Partnership and multi‐unionism in the Health Service

This paper explores the development and implementation of ‘workplace social partnerships’ in two NHS Trusts. Empirically, we argue that inter‐ and intra‐union relations can both facilitate and constrain management decision making and the implementation of policy; conceptually, we highlight the inconsistencies in the parties’ perspectives on ‘workplace partnership’.     

Workplace partnership and the displaced activist thesis

Advocates and critics of partnership have advanced a series of theoretical arguments in respect of the potential consequences for unions working under partnership arrangements. These include centralised decision–making and the alienation of lay activists. In the case study examined here partnership involved centralised decision–making, but this did not result in serious conflicts or lead to the rejection of joint arrangements. We argue for a theoretical approach focusing on the contingencies that shape relations between union officers and lay activists under partnership.     

Mobilising workers within inter‐organisational relationships in the UK voluntary sector

This article assesses the prospects for union membership growth in the UK voluntary sector. It examines the efforts of workplace activists to defend terms and conditions and recruit and retain members in two voluntary organisations in the context of the sector's close relationship with external state funding and regulatory bodies. The study confirms the importance of workplace activists in contributing to successful mobilisation. It also finds, however, that differences in inter‐organisational relations between the two organisations and state funding bodies that are shaped by product markets and competition are pivotal in explaining the variability in outcomes for union mobilisation efforts. The article has wider significance in telling us more about why union campaigns in areas of the economy characterised by close supply chain relations succeed or fail.     

Union recognition and partnership at work: a new legitimacy for Irish trade unions?

In the Irish context of national partnership and the promotion of workplace partnership at firm level, unions might be expected to have achieved, at least, a pragmatic acceptance by employers. Using a survey of full‐time union officials in eight trade unions organising in the private sector, this paper reports their experiences of recent recognition campaigns. Employer opposition appears to have intensified, and in a substantial percentage of cases has involved the victimisation of activists. In facilitating employees to make a free choice regarding union representation, the Codes of Practice and the Industrial Relations Amendment Act 2001 are regarded by the majority of officials as inadequate. A majority of officials favoured the introduction of a statutory right to recognition. Non‐union firms appear as ‘free riders’ that have enjoyed the benefits of national partnership but evaded the compromises and concessions that necessarily characterise such agreements. If left unchecked, the free‐rider phenomenon could undermine the institutional framework on which partnership is based.     

Partnership at work and worker participation: an NHS case study

This article considers issues of workplace union strategy in a study of a National Health Service hospital trust in which the focus of the investigation is the ‘employee voice’ gains, or losses, arising from partnership and worker participation. The impact of government policy on local management and, in turn, employees’ opportunities to participate in organisational decision making is therefore the main theme explored in this analysis.     

Does labor–management partnership deprive union members of activism toward their unions? Evidence from union members in Korea

This study aims to analyze whether partnership ideology really deprives union members of the willingness and passion to act for their union, resulting in union decline, and whether militant unionism, which includes adversarial ideology against employers is more effective for igniting members' activism for their unions rather than labor–management partnership. The survey data were obtained from union members working in Mechanical and Metal Manufacturers Complex, Changwon, Republic of Korea. Judging from the overall results of the data analysis, Kelly's (1996) claim that moderate unionism based on partnership ideology would undermine members' activism for their unions was not supported; on the contrary, partnership ideology had positive effects on both members' activism for their unions and decision-making practices. The difference between partnership and militancy is that militancy had an intensive effect on the narrow focus of union activities, but the impact of partnership achieved a better balance between participation in union activities and in management decision making.     

A mutual gains perspective on workplace partnership: Employee outcomes and the mediating role of the employment relations climate

Recent years have witnessed increased research on the role of workplace partnership in promoting positive employment relations. However, there has been little quantitative analysis of the partnership experiences of employees. This article examines how the kinds of attributions employees make regarding indirect (union‐based) and direct (non‐union‐based) employee participation in workplace partnership might influence the process of mutual gains. It uses employee outcomes to reflect partnership gains for all stakeholders involved (i.e. employees, employers and trade unions). The article contributes to existing knowledge of workplace partnership by examining the potential role of the employment relations climate as an enabling mechanism for the process of mutual gains. The findings suggest mutual gains for all stakeholders are varied and mediated through the employment relations climate.     

Representation at Suncorp – what do the employees want?

It is apparent from existing research that little is known about the effectiveness of non‐union employee representation (NER) voice arrangements in Australian firms. This article examines both the non‐union Suncorp‐Metway Employee Council (SMEC) and union voice arrangements at an Australian financial services firm, Suncorp, and assesses their effectiveness in representing the needs of employees. This study is unique because it is one of the few examples of dual representation channels at a single firm. Overall the findings suggest that the effectiveness of union and NER arrangements is dependent on the union and NER voice channels being perceived by the workforce as both representative and able to act effectively or independently. However, while trade unions may provide greater voice than non‐union arrangements, the strength of voice is dependent on the legitimacy and effectiveness of trade unions in representing employees' interests at the workplace. The findings also suggest that the marginalisation strategy used by the union in excluding SMEC from its industrial campaigns, coupled with employees' perception of a lack of effective union voice, could impact negatively on the influence that unions may have on management decision‐making. This could also be perceived by employees as an inappropriate response by the union to management substitution strategies. As a consequence, any changes to industrial relations policy or trade union strategies regarding NER should be considered in the light of these findings.     

‘Everybody's talking at me’: the dynamics of information disclosure and consultation in high‐skill workplaces in the UK

This article examines the dynamics of direct and indirect consultation processes in three high‐skill work establishments in the UK. Drawing on a mix of case study survey and interview data, it analyses the experiences and attitudes of predominantly well‐qualified professional employees. Adopting the concept of ‘embeddedness’ of employee consultation at the workplace level, we find that despite considerable breadth and depth of practice, many employees remain dissatisfied with the extent of their individual and collective influence over management decision‐making processes. Four underlying contributory factors are presented: extant hierarchical and bureaucratic management styles, the negative impact of work overload, the individualisation of consultation through computerisation, and the weakness of cooperative forms of union engagement.     

Job regulation and the managerial challenge to trade unions: evidence from two union membership surveys

Data from a survey of union activists in twelve unions, and from a survey of members of the Communication Workers Union, are used to argue that changes in labour management and work organisation do not provide scope for social partnership at work, but do represent new difficulties for collective representation.     

Engaged in battle: exploring the sources of workplace union militancy at Royal Mail

Sources of workplace union militancy at Royal Mail (UK) are examined in relation to four particular management initiatives in the late 1980s and 1990s. The wider industrial relations context and balance of power are emphasised and an assessment is made of the relative contribution of union leadership to workplace militancy.     

The role of management and trade union leadership on dual commitment: The mediating effect of the workplace relations climate

This article examines the effect of transformational and laisser‐faire leadership on the part of local union leaders and immediate supervisors on the dual commitment of unionised workers. Building on the social information processing perspective, it is suggested that these leadership styles are linked to commitment through the workplace relations climate (WRC). Based on a sample of 834 unionised workers, our results suggest that WRC represents an important mechanism explaining the effect of the immediate supervisor's leadership in unionised settings. Results also show that transformational leadership on the part of union representatives is positively linked to union and organisational commitment. This article contributes to the WRC and dual commitment literatures by going beyond structural and institutional explanations and considering relational and actor‐related variables, such as leadership styles.     

Trade unions and racism in London,Brussels and Paris public transport

This article considers how trade unions respond to systemic racism at work. Based on case studies in the UK, Belgium and France, it identifies a gap between the national‐level anti‐racist policies of several European trade unions and local‐level union workplace practices: direct racism is often denied and indirect racism rarely challenged. It describes and analyses this gap arguing that unions must more consciously champion anti‐racism and recommends a leadership role for workplace representatives.     

Union partnership as a facilitator to HRM: improving implementation through oppositional engagement

Abstract

This paper provides a nuanced insight into the workplace level interactions between a union and HRM systems within a union-management partnership arrangement. Soft outcomes of HRM systems typically suffer from compromised implementation by managers struggling to balance competing operational priorities, but we show how a union limits this poor implementation. Qualitative and documentary data were retrieved from a major UK retailer and a trade union to examine how union activity interacts with HRM delivery. Firstly, union communication systems enhanced or replaced company systems of employee voice. Secondly, union activity policed management implementation of HRM practices to limit their subjugation to short-term productivity increases, improving outcomes for employees and the HRM system for the company. These outcomes were achieved through oppositional engagement within the context of partnership, which points towards a persisting and productive pluralism within the cooperative rhetoric.     

Critical incidents of partnership: five years' experience at NatBank

Despite a rich partnership literature in the UK, relatively little is known about the processes of decision making under partnership regimes. This study examines the first five years of a high‐profile agreement in a British retail bank. Inspired by critical incident technique, this article explores the way key issues such as globalisation, offshoring, and work organisation were handled and decisions were made. It is argued that one cannot fully understand the outcomes without exploring both the context and process in detail. Benefits for management, unions and employees are also explored, and some of the main challenges to partnership are considered. The article suggests that partnership requires a clear understanding of the purpose and the rules of engagement, and highlights a possible gulf between academic and actor expectations. It also highlights the importance of exploring the partnership processes and reveals evidence of the dialogue exerting a moderating effect over decision making, with management, union, and employee actors all in favour of the collaborative partnership approach.     

Are non‐union workers different to their union colleagues? Evidence from the public services

This article analyses workers’ attitudes to trade unions by comparing the survey responses of Unison members with public sector workers who have left or never joined a union. It examines whether differences between these groups can help to explain union‐joining behaviour and membership patterns. The findings demonstrate that there are few differences in attitudes between Unison members, ex‐unionists and never‐members on the issue of ‘union effectiveness’. However, ex‐unionists were more reluctant to re‐join unions than never‐members. The evidence concludes that if public service unions are to recruit new members, they need to adopt differentiated strategies and representatives have to target ex‐unionists and never‐members in the workplace.     

Participative Leadership by American and Chinese Managers in China: The Role of Relationships*

abstract Developing participative leadership may be particularly challenging when managers are working cross‐culturally and in China. One hundred and sixty‐three Chinese employees from various industries in mainland China were surveyed about their relationships and the effectiveness of their participation with American and Chinese managers. Results, including structural equation analyses, support the hypotheses that cooperative, but not competitive or independent, goals helped Chinese employees and their foreign and Chinese managers strengthen their quality relationships as measured by supervisor–subordinate guanxi and leader–membership exchange; quality relationships in turn enhanced effective participative leadership as measured by the opportunity for joint decision‐making and the open‐minded discussion of opposing views (constructive controversy). Results suggest that cooperative goals and the Chinese value of guanxi may be important for overcoming obstacles and developing participative leadership within and across cultural boundaries.     

Beyond the Anglo‐Saxon and North European models: social partnership in a Greek textiles company

Much of the literature examining social partnership focuses on either Anglo‐Saxon or North European countries, differentiating between liberal market economies (LMEs) and coordinated market economies (CMEs). These studies argue, quite correctly, that the institutional forces shaping partnership in the two types of economy differ markedly, with the consequence that partnership takes somewhat different forms at the workplace. By contrast, there is only limited research on social partnership in Mediterranean economies—such as Greece—even though there are strong reasons to suggest it may be quite different from both LMEs and CMEs because of relatively recent military influence at state level and less well‐developed systems of industrial relations at organisational level. This article examines the forces operating both at national and at local level that facilitate or hinder the development of social partnership. It is based on the results of interviews with government, industry and union officials and a case study of partnership in a textiles company in northern Greece. It concludes that institutional forces provided workers with more protection than they would have achieved in an LME but that ultimately competitive pressures and a lack of effective workplace representation limited the degree to which the state can influence the processes and outcomes of social partnership at local level.     

Trade unionism and partnership in practice: evidence from the Barclays–Unifi agreement

This article draws on empirical evidence from Barclays Bank PLC to explore the impact of partnership on trade union organisation. It outlines the rationale, development, benefits and pitfalls of the partnership agreement between Barclays and Unifi. Particular attention is paid to the positive impact the agreement has had on systems of workplace representation and on the ways in which the partnership needs to develop to better serve the trade union side. It is argued that unions need to manage the risks of partnership, ensuring their continued legitimacy in the eyes of union members.     

Integration of collective bargaining and formal worker participation processes: Boon or barrier to worker rights?

Many employers are extending workplace rights by allowing for more employee voice in decision making. Numerous unionized organizations have established formal worker participation processes to help achieve this end and to improve organizational performance. Based largely on theory, such processes are normally designed to operate independently from the bargaining process. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between participation and bargaining processes, and the effect of this relationship on workplace satisfaction. A total of 712 Midwest union officials were surveyed, and the results indicate that the processes tend to become integrated in the workplace. Further, union officials' workplace satisfaction was greater where formal worker participation is institutionalized within the bargaining process.