Workplace participation and employee influence: a study of managers and shop stewards

This article looks at de facto and de jure participation in decision-making, as well as the degree of direct as opposed to indirect influence wielded by the parties involved. It asks whether the perceptions of those on ‘different sides’ of the industrial fence, such as shop stewards and managers, largely differ and on what issues.     

Employee Participation: Problems for the Shop Steward

In spite of the extensive coverage given to employee participation and industrial democracy, important areas have been neglected. Mick Marchington and Roger Armstrong gather evidence concerning shop steward involvement in participative bodies, in response to the absence of a comprehensive analysis of steward attitudes and behaviour to participative schemes.     

Paradise postponed: dilemmas facing shop stewards in the new South Africa—accommodation orresistance?

The growth of the shop stewards movement in South Africa prior to majority rule represented a challenge to the institutionalised managerial prerogative and cemented the position of black trade unions in the workplace, posing a threat to both Apartheid’s cheap labour system and also to the political control of the Apartheid regime. With the advent of majority rule in 1994, shop stewards are now expected to comply with, and co-operate in, the implementation of workplace changes which they would have traditionally opposed. This, plus the move towards Japanese-style ‘lean’ work practices, is creating farreaching challenges for the ‘New’ South African shop steward movement.     

A typology of shop stewards

The role of the shop steward in Australian industrial relations is probably as important as that of his British counterpart. In this article the author uses the three types of shop steward described by Miller and Form: management, union and employee oriented, to analyse a survey of 260 shop stewards in Western Australia.     

Shop stewards in the 1990s: a research note

Evidence suggests that the unions suffered badly during the 1980s, but how has this affected the lynch-pin of workplace industrial relations, the shop steward? The evidence of this research is that the shop stewards of the 1990s display remarkable stability in their influence and role when compared to earlier surveys.     

The turnover of shop stewards*

The average turnover of shop stewards is a statistic with important implications for industrial relations. The Donovan Commission assumed a figure of 15 per cent in 1968 and the TUC one of 20 per cent in 1975. Recent evidence, reported in this research note, suggests that estimates are too low.     

Restructuring the labour process in Sweden: the offensive of the SAF and the LO response

Compromise between organised labour and capital facilitated decades of economic growth and industrial cooperation in Sweden. However, management's monopoly over the ‘right to manage’ increasingly conflicted with the labour movement's desire for industrial and economic democracy. This article analyses organised capital's ability to resist labour's reform initiative and pursue a neo-liberal agenda which has greatly shifted Sweden in this direction.     

Post-privatised Shop Steward Organisation and Union Renewal at Girobank

Using an ethnographic case study approach this article provides empirical evidence concerning the response of local union stewards to managerial-led change during and after the process of privatisation. It is suggested that the key mediating factors of a decisive ideological purpose and local leadership style provide the ingredients for sustainable union renewal. Wider implications are noted, in particular a gap between national trade union policies and workplace industrial relations practices.     

Posing larger questions: the British miners’ strike of 1984–85

The miners’ strike was the longest and most significant dispute in modern British industrial history. The conflict provided a vivid case study of the rationales and processes of capitalism and liberal democracy in the closing decades of this century. This article is an assessment of the important issues raised by the dispute.     

Japan in Britain: the dynamics of joint consultation

Despite the centrality of Company Councils for Japanese firms in the UK, empirical data on their evolution is rare. In this article consultation methods used by a Japanese manufacturing transplant are analysed using a longitudinal approach. The findings suggest that the development of a ‘consensus culture’ proved to be highly problematic for employees, shop stewards, local managers and Japanese staff, especially at the consultation-bargaining interface.     

The practice of collective bargaining in the private sector in Quebec (Canada): the changing ‘rules of the game’

Drawing on 45 semi‐structured interviews with union negotiators active in the Quebec private sector, this article shows that local bargaining practices, despite their plurality, have tended to change following major trends. It also reveals, more fundamentally, a redefinition of the ‘rules of the game’. The transformation and stability of these social rules, which are much more focused on the needs of employers, have tended to weaken collective bargaining as a tool for industrial democracy.     

Industrial democracy: consensus and confusion

Recent reports on the progress of the Australian debate about industrial democracy claim that there already exists a consensus on the desirability of democracy among normally opposed industrial and political groups. Since desirability is no longer an issue, the practical problems of implementation may now be considered. However, Edward Vaughn argues that these reports from Australia are misleading.     

Union organising in ‘Big Blue's backyard

This article considers the effectiveness of recruitment and organising approaches during ISTC's successful recognition campaign at FCI Ltd, focussing in particular on the role of ‘shadow stewards’. The case study illustrates the positive impact of innovative grassroots campaigning associated with the organising model. However, it also highlights the real difficulties facing key union players in transforming successful recruitment and recognition into effective workplace representation and robust trade unionism.     

Trade union activism: The characteristics associated with becoming and remaining a shop steward

The paper investigates the motivation and experiences of shop steward office holders in a general union in the Republic of Ireland. Two approaches examining the differences between office-holders and non-office-holders are explored, one that is predominantly concerned with the variation in psychological and personal characteristics, needs, and attitudes of individuals, and a second that emphasizes the importance of social processes in the workplace. The results of the research suggest that the former approach provides only a partial explanation of the differences. Results indicate that where there are differences between office-holders and non-office-holders it is a result of union-related attitudes and values, which are in turn affected by a number of independent variables. Such salient factors as the existing shop steward organization in the workplace, the attitude of management to trade unions, the level of support from union members, and the union organization were also found to be important aspects which encourage or discourage potential candidates for the shop steward position. The level of satisfaction in the position expressed by a majority of the stewards and the stability of tenure would seem to indicate the existence of a supportive union organization and favorable management attitudes.     

How to refuse a vote on the EU? The case against the referendum in the House of Commons (1974–2010)

Under what conditions do politicians oppose referendums especially to decide questions of European integration? Existing literature has identified reasons why governments and political parties pledge to hold non-mandatory referendums to ratify EU treaties or determine a country’s participation in the EU project, and some studies have analysed the effect of voter demand and attitudes towards EU referendums. This study examines the positions politicians themselves take towards popular participation in decision-making on the EU. The paper presents a summative content analysis of parliamentary debates in the United Kingdom between 1974 and 2010, tracing MPs’ arguments against using referendums to determine the UK’s participation in EU integration. Our results indicate that the range of claims made by MPs in the House of Commons against referendums on European matters has narrowed over time, although opposing arguments have continued to fall into the same set of four argumentative strategies. We find that institutional arguments, reflecting a Burkean understanding of representative democracy, consistently predominate over arguments that cite practical, political and manipulation concerns.     

Implementing chemicals policy: leaders or laggards?

Prioritization of regulatory agency resources remains a key issue in the management of industrial pollution. This is likely to become increasingly important as a new EC chemicals policy is implemented and measures are introduced to achieve the OSPAR zero emissions target. The Environment Agency (England and Wales) has updated the Operator Pollution and Risk Assessment (OPRA) scheme, but it still includes no quantitative measurement of operator attitudes towards environmental regulation. This is important because regulated firms' attitudes are known to affect regulatory behaviour. This study explores the attitudes of environmental managers from 142 chemical sector companies regulated under Integrated Pollution Control. Analysis of responses from a questionnaire survey revealed a number of regulatory typologies. A ‘conservative’ cluster exhibited satisfaction with the current regulatory system and rejected change. ‘Progressive’ cluster members recognized shortcomings and welcomed change. This methodology could be used alongside OPRA to support decisions necessary to prioritize regulatory resources. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Labour reform in a neo-liberal ‘protected’ democracy: Chile 1990–2001

This paper analyses the direction and degree of labour reform in Chile since the restoration of democracy in 1990 after seventeen years of military dictatorship. The regime of General Augusto Pinochet (1973–90) adopted a highly repressive political character and implemented neo-liberal economic policies, which, together with the institutional restructuring that accompanied them, transformed vast sectors of Chilean society. The 1979 Labour Plan significantly changed the character of industrial relations legislation and the roles and balance of power among social actors, transforming the way in which industrial relations had been conducted since the 1920s. We argue that, despite more than a decade since the restoration of democracy, and after several rounds of reform, the current legislation presents remarkable continuity with the one enacted under authoritarianism, contradicting claims that profound change has been achieved. In attempting to explain the direction and degree of the so-called Transition's Labour Reforms, we emphasize the importance of political-economy approaches. We explore the conservative nature of the Chilean transition to democracy, the continuity of the neo-liberal economic model and the increasing imbalance of power between capital and labour, in an effort to account for the persistence of the authoritarian legacy in today's Chilean industrial relations.     

Evaluating the multi-dimensional view of employee commitment: a comparative UK–Chinese study

This study evaluates the contribution of the multiple constituencies of commitment framework to the explanation of work attitudes and behaviours among samples of manufacturing workers in the United Kingdom (UK) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Our findings suggest that the organization, the supervisor, co-workers and the union were seen by respondents as separate commitment foci. Consistent with the ‘compatibility hypothesis’, the relationship between commitment and outcome was stronger where the constituency focus was matched. However, the ‘cultural hypothesis’, on the greater salience of person- or group-based commitments in the PRC context, was generally not accepted. The findings are discussed in the light of the comparative cultural and industrial relations contexts of the two countries.     

Workplace democracy in Bulgaria: from subordination to partnership in industrial relations

Bulgaria has for many years been an innovator in industrial relations. Its new labour code, as a model of industrial democracy, has few parallels in market or even other central planned economies. Here the authors trace the ideological, social and political background to the new code which has been seen as an instrument of radical social change.     

Worker representation and the articulation of training needs

The focus of discussion about industrial democracy has shifted from worker directors to collective bargaining. This shift means that representatives will find themselves negotiating on relatively unfamiliar ground, with consequent implications for their training needs. Tom Schuller and Simon Henderson discuss certain issues identified in an SSRC-sponsored project on training for worker representatives.