Contemporary Spanish trade unions

This article traces the development of the Spanish Trade Union Movement in the decade since the death of Franco. It reviews the immediate historical context of the contemporary Spanish unions, places them in a legal/institutional context and discusses their organisational strength and their role in the new Spanish democracy.     

The British merger movement: the importance of the ‘aggressive’ unions

Union mergers in Britain are dominated numerically by transfers of engagements from minor unions to major unions. Just five major or acquiring unions were responsible for absorbing 79% of all transfers to TUC affiliated unions between 1978 and 1994. This study establishes the extent of this domination, examines the characteristics of the five unions’ aggressive merger policies and considers the consequences of the findings for theories of union mergers.     

European trade unions and ‘atypical’ workers

The increase in ‘atypical’ or precarious forms of work, including part‐time, temporary or agency, contracted‐out, posted, dependent self‐employed and undocumented work, has created one of the major challenges facing trade unions in Europe today. Indeed, the ‘atypical’ has become more and more ‘typical’ in a number of European countries, particularly among women and younger workers. The rise in atypical forms of work calls for changes in the way trade unions develop strategies, policies and structures and presents a challenge to their traditional ways of thinking and organising. This article begins with the definition of atypical work and a general overview of the literature on the subject before moving on to the nature of the challenge it creates for trade unions in Europe and an overview of their responses, drawing on preliminary findings from a three‐year research project in unions in 10 European countries. The article concludes that while unions have made a great deal of progress in addressing the concerns of atypical workers, they will have to make substantial changes to their structures, thinking and way of operating in order to be fully able to respond to the challenge of this growing form of work.     

‘It's more than who you know’– networks and trade unions in the audio‐visual industries

Many commentators have argued that a shift towards post‐industrial modes of production and employment has progressively undermined the conditions for collective labour organisation and regulation. The capacity of trade unions to respond to these changes and represent the interests of contingent workers has become a key issue in many industries in which employment has become increasingly fragmented. This article examines patterns of interest representation pursued by freelance workers in the UK audio‐visual sector. In particular, it examines three critical cases to explore the potential of networks of freelance workers for representing their interests and to consider the implications for trade unions as traditional collective actors. We conclude that networks can provide forums through which interests can be articulated, but their limitations in representing freelance workers offer trade unions a crucial opportunity to extend collective regulation.     

Where are miners’ unions going? trade unions in Vorkuta,Russia

The emergence of alternative unions in the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, suggested that new forms of unionism were developing. However, in the coalfields, the Independent Miners’ Union was unable to realise its initial promise, while the successors of the official unions began a complicated process of union renewal. This has laid the foundation for some form of reunification between the two types of unions.     

Post‐socialist trade unions: China and Russia

This paper identifies the constraints and opportunities facing trade unions in post‐socialist societies through a comparison of the Russian and Chinese cases. The paper charts the changing role of trade unions in the integration of state‐socialist economies into global capitalism and argues that this presents the trade unions with a dilemma: whether to reconstitute their traditional role through collaboration with management and the state apparatus, or whether to develop their ability to defend the rights and interests of workers. While the former offers the line of least resistance, there are progressive elements pushing for change in both trade union movements.     

We’re on a road to somewhere: women's groups in unions

Women's groups (WGs) provide a platform from which women can develop their strengths, advance their concerns and access empowering positions. Academic attention to WGs in British unions has recently increased, reflecting their expansion and growing union responsiveness to female members. However, the meaning of WGs for unions remains under‐researched. This article examines this using case studies of two major unions and a range of their WGs based on a typology of equality ideas and model of union organisation.     

So what’s the news? Management strategies towards non–union employee representation at News International

In an environment of what would appear to be a widening ‘representation gap’ developing in many organisations, there has been considerable discussion on the effectiveness of non–union employee representation (NER) structures as communication devices and mechanisms for employee involvement, or as a substitute for unions in the collective bargaining process. The underlying debate centres on whether NER forms make trade unions unnecessary, or whether NER forms have a role different from, but complementary to, that of unions at the workplace. The findings of this study suggest that a ‘substitute’ or union avoidance strategy as used at News International Newspapers could have limitations. The implications of not recognising these limitations could result in greater indirect union influence in workplace issues and greater employee dissatisfaction at the workplace.     

Facing ‘fairness at work’: union perception of employer opposition and response to union recognition

The introduction of statutory mechanisms by which unions can gain union recognition in Britain has stimulated employer activity to avoid and subvert union recognition campaigns. This article examines the nature and extent of such employer activities and how unions have responded.     

Beyond ‘Euroland’: British trade unions,the single currency and European integration

British trade unions have differing perspectives as to the desirability of UK membership of the eurozone. This paper provides a critical review of the spectrum of union views and highlights key points of disagreement and areas of common ground. An agenda for further reflection upon the euro by the unions is also offered. Finally, the paper considers union positions on the implications of the wider process of European integration for industrial relations.     

Sisters organising in Japan and Korea: the development of women‐only unions

In this article, I explore the development of women‐only unions in Japan and Korea. Women‐only unions, which organise women workers across enterprises and employment status boundaries in both countries, have appeared only recently and are new areas of research. While the strategy to form autonomous women‐only unions in Japan and Korea is a recent phenomenon, women workers in both countries are continuing a tradition of women's activism that has challenged both management and the male domination of the union movement. By taking a broad scope and by organising the growing non‐full‐time workforce and women employed in small workplaces, the formation of women‐only unions in Japan and Korea is a positive development for both non‐unionised women workers and for the broader workers' movement in general.     

Labour unions and industrialrelations in Japan: crumblingpillar or forging a ‘third way’?

This article offers a wide ranging survey of labour unions and industrial relations in contemporary Japan, through a framework which encompasses corporate governance and national level concertation. This helps framework helps to understand pressures for change from corporate and economic restructuring. As a result of restructuring, labour unions do not face the same direct threats as counterparts elsewhere, but they do face challenges to assuming an active role in the process.     

Women's attitudes towards trade unions in the UK: a consideration of the distinction between full‐ and part‐time workers

This article considers the attitudes and experiences of female full‐ and part‐time workers towards trade unions. Expanding upon previous research it suggests that while the attitudes of full‐ and part‐time workers towards trade unions are similar, experiences of trade unions are not: they depend upon the employment context and work history. A life course perspective is advanced, which examines women's employment contexts and transitions between full‐ and part‐time work in order to further explain female part‐timers’ lower likelihood of unionising.     

Technology agreements in Great Britain: a survey 1977–83*

Since 1979, the TUC has encouraged affiliated unions to control the direction and application of new technology in the workplace by the negotiation of new technology agreements with employers. This article, using a recent survey of 240 such agreements, examines the progress that trade unions have subsequently made.     

Union responses to ‘multi‐enterprise’ factories in the Italian motor industry

During the 1990s, outsourcing work was commonly associated with the weakening of union organisation and the deterioration of pay, working conditions and job security. A variant of outsourcing, termed here as ‘insourcing’, involves a firm purchasing ‘non‐core’ functions and services from enterprises located under the same roof. This case study of Fiat outlines the impact of insourcing on traditional arrangements and practices, and analyses the response of Italian local unions. The findings indicate that in the context of ‘bargained compromise’ between trade unions and management in the Italian motor industry insourcing did not have the negative implications for union organisation and employee terms and conditions associated with traditional outsourcing.     

Obstacles to transnational trade union cooperation in Europe—results from a European survey

This article analyses obstacles to transnational union cooperation within Europe. It is based on a survey of unions in 14 European countries and all members of the European Trade Union Confederation. The result shows that ‘hard’ industrial relations factors are generally more important obstacles to transnational cooperation than ‘softer’ factors such as cultural, linguistic, ideological and religious differences and that there are sectoral differences in experiences of obstacles to transnational union cooperation: unions in the manufacturing sector tend to emphasise differences in industrial relations and a lack of organisational resources for transnational union cooperation, whereas low organisational priorities are held to be of more importance in the services sector and for unions for professional workers.     

The impact of employee‐share‐ownership schemes on performance in unionised and non‐unionised workplaces

Conventional wisdom suggests that higher performance is observed when employee‐share‐ownership (ESO) schemes coexist with employee participation arrangements. However, the evidence is inconclusive and it has been suggested that performance benefits occur in ESO workplaces only when employees are actually involved in the decision‐making process. Drawing on the cross‐section data from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey, the article shows that higher productivity is observed in those workplaces where unions coexist with ESO schemes. This result highlights the relevance of unions to High Performance Work Systems.     

When trade unions turn to litigation: ‘getting all the ducks in a row’

Driven by their members' demands and the need to adopt more combative legal strategies in order to oppose the deterioration of working and employment conditions, British trade unions have developed in‐house legal expertise and supported many individual and multiple claims. This article investigates the variation in unions' legal practices and examines their organisational responses to law and the role of compliance professionals in the regulation of employment litigation. It provides a nuanced account of the influence of legal rationality on the framing of union strategies and shows that, under certain conditions, trade unions are able to build multi‐pronged tactics by using litigation as a complement to other forms of action.     

Indexation and Wage Change Settlements: Evidence from Spanish Manufacturing Firms

An endogenous switching model of ex-ante wage changes under indexed and non-indexed settlements is estimated for the Spanish manufacturing sector using collective bargaining firm data for the 1984–1991 period. The likelihood of indexing the settlement is higher for nationwide unions than for other union groups within the works council and increases with the expected level of inflation. For wage change equations, a common structure for indexed and non-indexed settlements is strongly rejected, showing a source of nominal rigidity. For indexed contracts, the expected ex-ante total inflation coverage is nearly complete. It is also shown that workers pay a significant ex-ante change premium (differential) to obtain a cost of living allowance clause. However, the realised contingent compensation exceeds such a premium for all industries. Finally, important spillover efffects in wage setting and the decision to index the settlement have been detected.     

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.