Trade Union Decline and Union Wage Effects in Australia

Union density in Australia fell precipitously in the 1990s. This study investigates how union wage effects may have changed as a result. The findings from 1993 data suggest that union/nonunion wage differentials were very small, especially among workers in high-density industries. By 2001 the overall union wage effect had increased significantly; however, the union/nonunion wage differential was no longer correlated with union density at the industry level.     

Between Flexibility and Regulation: Rights, Equality and Protection at Work

The year 2000 represented the real year of delivery on Labour's proposals for industrial relations and employment rights. This review focuses on the content of the government's legislative programme, taking account of the impact of public policy at European level and its relationship with national legislation. The government's programme included a number of measures designed to target discrimination and promote equality, and the review examines the form and significance of these changes, in the light of continuing discrimination in the labour market. It then turns to examine the most fundamental legal reform of the year, the introduction of the statutory right to recognition.     

Union Workers,Union Work: A Profile of Paid Union Officers in the United Kingdom

Twelve years ago, Working for the Union presented an analysis of paid trade union officers working for UK unions. This paper returns to the themes of this earlier study using a fresh survey of union officers carried out in 2002. It provides limited support for two of the principal findings of the earlier research: that union work is performed differently by officers with different demographic and attitudinal characteristics and that union management systems can be effective in encouraging officers to respond to a new bargaining and organizing agenda.     

Determinants of Trade Union Membership in Australia

This paper uses Australian cross-sectional data to examine the determinants of individual union membership. It analyses the separate effect of three groups of variables on the probability of unionisation: personal attributes, occupational and industry-related characteristics, and social and attitudinal factors. While the personal attributes of an employee were found to have little effect on union status, the other two groups of variables added significantly to the explained variance in union membership. An important finding of the study was that certain attitudes, ideologies and social values were clearly associated with variations in union status.     

化工企业灭火救援工作的措施

在现代化发展进程中,化工企业在其中占据着重要地位,化工产品的广泛应用和需求,使得中国化工行业企业总量稳步增长。然而,伴随着巨大经济效益的产生,化工企业的安全事故发生率也在逐年增加。化工企业发生的安全事故,情况复杂,常伴随泄漏、扩散、污染和爆炸的发生,出现立体化、大面积、高危险、难以处置等问题。文章结合实际工作经验,针对化工企业灭火救援工作和消防员自我防护问题,提出具体的解决对策。     

逐鹿神州--2003年全国电源建设竞争态势综览

■加快电源建设:热潮涌动■五大发电集团:尽占先机■中央国企诸侯:各显神通■煤电联营:异军突起■地方电力:稳扎稳打■民营资本:渐成气候■外商投资:伺机而进■展望未来:利弊权衡2003年,是我国电源建设史上规模空前的一年,也是具有划时代意义的一年。从2002年开始的电力供需紧张,使国务院决定调整“十五”电力发展规划,在原来新开工电源项目的上限8000万千瓦基础上,后三年再增加3000万千瓦。到2005年底,全国发电总装机将达到4.3亿千瓦。这就意味着从2003年起到2005年,每年将新增发电装机2500万千瓦以上,在装机规模上又上了一个大台阶。同时,…     

Union Effects on Earnings Dispersion in Australia, 1986–1994

In Australia a large decline in union density has occurred since the mid-1970s. This paper examines the effect of the decline in union density on the dispersion of earnings in Australia between 1986 and 1994. Changes in union density are found to have increased earnings dispersion for male employees over this period, but do not appear to have had a strong effect on earnings dispersion for female employees. The main cause of changes in earnings dispersion for both male and female employees has been an increase in the dispersion of earnings of non-union employees.     

An Analysis of Workplace Representatives, Union Power and Democracy in Australia

The purpose of this article is to illuminate the views and experiences of workplace representatives in Australia in the context of falling union density, and to analyse factors that are most strongly associated with subjective union power at the workplace level, as perceived by delegates. The analysis relies on a large random survey of workplace delegates in eight significant Australian unions. The article describes the situation broadly facing delegates as shown by the survey and analyses a set of factors associated with the power of workers as perceived by delegates. We find that higher levels of reported activism among delegates are strongly associated with greater subjective union power. We also find that self-reported delegate confidence is also strongly associated with perceptions of higher union power, as is delegate's clarity about their roles. The data also show a strong association between perceptions of democracy within the union and union power. Support for delegates from the union office and organizers is also associated with higher levels of union power at the local level. The analysis provides some support for union renewal strategies associated with the 'organizing model' as applied in Australia and some other Anglo-Saxon countries that aim to increase the activism of workplace delegates through education, the provision of support for workplace delegates and more democratic union structures.     

Is Good Work Good for Democracy? Work,Change at Work and Political Participation in Canada and England

This article draws on data from 750 Canadian and 450 English workers to systematically explore the implications of work for political participation, addressing whether ‘good’ work, and recent trends identified in work and employment, appear to be good for political participation. It finds that various aspects of work and of the work experience, many of which have been associated with recent trends, can have significant implications. However, these implications tend to differ for ‘passive’ and ‘active’ forms of participation and to be weak for the former. Moreover, characteristics that might be associated with ‘good’ work have negative as well as positive spillovers, suggesting contradictory effects and reducing the net positive effects of good jobs. Finally, there is some (albeit limited) evidence of cross‐national differences, especially with regard to the implications of union representation.     

What Works at Work: Overview and Assessment

This article discusses why it is difficult to measure the effects of management practices on organizational performance. In spite of these difficulties, a collage of evidence suggests that innovative workplace practices can increase performance, primarily through the use of systems of related practices that enhance worker participation, make work design less rigid, and decentralize managerial tasks. A majority of U.S. businesses have adopted some innovative work practices. However, only a small percentage of businesses have adopted a full system of innovative practices. We outline several constraints on the diffusion of new work practices, and suggest directions for future research     

Fighting collusion in auctions: An experimental investigation

The danger of collusion presents a serious challenge for auctioneers. In this paper, we compare the collusive properties of two standard auctions, the English auction and the first-price sealed-bid auction, and a lesser-known format, the Amsterdam (second-price) auction. In the Amsterdam auction, the highest losing bidder earns a premium for stirring up the price. We study two settings: in one, all bidders can collude, and in another, only a subset is eligible. The experiments show that the Amsterdam auction triggers less collusion than the standard auctions. We compare experimental results to theoretical predictions, and provide an explanation where they differ.     

Changes in Union Wage Effects by Industry: A Fresh Look at the Evidence

Unions suffered a modest decline in their capacity to increase wages over nonunion levels between the late 1970s and the middle 1990s according to evidence presented here. The decline in relative wages was significant in only 13 (of 78) industries examined; in 11 industries the differential increased significantly. The industrially disaggregated econometric evidence is broadly consistent with institutional evidence about developments in particular industries; however, more industry-grounded research is clearly warranted.     

Partnership at Work: Mutuality and the Balance of Advantage

A framework for the analysis of partnership at work is presented, emphasizing the principles, practices and outcomes of partnership. A survey using matched samples of 54 UK management and employee representatives found a link between partnership principles and practices, between practices and ratings of employee attitudes and behaviour, between these and estimates of positive employment relations and quality and productivity, finally between productivity and sales and profitability. The findings support a mutual gains model but show that the balance of advantage is skewed towards management and reflects generally low management trust in employee representatives.     

Straight to the Core — Explaining Union Responses to the Casualization of Work: The IG Metall Campaign for Agency Workers

The existing literature provides different accounts on the strategies of unions regarding marginal workers. It has been argued that under increasing labour market segmentation, unions have either to prioritize their core constituencies and to seek compromises with management, or to adopt inclusive strategies towards peripheral workers to counterbalance eroding bargaining power. This article shows that both strategies represent equally viable options to protect the interests of unions' core members. The strategic choice depends on the (perceived) competition between core and peripheral employees related to employers' personnel strategies; this affects the possible alignment of interests between unions' core members, on the one hand, and either management or peripheral employees, on the other. Our historical analysis of union strategies towards agency workers in the German metal sector illustrates this mechanism, and identifies institutional change towards liberalization as the trigger for aggressive segmentation strategies by employers and for inclusive union strategies.     

Work at home and time use in Finland

This study examines the relationship between home‐based work (HBW) and time use by comparing unpaid (overtime) home workers, paid (agreed) home workers and non‐home workers. Especially, unpaid HBW was linked to the stretching of working hours and the reduction of free time.