Juridical Perceptions of the Relevance of Accounting Data in Wage Fixation

Major Australian wage fixation tribunal cases since 1900 have considered the significance and admissibility of accounting data. There is no evident juridical, employer or trade union perception that data drawn from conventionally prepared (historic cost-based) accounting reports are technically unserviceable for determining either capacity or incapacity to pay money wages. The implied acceptance of the serviceability of published accounting data in countries with a tradition of collective bargaining suggests that considerable damage may have occurred already. Reassessment is long overdue.     

Global Collective Bargaining on Flag of Convenience Shipping

The most significant case of transnational union bargaining co‐ordination in existence is in the maritime shipping industry. A global union association, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), and a global employers’ federation, the International Maritime Employers’ Committee (IMEC), now negotiate over pay scales for seafarers on Flag of Convenience (FOC) ships. These negotiations set the pattern for pay and working conditions for a signifi‐cant portion of the global seafaring work‐force. The ITF brought about global wage bargaining by building and enforcing a global inter‐union consensus between developed and developing countries around a uniform wage rate.     

The Coverage of Collective Pay-setting Institutions in Britain, 1895–1990

Fewer than 50% of British employees now have their pay and conditions affected by collective pay-setting institutions — collective bargaining or wages councils. This paper charts the historical context for the current picture of a decollectivized Britain, constructing a time series on coverage from 1895 to 1990. Extant estimates and sources of coverage data are presented and discussed alongside estimates drawn from a source used only sparingly before now — the number of workers affected by changes in wage rates of national agreements or wage orders. The recent decline in collective bargaining coverage is the most prolonged ever recorded and has been noticeably steeper than the fall in union density, such that the proportion of British workers covered is lower now than in the 1940s. With the abolition of wages councils in 1993, collective pay-setting machinery now affects the pay and conditions of fewer workers than it did in the 1930s.     

Changes in Wage-setting Arrangements and Trade Union Presence in the 1980s

In this paper we detail the results of a retrospective survey of changes in trade union and wage-setting arrangements in the 1980s for a sample of 558 UK companies. Our key findings are as follows. (1) Complete derecognition of unions in a firm was rare even in firms with low trade union density. (2) Partial derecognition in multi-plant firms was more common. Some 13 per cent of companies with recognized unions in 1984 had had at least partial derecognition by 1990. (3) Large falls in trade union density within a firm have also been rare, though small but observable declines have been commonplace. (4) The coverage of the closed shop has substantially declined, and this decline has been most marked in the last five years. Around one-quarter of firms with recognized unions in 1990, however, still had closed-shop arrangement for at least part of their work-force. (5) There has been no clear decline in the prevalence of multi-unionism or multiple bargaining units. (6) There has been a significant move away from national/industry-wide bargaining, towards negotiations at the individual company or more often the establishment level. (7) In the absence of collective bargaining there have been clear moves away from wage-setting by formal external links, such as wages councils and multi-employer agreements, and even away from worker consultation towards more managerial discretion. (8) In deciding wage settlements, managers are increasingly influenced by company performance and less by multi-employer wage settlements.     

The Union Wage Effect in Japan

Previous studies point to Japanese labor unions’ lack of bargaining power that results from their organization at an enterprise level. However, a detailed examination of the institutional setting backed by the Labor Standard Law and Trade Union Law reveals that unions have strong bargaining power against deteriorating work conditions. This paper examines the effect of unions on wages using the Japanese General Social Surveys 2000–2003, which cover a period of economic stagnation. We find a robust union wage premium for both males and females. A Cotton–Neumark decomposition reveals that about one‐fifth of union workers’ higher wage is explained by the difference in the union and nonunion wage structures. We also can confirm the union wage compression effect using the DiNardo, Fortin, and Lemieux (1996 ) method. Union workers are likely to think that they will not find jobs with similar compensation packages if they leave their current jobs. In summary, unions in Japan contribute to an increase in the average wage and compress the wage distribution among their workers. This result is reconciled with previous findings by considering the uniqueness of the macroeconomic conditions of the sample period.     

Public- and Private-Sector Occupational Pay Structures

Data from a representative sample of wage and salary workers are used to estimate wage equations that provide for direct estimates of the differences between public and private occupational pay structures. The results show that at the state and local levels of government in particular, the public/private wage differential tends to decline as occupational skill requirements increase. Public employees who work on jobs unique to the public sector are paid a wage premium. There is little support for the idea that degree of union coverage in the private sector affects public wages for an occupation.     

Bargaining over employment as a firm strategic choice

This paper develops a simple model as to why unionized Cournot firms acting non-cooperatively in the product market may find it optimal to commit to bargaining outcomes with their specific union, which are off the labor demand curve, hence restricting their behavior to non-profit maximizing practices in their product markets. The prediction that power over labor conceded strategically to the union by the firm is negatively linked to union wage power is not rejected on a panel of Belgian firms as well as the prediction that the union bargaining power can be affected by product market structure and other variables affecting union wages.     

工会组织对工资收入的影响：基于制度因素视角——来自英国的经验证据

经济规模、劳动者自身素质及制度等异质性因素,引致劳动力市场具有非完全竞争性的特征,在一定程度上解释了劳动者的工资差异现象。以英国1996和2001年数据为例,在考虑行业与劳动者素质异质性等控制变量情况下,从制度因素视角就工会组织对工人工资的影响进行考察。结果表明,工会成员身份对工人工资作用显著,能产生超过10%的溢价。因此,工会组织的社会生活中的地位与影响力,及其增强工人对雇主议价能力的作用应予重视。     

Collective Bargaining in the Canadian Public Sector, 1978–2008: The Consequences of Restraint and Structural Change

We study public‐sector bargaining and contract outcomes using Canadian data from 1978 to 2008. We have a number of interesting results, but our principal findings are from our analysis of wage settlements. We find that the essential services designation, which only allows non‐essential members of a bargain unit to strike, is associated with decreases in wages. Our estimates also suggest that there is an arbitration wage premium and that making adjustments to the ability to pay criterion used by arbitrators to determine awards does not affect this premium. We also discuss the implications of our estimates.     

Oligopoly, open shop unions and trade liberalisation

In an international duopoly model, we investigate how trade liberalisation impacts on collective bargaining outcomes when workers are represented by open shop unions. We find that, with intermediate levels of union density, trade liberalisation may lead to higher negotiated wages even if no trade occurs in equilibrium. In addition, we show that union wages may be higher with free trade than in autarky.     

The Composition of Union Membership: The Role of Pensioners in Italy

This paper considers changes in the membership composition of the three leading Italian trade union confederations during the last fifteen years. The analysis emphasizes the remarkable growth of membership among pensioners and the drop in active workers. The key issue here is that intergenerational aspects of unions' membership components are taken into account in the bargaining process. Unions internalize unemployment externalities on pension benefits resultant on the wage outcome as they consider the welfare of all their members in the economy. A formulation of the union monopoly model with endogenous membership supports these findings, while the econometric evaluation of the membership component effects shows that unions are forced to pursue wage moderation and improvements in employment conditions.     

Minimum Wages and Collective Bargaining: What Types of Pay Bargaining Can Foster Positive Pay Equity Outcomes?

Using data from interviews and collective agreements in five European countries, this article analyses the relationship between collective bargaining and the minimum wage. In a context of changing minimum wage policy and competing government objectives, the findings illuminate how pay bargaining strategies of trade unions and employers shape the pay equity effects of minimum wage policy. Two general forms are identified: direct responses to a changing national minimum wage, and responses to the absence or weakness of a national minimum wage. The article explains how particular intersections of minimum wage policy and collective bargaining, together with country and sector contingencies, shape the form of pay bargaining and pay equity outcomes.     

Between Fragmentation and Centralization: South Korean Industrial Relations in Transition

This study investigates profound changes in South Korean industrial relations after the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Korea's neoliberal labour reforms have produced a large number of non‐standard workers, deepening the union representation gap. Realizing that the fragmented enterprise unions could not adequately protect workers from this degradation of labour, trade union leaders began a major organizational drive at the industry level and tried to institutionalize sectoral bargaining. A political space for union centralization was partially opened because the state needed labour's co‐operation to implement neoliberal reform packages. However, disorganized centralization in Korea, where important decisions on wages and working conditions have been negotiated mainly at the company level, has faced limitations in achieving meaningful changes in the dualistic structure of the labour market. This study concludes with a review of changes in Korea's labour law in 2010 and a discussion on the effects of the law on bargaining rights of non‐standard workers and the incipient industry‐level bargaining. This trend towards union centralization may continue, but the notable gap between the formal bargaining structure and actual practice is expected to widen.     

Linking Union Density and Union Effectiveness: The North American Experience

This study considers how union performance in terms of organizing, bargaining, and political activity are related to severely declining union density (the percentage of the workforce in unions) in the United States and the higher and stable union density in Canada. Canadian unions have remained active in recruiting new members and assign a high priority to organizing, while American unions have shown diminished organizing effort and ability. Canadian unions have demonstrated superior performance in collective bargaining as measured by resistance to concession bargaining and negotiated wage gains, among other factors. Finally, although Canadian unions experienced some political setbacks, they wielded more political influence than their American counterparts in promoting union-specific as well as broad social legislation. Density is examined as both a consequence and determinant of the divergence in union performance.     

Minimum Wages and Youth Employment: Evidence from the Finnish Retail Trade Sector

Following an agreement between the trade unions and the employer organizations in 1993, Finnish employers could temporarily pay less than the existing minimum wage for young workers. We examine the effects of these minimum wage exceptions by comparing the changes in wages and employment of the groups whose minimum wages were reduced with simultaneous changes among slightly older workers for whom the minimum wages remained unchanged. Our analysis is based on payroll record data and minimum wage agreements from the retail trade sector. The results show that average wages in the eligible group declined only modestly. We find no significant effects on employment.     

The Wage–Health Insurance Trade‐off and Worker Selection: Evidence From the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 1997 to 2006

Key provisions within healthcare reform will likely further increase the cost of employer‐sponsored insurance. Theory suggests that workers pay for their health insurance through a wage offset. We investigate this issue using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. GMM estimates aimed at correcting for endogenous worker mobility reveal evidence of a trade‐off for workers who are offered health insurance as the only fringe benefit. On the other hand, employees in establishments with a more comprehensive set of benefits enjoy higher wages relative to employees in establishments that offer no benefits. Health also affects the wage–health insurance trade‐off.     

Wages and the Labour Market

In contrast to the traditions of social science, the argument made here is that wage structures are not to be explained by reference to an underlying economic or social rationale through which they contribute to the efficient or smooth functioning of an economy or society. Theories of wages have overstressed coherence and functionality and underplayed conflict and contradictions and the scope for discretionary, random or opportunistic decisions. Wage structures have been held partially in check in the past by institutional and social processes which linked wages across the labour market. Many of these processes, from industry-level pay bargaining to concepts of fair wages, 'going rates' or the family wage, have disintegrated in the 1980s and 1990s. More attention needs to be paid to the role of wages in the redistribution of resources and to the need to re-regulate the labour market.     

The Effect of International Unions on Wage Determination in Canada

This article uses collective bargaining agreement wage data spanning 1964–92 to analyse the effect of international unions on wage determination in Canadian manufacturing. Real wage levels for international unions relative to domestic unions are estimated to decline from approximately 4 per cent higher in the 1960s to 4 per cent lower in the 1990s. International unions are also found to be more responsive to US economic conditions. Finally, affiliation with different union federations is a significant determinant of real wage outcomes with AFL–CIO affiliated unions having lower real wages, on average.     

Union Wage Effects in Nevada's Hotel and Casino Industry

I use the significant union presence in Las Vegas's hotel, gaming, andrecreation (HGR) industry juxtaposed to the near absence of unions in Reno's HGR sector to study union wage effects. I find wages of highly unionized occupations in Las Vegas's HGR industry to be significantly higher than wages of identical occupations in Reno. Furthermore, I detect little impact from Las Vegas's HGR unions on wages in the wholesale and retail trade (WRT) industry, a much less unionized sector.