Transforming union women: the role of women trade union officials in union renewal

The article investigates the nature of the increasing involvement of women in the decision-making structures of the fifth largest UK union through a study of senior women union officials. It is argued that senior union women, operating within a feminist paradigm, balance both transformational and status quo objectives in working towards union survival and renewal.     

The making of women trade union leaders

A trade union's constitution is intended to produce its leaders in a democratic and even-handed manner, but the reality for women is one of inequality. They remain almost invisible in senior positions in British unions. The social processes by which women do or do not progress in a union's career structure are investigated through a case study of SOGAT ‘82.     

New technology: a survey of trade union response in Britain*

In this article, which is a version of a much larger report, the authors assess how the major trade unions, at conference and executive committee level, are responding in their policies and attitudes to the new technology.     

The trade union movement and work-sharing policies in interwar Britain*

In recent years there has been a great deal of interest in work-sharing as a generator of new jobs. This article assesses the attitude of the trade unions to this policy in interwar Britain. It argues that work-sharing was an element in the employment programme of the union movement.     

Leadership and trade union principles: some problems of management sponsorship and independence

Recent empirical work on shop steward activity has led to a considerable increase in knowledge of the dynamics of shopfloor bargaining. The intensive case study of two shopfloor organisations by Batstone and his colleagues is of particular significance. In this article, Paul Willman analyses the Batstone et alia framework in relation to subsequent evidence.     

Diversity in trade union membership: a typology based on the study of a Spanish trade union

While existing literature on the changing nature of trade union membership concentrates on unidimensional differences between members, this article proposes a multidimensional typology, which considers demographic characteristics as well as labour market position and length of union membership. Our results allow the identification of different member profiles; these are significantly associated to differences in employment conditions, work participation, job satisfaction and union activism. In the last section of the article, we discuss the practical implications that these different member profiles may have for union policy and organisation.     

British trade union membership,density and decline in the 1980s: a research note

This article is concerned with British trade union membership statistics. It provides three different estimates of trade union density and considers their meaning and significance. It also assesses the reliability of union membership figures, and finally it provides fresh data on the unemployed membership of trade unions.     

The behavioural impact on trade unionists of the trade union legislation of the 1980s: a research note

This note is concerned with research conducted through a survey of trade union lay representatives to identify their perceptions of the current law and attitudes to compliance/non-compliance with it. Emphasis is placed on how any misconceptions could affect the conduct of an industrial dispute.     

Against the trend: trade union growth in Northern Ireland

This paper analyses the dimensions and determinants of trade union growth in Northern Ireland. Aggregate membership, mostly in Great Britain-based unions, has grown more rapidly than the UK average in recent decades, largely due to a massive shift of employment into public sector services, where trade union density is higher.     

Ver.di and trade union revitalisation in Germany

Recent research on the fate of organised labour in western Europe has emphasised the capacity trade unions have to develop and implement revitalisation strategies as well as the fact that different trade union movements implement different strategies. In the case of Germany, trade unions have tended to defend existing mechanisms of social partnership and restructure the movement through mergers. This article argues that this approach has severe limitations given the diverse transformation of the German political economy. It presents research on the revitalisation strategies of Germany's new service sector trade union Ver.di established in 2001. The article argues that Ver.di has an awareness of the necessity of adopting new and comprehensive strategies for revitalisation, but that it is tending towards traditional strategies. This disadvantages those regions and sectors where institutions of industrial relations are not embedded.     

Civil servant and trade union member: a conflict of loyalties?

Here the author looks at the dual role of senior civil servant and trade union member and the conflicts of loyalty which may arise now that their union, the FDA, has taken strike action and become involved in campaigns against government policies for the first time.     

Beyond the enterprise: trade union representation of freelances in the UK

Interest has grown in the methods that trade unions can use to organise and represent the substantial proportion of the workforce engaged in ‘contingent work’. This article examines trade union representation of self‐employed freelances in the UK. Empirical material is presented from case studies of the media and entertainment unions, with their long history of representing freelances, and more recently established unions representing freelance tour guides, interpreters and translators. The analysis indicates that there is a distinctive form of freelance unionism in the UK which is distinguished by its emphasis on organising and representing workers in the external labour market where they seek work and develop a mobile career. This orientation ‘beyond the enterprise’ distinguishes freelance unionism from the dominant form of unionism in Britain.     

The measurement of trade union membership in Ireland and the UK

The interwoven history and development of unions in the UK and Ireland has produced statistics which cause acute problems of comparability. Here the author attempts to clarify the situation with discussion of information sources available on unions and their membership in the two countries.     

The emergence of shop-floor trade union power in South Africa

This is the first of two papers dealing with the emergence of black shop floor union power and the changing structure of industrial relations in South Africa. This paper examines the evolution of black and white trade unions and their attitudes towards the officially sanctioned system of industrial relations. The observation is made that black unions are placing greater emphasis on shop-floor organization, leading to the development of an additional, but unofficial, tier in the negotiation structure in the form of work pi ace-level union recognition and bargaining.     

The anatomy of trade union benefits in the 1960's

Pre-1914, average union expenditure per head on benefits almost equalled the average wage; today it is only one-twentieth of average earnings. In analysing the trends in benefit patterns, the authors discuss such factors as the low level of expenditure on unemployment benefit, the rising trend of dispute benefit in the 1960's, the run down of superannuation benefits, and the increase in expenditure on sickness and accident, and the increase in contributions to educational programmes. They also consider probable future developments.     

Ideology or pragmatism? trade union education in France and Britain

Trade union education–a significant area of trade union activity – has been characterised by a tension between the desire to provide a certain ideological, economic and political perspective and the need to develop pragmatic bargaining skills. This comparative study examines the differing ways in which trade union education has developed in France and Britain.