among the members of this collective that are more than just the sum of individualities. I will analyze this process of construction of the workers’ collective studying two specific conflicts that these workers carried out during the decade. We will observe how the factory space determined the constitution of an original working culture in constant dialogue with the trade union organization and with the other actors of the environment, focusing on the different responses that this collective of workers gave in different socio-political contexts.

The globalization of Just Transition in the world of labour: politics of scale and scope

Just Transition has become the major expression of labour environmentalism at the global level and global union organizations have played a central role. My goal in this article is to provide an analytically informed account of this trajectory. The first part of this contribution, therefore, clarifies the analytical scheme. In the second and main part I will use this analytical scheme to trace the role of global unions in the globalization of just transition within global labour. In particular I will argue that the globalization of just transition within the world of labour remains a work in progress while it reflects both North-South and sectoral dynamics. I close by commenting on the causes behind these findings and the prospects and challenges of broadening just transition.

Rethinking Strategy for Gender Equality in Trade Unions

<p class="p1">The non-strategic role and position of women workers in trade union organization, even in the women-dominated sector, is hardly changed even though the number of women members of trade unions is increasing. Various programs have been carried out to increase the strategic role of women in trade union organizations but so far have not shown significant results. Based on interviews with officers of gender equality programs for trade unions, union leaders and women and men members and literature studies this paper offers an idea of the need for a non-exclusive approach and actively and proportionally involving men in awareness-raising and gender equality programs for trade unions. This idea is based on the fact that in trade unions gender-related program is always left to or only involves women. The strategy in the gender equality awareness and improvement program that only involves women causes the program’s effectiveness to be low because half of the causes of the problem is not involved.</p>

The grim realities of a ship hijacking in the Gulf of Guinea

This article is a distillation of the dissertation submitted for the author’s MSc in Maritime Operations and Management at City, University of London, submitted in 2019. In the summer of 2019, a Bulk Carrier of 22,000GT with a complement of 21 crew members was at anchor within the territorial waters of a Gulf of Guinea coastal state, 2.5 n.m. from the breakwater entrance to the port, awaiting daylight so the ship could enter the port and commence the discharge of its cargo. At midnight with all the regular security measures in force for the anchorage area, a group of armed men boarded the ship and proceeded to kidnap nine seamen. The kidnappers abducted the nine-crew comprising the ship’s Master, Chief Engineer, Third Officer, Third Engineer, Chief Cook, and four ratings, all of them Filipinos. It was later proven the kidnappers came from a neighbouring state, and during their captivity, the nine men were held on a small island off the borders of the two states. All parties concerned were informed of the incident, and a company specialised in negotiating was appointed. The nine hostages were finally released after 41 days in captivity. Piracy affects shipping for centuries, with some periods of peace. It has returned more robust and aggressive, profoundly affecting shipping in specific geographical areas, exposing maritime trade and the seafarers’ lives in danger. From 2008 to 2012, piracy off the coast of East Africa drew the attention of the global community. The measures taken have suppressed piracy, and the incidents have dramatically reduced. On the other hand, piracy and kidnapping incidents in the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa have risen over the past years. The global community seems to tolerate the insecurity in the area, and only a few measures by the European Union and the United States have been introduced. The regional countries have announced measures, so did the continental African Union organisation and some local states individually, but all these efforts seem to be un-synchronised, and the actions of one party disorientate the others. The causation of piracy is not at sea: it is ashore. The spotlights of the initiatives should focus on the mainland. The global community has the expertise, experience, and mechanisms to fight this ancient crime. Both the academic and maritime communities have numerous papers about countering piracy, but none that the author has found is based on the details of one incident; they tend to focus on theoretical aspects. The author, being a permanent member of the Crisis Management Team of a shipping company, endured the hijacking of a vessel under its management in the Gulf of Guinea, and part of the vessel’s crew was taken hostage and moved ashore into the criminals’ hideout. It then became a race against time involving specialised negotiators, the P&I Club of the ship, and a PMSC to negotiate the ransom and its delivery and release of the crew as quickly as possible. Apart from the first-hand experience of being part of the Crisis Management Team for more than 40-days and nights of a ship hijacking and hostage negotiation process, the author has researched the background widely to piracy and specifically its impact in West Africa. He interviewed members of the crew held hostage and spoken with experts in the field. The principal reason for writing the dissertation and this article was to share the experiences and insights of a hijacking in the Gulf of Guinea, from the perspective of a shipping company with ships visiting the Gulf of Guinea on a regular basis, so that others may learn from the experiences and hopefully prepare seafarers more effectively for this maritime peril.

Factors influencing union effectiveness in the public service in Zambia: Associations and mediating effect

The article investigates how environmental and organisational factors may affect union effectiveness in a developing country context. Based on a perceptions survey of union members in the Zambian public service sector, the article uses principal components analysis, correlation, multiple linear regression and mediation analyses to examine relationships between environmental and organisational factors and union effectiveness. Results suggest that labour and product markets and mass media are significant environmental factors influencing union effectiveness. At the organisational level, results suggest that organisational strategies, leadership accountability, innovations and administrative and democratic structuring are significant factors that positively influence union effectiveness. Results also suggest that organisational factors mediate the link between environmental factors and union effectiveness. In this sense, the article provides a striking demonstration of the importance of a strong internal state for the union organisation in mediating the influence of the external environment on the union’s goal of advancing and defending workers’ interests.

COVID-19 Therapeutics for Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of Candidate Agents with Potential for Near-Term Use and Impact.

ABSTRACT.Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face significant challenges in the control of COVID-19, given limited resources, especially for inpatient care. In a parallel effort to that for vaccines, the identification of therapeutics that have near-term potential to be available and easily administered is critical. Using the United States (US), European Union (EU), and World Health Organization (WHO) clinical trial registries, we reviewed COVID-19 therapeutic agents currently under investigation. The search was limited to oral or potentially oral agents, with at least a putative anti-SARS-CoV-2 virus mechanism and with at least five registered trials. The search yielded 1,001, 203, and 1,128 trials, in the US, EU, and WHO trial registers, respectively. These trials covered 13 oral or potentially oral repurposed agents that are currently used as antimicrobials and immunomodulatory therapeutics with established safety profiles. The available evidence regarding proposed mechanisms of action, potential limitations, and trial status is summarized. The results of the search demonstrate few published studies of high quality, a low proportion of trials completed, and the vast majority with negative results. These findings reflect limited investment in COVID-19 therapeutics development compared with vaccines. We also identified the need for better coordination of trials of accessible agents and their combinations in LMICs. To prevent COVID-19 from becoming a neglected tropical disease, there is a critical need for rapid and coordinated efforts in the evaluation and deployment of those agents found to be efficacious.

Basic Evolutionary Stages of Polish Democracy

The article is focused on studying and scientific understanding of the process of the formation and evolution of Poland as a modern democratic European state. The author has indicated the significance of the influence of the democratic traditions of the Polish people on the formation of the current model of the state system of the Republic of Poland.
 The author has established the general chronological boundaries of each of the periods of democratization of Polish society starting from the times of “noble democracy”. The main characteristics of the stages of democratic development of Poland until the present day have been determined.
 The main factors that influenced the course of democratic transit in the Polish state have been clarified. It has been proved that the peculiarities of modern Polish statehood are determined by the historical traditions of Polish democracy, the mentality of the Polish people and membership in the European Union and other international organizations. It has been emphasized that the implementation of economic and institutional transformations in Poland in the post-Soviet period was accompanied by the simultaneous formation of civil society. It has been established that the result of democratic transit in the Republic of Poland is a liberal democracy of the Western type with a certain bias towards social democracy.
 The author has emphasized the decisive role of European integration processes in the formation of the Republic of Poland as a democratic, legal and social state. Based on the analysis of the current legislation and ongoing reforms in the law-making sphere, the author has defined the main factors that determine the existing systemic threats to the rule of law and democracy in Poland at the present stage of its state-building.
 It has been stated that although Polish democracy demonstrates some negative tendencies, it is unlikely collapsed due to the current challenges, since the Republic still maintains the balance between state power and political freedom of citizens and their associations and the general atmosphere in Polish society remains open and free.

Physical and Chemical Properties of Soil, Water and Air around Ukawu Pb-Zn Mine, Southeastern Nigeria

In this study, analysis of water, and soil samples, air quality, and noise levels in Ukawu Pb-Zn mine were examined. The pH of the water samples, at 6.7, exceeded permissible levels for potable water established by the National Environmental Standard Regulatory Agency (NESREA), European Union, and World Health Organization (i.e., 7.0-8.5). The soil pH was 5.2, which indicates acidity due to acid mine drainage. Low soil pH is evidence of acid mine drainage. All cations detected in water and soil were below standard limits considered harmful by the NESREA. Measurements of precursor gases, such as O3, NO2, CO and SO2, to determine air quality showed levels below the air quality standards prescribed by the NESREA. Thus, the air quality around the mine is not polluted by these gases. Noise levels around the mine were below the 85dB limit considered deleterious to humans. Comparison of the noise levels detected around the mine with Indian showed that the values obtained in Ukawu mine exceed the permissible daytime values for industrial, commercial, residential, and silence zones. This research could serve as a benchmark for environmental contamination studies at the regional and global scales.

The Issue of Representativeness in the Lights of the Amended Trade Unions Act

The subject of the deliberations are issues regarding the representativeness and size of workplace trade union organisations after the changes introduced in the Trade Unions Act in 2018. According to the obligatory provisions, the “representativeness” of a trade union organisation is traditionally conditional on its size, but not only the employees, but also other categories of the employed are taken into account. It is, inter alia, about persons providing work under a contract of mandate or a specific work contract and sole proprietors. By expanding the full rights of coalition onto persons performing work on the basis other than employment relationship, the legislator increased the percentage limits decisive in the matter of representativeness. At present, the representative trade union organisation above the workplace level is also an organisation uniting at least 15% of all people performing gainful work under the articles of association, not fewer, however, than 10,000 persons performing gainful work. It works similarly at the workplace level. With reference to workplace trade union organisations which belong to organisations above the workplace level which meet the criteria for representativeness as specified in the Social Dialogue Council Act, at least 8% of the staff of the given employer is required. In the case of workplace trade union organisations which do not participate in such structures, the representativeness is conditional on uniting of at least 15% of persons performing gainful work for the given employer (7% and 10%, respectively, were required earlier). Determining the number of the staff, the employees and persons providing gainful work under other bases being employed for at least 6 months before the commencement of negotiations or arrangements must be included. A significant novelty is the necessity to select a joint representation of the representative organisations at the workplace level that belong to the same Trade Union Federation or National Trade Union Confederation in matters regarding collective rights and interests of the persons performing gainful work.

Staff Representation Rights Related to The Creation Of Employee Capital Plans (PPK)

The article presents the role of the staff representation under the Act of 4 October 2018 on Employee Capital Plans. Employee Capital Plans (PPK) are the part of third pillar of polish pension system. By creating the PPK, the legislature placed the staff representation and the employer under an obligation to co-decide on the form of the created capital plan. The method of identifying the staff representation, as defined in the Act on Employee Capital Plans, is modelled on the regulation contained in the Act on Occupational Pension Schemes. The Act on Employee Capital Plans states, that an occupational trade union organisation operating within the premises of the company excludes the competence of representation of employees. The legitimacy of the primacy of the trade union over the non-union representation of the staff stems, first of all, from the possibility of guaranteeing the employees’ effective participation in the selection of the financial institution.

INTRODUCTION EU AND NATO: SECURITY RELATIONS

INTRODUCTION EU AND NATO: SECURITY RELATIONS

Impact of Covid-19 on the convergence of GDP per capita in OECD countries.

The main objective of this study is to assess the consequences of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid‐19) on the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) countries. For this purpose, the developments from the convergence theory for panel data were considered, as well as data from the OECD database for the last quarter of 2017 to the third quarter of 2020. This statistical information was, also, analysed through spatial autocorrelation approaches. The findings obtained show that the pandemic, specifically in the first two quarters of 2020, eliminated the signs of convergence verified from the end of 2017 until the end of 2019 in OECD countries, bringing new challenges for the future. In terms of policy recommendations, it is suggested to design instruments by the European Union and international organizations in order to promote a globally balanced development, preventing consequences beyond the socioeconomic.

The effects of stereotype threat on Roma academic performance in Slovakia: role of academic self-efficacy and social identity

PurposeOne of the goals of various European Union (EU) organizations (i.e. Roma and non-Roma nonprofits) is the integration of Roma into the educational system. A challenge for the educational systems of EU countries, therefore, is to determine how to support the academic performance of Roma. Understanding the positive and negative factors related to Roma’s academic performance and achievement is an important first step in increasing academic success among this minority group.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative experimental design was used both online and face-to-face to examine whether stereotype threat had an influence on the academic performance of Roma in Slovakia and second, whether such threat was moderated by social identification and academic self-efficacy.FindingsThe results showed that stereotype threat does influence Roma in Slovakia and there were direct effects of social identity and academic self-efficacy on academic performance of the face-to-face participants.Originality/valueConsistent with stereotype threat theory, to the best of authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to show that a stereotype threat did harm the academic performance of the face-to-face Roma sampled. Further, although many studies have examined stereotype threat effects on academic performance, little is known regarding whether social identification and academic self-efficacy have an influence on such threats. The results of the study show that social identification and academic self-efficacy had a significant direct influence on academic performance.