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Industrial Relations: A Marxist Introduction
... A critical institutionalist framework understands union structures and practices as continuously shaped by the interactions between economic conditions, organizational processes, and evolving member expectations. While bargaining structures reflect institutional norms, they are also sites of contestation, where internal divisions such as generational and occupational tensions can become magnified (Hyman 1975). Union processes, like pattern bargaining, therefore not only mediate between external pressures and member demands, but may also reproduce internal conflicts. ...
... Our analysis of Unifor is informed by labor scholar Stephanie Ross's (2007) capacious concept of social unionism as a fraught relation between different dimensions of unionism rather than a homogenous ideal type. We explain how these contested relations can result in intra-union tensions using what could be described as labor theorist Richard Hyman's (1975) critical industrial relations theory. We also interpret Unifor's reliance on a traditional sequential pattern bargaining strategy in terms of Murray et al.'s (2010) work on "referential unionisms," which argues that union leaders often make decisions based on previously internalized choices and institutional habits that serve as strategic reference points. ...
... Thus, it should come as little surprise that ambitious UAW contract demands in the face of persistently high inflation and a cost-of-living crisis played an important role in explaining the weak ratification vote result at Ford in Canada, even if the UAW contract had not yet been achieved south of the border. Hyman (1975) argues that union structures are not monolithic, but are the product of ongoing negotiation between conflicting forces. On the one hand, there is a drive toward "breadth, unity and solidarity" within unions, while on the other we also see a fragmentation of interests based on parochialism or exclusion (p. ...
Despite achieving substantial contract gains, including significant wage increases, the 2023 pattern agreement reached between Unifor—Canada’s largest private sector union—and Detroit Three automakers was met with mixed reactions from union members, with particularly low support from skilled trades and more senior members. This study reveals how intra-union dynamics were shaped by shifting socioeconomic conditions, comparisons with the United Auto Workers, differences between production and skilled trades members, generational tensions, and leadership conflicts intertwined with strike dynamics. These factors influenced bargaining expectations and union strategy. The findings suggest that intra-union tensions weakened member solidarity and support for the historically strong pattern agreement, highlighting the complex interplay between external pressures and internal union dynamics in collective bargaining.
... El enfoque neomarxista se ligó a la escuela de Warwick en Inglaterra, destacando entre sus principales exponentes a Richard Hyman (Hyman, 1975(Hyman, , 2001(Hyman, , 2018, quien mediante una aproximación marxista ha desarrollado investigaciones de alta notoriedad y vigencia (Frege, Kelly, & Mcgovern, 2011;Kaufman, 2014). Hyman hace un balance crítico a la escuela de Oxford, considerándola reduccionista por circunscribir el estudio a instituciones de reglamentación del trabajo como la negociación colectiva, sin ofrecer una explicación teórica sobre la interacción de los actores sociales involucrados en términos de poder e intereses (Blanch Ribas et al., 2003). ...
... Hyman hace un balance crítico a la escuela de Oxford, considerándola reduccionista por circunscribir el estudio a instituciones de reglamentación del trabajo como la negociación colectiva, sin ofrecer una explicación teórica sobre la interacción de los actores sociales involucrados en términos de poder e intereses (Blanch Ribas et al., 2003). Es decir, la perspectiva marxista entiende el conflicto como permanente y estructural a la relación laboral por la tensión inherente a la relación capital y trabajo (Hyman, 1975). ...
... Esta perspectiva plantea propuestas metodológicas que sitúan las relaciones laborales en el contexto más amplio de la estructura social. Plantea que la comprensión de cualquier relación laboral debe considerar la estructura social, las relaciones de clase y las relaciones de dominación y subordinación que explican la desigualdad y la asimetría de poder de los actores sociales involucrados en la relación laboral (Hyman, 1975(Hyman, , 2001(Hyman, , 2018 Dunlop (1914Dunlop ( -2003, publicada por primera vez en el año 1958. ...
... The proponents () of conflict theory (e.g. Hyman, 1975;Margerison, 1969;Miliband, 1969) also postulated that in a capitalist economy, the state is always on the side of the employer in an attempt to protect the interest of the bourgeoisie. In the opinion of Miliband (1969) the state stands for a number of institutions that are constantly used to harass and repress the trade unions. ...
... According to Hyman (1975), the quest for control of work brings workers into direct confrontation with the management and considers government and its regulatory agencies as mere tools of influential individuals or groups who perpetrate their selfish interests. In the view of Margerison (1969) conflict is inherent in industrial society hence there is the need to resolve it through agreed rules between the contending parties in order to avoid the use of violence or other non-legitimate means. ...
... The Marxist perspective has its origin from socialist ideologies. It assumes and emphasizes within a capitalist society where productive systems are owned and profit is the key influence on company's policy (Hyman, 1975). Hyman (1975) states further that conflict which arises out of those differences in economic power between social groups are rooted in the structure and institution of society itself and also that, the activities of industrial relations are means of achieving a resolution. ...
The Concept of Industrial Relations Modern-day management practices in Nigerian organisations strongly require excellent industrial relations structures to advance the goals of organisations. This is based on the fact that the term industrial relations is centred on the relationship between employees and management which is hinged directly or indirectly on union-management relationship (Igbokwe, 2021). This is why industrial relations has become one of the most delicate and complex problems of modern industrial society. Achieving progress in organisations may be impracticable without obtaining the cooperation of employees and maintaining harmonious relationship between the employee on one hand and the management on the other hand. It becomes, therefore, pertinent and beneficial to all stakeholders in the organisation to create and maintain good relations between employees (labour unions) and employers (management). Understanding the most beneficial means of creating and maintaining harmonious industrial relations cannot be achieved without a clear definition of the concept and scope of industrial relations. As posited by Adebisi (2013), the definitional conceptualization and scope of industrial relations is a subject of much controversy due to the ideological or intellectual persuasions of those trying to define or conceptualize it. Therefore, various schools of thought attempt to define the scope of industrial relations based on these factors.
... The radical school of thought gives a contrasting definition of the concept. Trade union is defined as the conveyor belt of the workers desires to put an end to wage slavery and radically transform the society (Hyman, 1975). This definition conceives as representing the means of actualizing the impeding working class revolution which in the Marxian thought is inevitable in every capitalist society. ...
... The Marxist theory has its origin from socialist ideologies. It assumes and emphasizes within a capitalist society where productive systems are owned and profit is the key influence on company's policy (Hyman, 1975). Marxism is a method of socioeconomic analysis, which analyzes class relations and societal conflict. ...
... This thesis simply posits that society is divided into two major contending classes, namely: the bourgeoisie (that is, the haves) and the proletariat (that is, the have not's). the wealthy class which owns the means of production and as such constitute the capitalists class which exploits the proletariat class (Hyman, 1975). Programmes. ...
Trade unions are basically an integral part of the society and cannot be realistically considered outside it. They have become an important part of the fabric of the Nigerian society, recognized, respected and consulted by government and employers. Trade unions provide social, economic, political and psychological benefits for their members as well as the platform for participation in managerial functions in the industry. It is worrisome that in recent times, trade unions in Nigeria are witnessing serious challenges that militate against their performance as agents of the protection of workers' interest. The paper observes that lack of committed leadership, lack of internal democracy, government intervention, tribalism and nepotism, internal factionalism, apathetic attitude, poor economic climate and non-affiliation with foreign union were the major challenges of trade unions in Nigeria. It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the challenges and prospects of trade unionism in Nigeria' fourth republic. The Marxist theory of class struggle was adopted as framework of analysis. A descriptive qualitative research method was adopted. the paper recommends among others that trade unions should imbibe the tenets of democracy in their internal administration.
... In Marxist 18 and neo-Marxist schools of thought (e.g. Hyman 1975, Hyman and Ferner 1994, Kelly 2000 the source of conflict is the separation of workers from the ownership of the means of production. Thus, the conflict of interests is allencompassing, with differences between interests running deeper than those conflicts that could be institutionalised. ...
... Several objections were stressed in this regard (e.g. Hyman 1975, Kaufman 2004, Müller-Jentsch 2004, with three being particularly important for understanding IR in the FSU context. First, the system approach of Dunlop promoted 'norms and rules' to a position of central analytical importance. ...
... Second, Dunlop's approach addresses employers, trade unions and the state as pre-formed unitary parties, taking no notice of the constitution of actors or their plurality. Finally, overemphasising the formal institutions, the system approach ignores 'the informal relationships' within institutions, in other words the 'the real men and women' and their activities (Hyman 1975) that can never be frozen in formal rules effectively. According to Hyman, (ibid: 12) IR therefore constitutes, "the processes of control over work relations," driven by workers and employers. ...
... The general theoretical underdevelopment of the field is not surprising when we situate it within the broader study of labour and industrial relations. As Richard Hyman (1975) notes, 'industrial relations as a discipline avoids theory ' (pp. 2-3). ...
... Bringing these practices into focus and unpacking the social, material, and ideological landscapes in which they are produced can be quite useful in giving us a clearer understanding of what we are dealing with in terms of barriers to solidarity and resistance. As Richard Hyman (1975) notes, we need to consider these underlying tensions vis-à-vis class consciousness. This is vital for thinking more critically about strategies and how we organize. ...
... This is vital for thinking more critically about strategies and how we organize. Otherwise, we are left with a whole range of proposals and organizational solutions vis-à-vis labour transnationalism that not only fail to overcome underlying tensions and contradictions, but can even serve to reproduce them (Hyman, 1975). ...
The study of labour transnationalism remains theoretically underdeveloped. Taking this as a starting point, I focus specifically on the need to develop a critical theoretical framework for understanding different forms of transnational labour practices. This type of framework is necessary if we want, as Peter Waterman suggests, to recentre the emancipatory dimensions of transnational labour solidarities. This, I argue, means grappling with the complexities and contradictions shaping how solidarities are built and unmade. I suggest that we can elaborate on the critical paradigm proposed by Rebecca Johns that contrasts different forms of transnational solidarities and labour imperialism. Focusing on the problem of labour imperialism, I show how a dialectical materialist analysis, with attention to the social dimensions of class, can provide insights into how different forms of transnational solidarities develop.
... As teses de Dunlop (1978), expressão maior daquela tradição, mesmo sendo criadas nesta fase mais regulada do capitalismo, incorporam pressupostos e abordagens da teoria econômica neoclássica, como aquelas que sustentam a complementaridade harmoniosa entre capital e trabalho e de cálculo racional como base para a defesa dos interesses de cada segmento envolvido no processo de negociação. E, apesar de ainda ser utilizada como referência em estudos no Brasil (Horn et al., 2009), desdobramentos dos estudos de Dunlop apontam algumas fragilidades, como a levantada por Hyman (1975), da não inserção do conflito de classes na análise das "relações industriais". Hyman faz parte de um grupo de críticos à abordagem dunlopiana e é utilizado aqui por sintetizar uma crítica fundamental que interessa a este trabalho: o limite do conceito de conflito presente nas análises que se aproximam do equilíbrio sistêmico tomado a priori, como nas bases da neoclássica, grande influenciadora de pesquisadores mundo afora. ...
... Ao mesmo tempo em que extrapola o ambiente da empresa para pensar as relações de trabalho -e não a considera como um ambiente fechado em si mesmo, capaz de fornecer, como fonte única, elementos necessários para explicar as relações de trabalho -e que identifica interesses antagônicos entre trabalhadores e empresários, não escapa de todo da abordagem economicista e que pressupõe, em grande medida, o automatismo equilibrante resultante das ações individuais. Essa é uma das críticas feitas por vários estudiosos de Dunlop e que pode ser bem compreendida em Hyman (1975) 8 . ...
... Transformações no ambiente, no relacionamento entre os atores ou nos entendimentos compartilhados por eles podem afetar as normas desse sistema ou até mesmo o próprio sistema. De acordo com a crítica à lógica deste sistema teórico, é nessas interações, nesse ambiente e na construção da ideologia e dos contextos que o conflito de classes interfere, de forma decisiva (Hyman, 1975). ...
2017 Labor reform and labor relations in Brazil: for whom do the bells toll? 2017 labor reforms are the most far-reaching change Brazilian Labor Laws (CLT) has undergone since its launch. This article compares the new laws and the position on the subject by the CNI and DIEESE, entities which represent two of the most affected social groups: industrial bosses and workers. Based on the framework of neoclassical economics and Dunlop's studies on Industrial Relations Systems, it is demonstrated that the reform directly serves the employers' interests, to the detriment of points of view put forward by the workers' entity, reflecting a very unfavourable correlation of forces to the latter, and casting doubt on the explanatory power of Dunlop's "balanced" systems. The method consists of presenting changes in the legislation, contrasting them with the entities' positions. There is 100% convergence between the new laws and CNI's view on the matter, with broad rejection by DIEESE, which indicates the logic behind the reforms: the (neoclassical) recommendation for flexibility in the labor market, an argument that is dear to the bosses, but problematized by several academic studies in work relations field.
... Even across Europe -where industrial relations (IR) scholarship was born and has developed its frameworks centred on the role of trade unions (Hyman, 1975) -in many cases of gig and precarious workers' mobilizations, longstanding unions have, at least initially, remained on the side-lines (Tassinari and Maccarrone, 2020), with fewer than 20% of platform labour protests organized by established unions (Bessa et al., 2022). Many mobilization processes manifest the intervention of new IR actors outside the traditional labour movement framework (Woodcock, 2021), including grassroots membersled unions, such as for example 'indie' unions in the UK (Però, 2019), which have recently managed to organize precarious migrant workers in low-service sectors, such as cleaning, security and platform food delivery. ...
... We believe that the adoption of the European social movement research tradition is also well-suited for our theoretical effort, as it might speak to the classical British IR tradition of workplace ethnography (Pollert, 1981) and critical trade union studies (Hyman, 1975) developed in the 1970s and early 1980s, as well as Darlington's (2006) and Cohen's (2011) studies on leadership and left-wing activism. Albeit showing significant variety in terms of analysis and case studies, this tradition was overall able to connect the dynamics of workers' collective action to the social context and, although focusing on the workplace, to generate insights into broader class dynamics. ...
The emergence of labour conflicts across different sectors of the gig and precarious economy is challenging established industrial relations (IR) frameworks and some of its political implications. Despite its analytical merits, Kelly’s union-centred mobilization theory appears insufficient to explain these mobilizations, characterized by informal networks and self-organization. Evidence from the sectors of logistics and cloudwork, where processes of digitalization have been rampant in recent years, shows that there is a need to build a more processual account of worker mobilizations in which non-institutional factors play a major role. Drawing on the European social movement tradition, in this article the authors consider two factors, supportive communities and political activism traditions, as key to understanding critical cases of mobilization in the gig economy and renewing IR theories of collective action through a class-based approach.
... The literature on social movements has investigated the various links between collective action and collective identities, exploring the necessary conditions under which pre-existing identities become relevant for the rise of new mobilization processes, or reciprocally how new collective identities are processed through action ( Polletta and Jasper, 2001 ). These aspects have also been studied in a diff erent manner by industrial relations research, which has shown how strikes can be conducive to specifi c forms of class consciousness and worker solidarity ( Hyman, 1975 ). ...
... If both social movement studies (Polletta and Jasper, 2001) and labour studies ( Hyman, 1975 ;Kelly, 2018 ) have stressed the importance of identity processes as a precondition for framing collective interests, it has been analyzed here how in this fi rst cycle of struggles in digital platforms, various forms of collective action have attempted to overcome the condition of labour individualization and fragmentation, by building new forms of solidarity among workers, producing diff erent outcomes in terms of collective identity. However, by analyzing the diff erent episodes of contention and collective action among digital workers, variations have been found depending on the diff erent articulations between digital and physical spaces of sociality, which characterize the conditions of crowdworkers and on-demand workers via apps. ...
This chapter offers an overview of the vast array of organizational forms and action repertoires that Amazon drivers and food-delivery couriers have adopted over the course of the last decade in order to improve their working conditions. We do so by drawing on our research fieldwork, and on the growing empirical research in the fields of industrial relations and social movement studies, which have recently dealt with the collective organization of various segments of this new precarious workforce. The mobilization of digital workers is particularly puzzling, as they are employed under working conditions that share several features usually considered in scholarly literature as not conducive to the emergence of collective action. Among these, we explicitly consider 1) the high levels of technological and organizational innovation, and 2) the absence or ineffectiveness of traditional trade unionism. Focusing on the organizational process, the overall aim of the chapter is to understand why and how these protests have occurred ‘against the odds’, looking at the mobilization of alternative sources of power rather than the ones usually considered in industrial relations.
... The literature on social movements has investigated the various links between collective action and collective identities, exploring the necessary conditions under which pre-existing identities become relevant for the rise of new mobilization processes, or reciprocally how new collective identities are processed through action ( Polletta and Jasper, 2001 ). These aspects have also been studied in a diff erent manner by industrial relations research, which has shown how strikes can be conducive to specifi c forms of class consciousness and worker solidarity ( Hyman, 1975 ). ...
... If both social movement studies (Polletta and Jasper, 2001) and labour studies ( Hyman, 1975 ;Kelly, 2018 ) have stressed the importance of identity processes as a precondition for framing collective interests, it has been analyzed here how in this fi rst cycle of struggles in digital platforms, various forms of collective action have attempted to overcome the condition of labour individualization and fragmentation, by building new forms of solidarity among workers, producing diff erent outcomes in terms of collective identity. However, by analyzing the diff erent episodes of contention and collective action among digital workers, variations have been found depending on the diff erent articulations between digital and physical spaces of sociality, which characterize the conditions of crowdworkers and on-demand workers via apps. ...
The chapter explores the processes of identity formation concerning Amazon drivers and food-delivery couriers. Such processes are located within a ‘solidarity in action’ framework, which emphasizes the dynamic and processual components of workers’ political identity. In doing so, we draw on Alessandro Pizzorno’s concept of recognition struggle, looking at the development of group identification among workers as the precondition for such a process of collective identity to emerge. In the chapter, we show how this process of identification is also crucial in the identity-making of the categories of digital work under investigation. Developing Pizzorno’s framework, we look at how the processes of identity formation have not only been confined to their work setting, but rather build upon and affect specific political and social conditions beyond the workplace. By moving the analytical focus beyond the employment relationship and firm boundaries, we broaden the analysis of what defines the primary identities of digital workers and how they voice in workplace and societal affairs.
... The literature on social movements has investigated the various links between collective action and collective identities, exploring the necessary conditions under which pre-existing identities become relevant for the rise of new mobilization processes, or reciprocally how new collective identities are processed through action ( Polletta and Jasper, 2001 ). These aspects have also been studied in a diff erent manner by industrial relations research, which has shown how strikes can be conducive to specifi c forms of class consciousness and worker solidarity ( Hyman, 1975 ). ...
... If both social movement studies (Polletta and Jasper, 2001) and labour studies ( Hyman, 1975 ;Kelly, 2018 ) have stressed the importance of identity processes as a precondition for framing collective interests, it has been analyzed here how in this fi rst cycle of struggles in digital platforms, various forms of collective action have attempted to overcome the condition of labour individualization and fragmentation, by building new forms of solidarity among workers, producing diff erent outcomes in terms of collective identity. However, by analyzing the diff erent episodes of contention and collective action among digital workers, variations have been found depending on the diff erent articulations between digital and physical spaces of sociality, which characterize the conditions of crowdworkers and on-demand workers via apps. ...
... The literature on social movements has investigated the various links between collective action and collective identities, exploring the necessary conditions under which pre-existing identities become relevant for the rise of new mobilization processes, or reciprocally how new collective identities are processed through action ( Polletta and Jasper, 2001 ). These aspects have also been studied in a diff erent manner by industrial relations research, which has shown how strikes can be conducive to specifi c forms of class consciousness and worker solidarity ( Hyman, 1975 ). ...
... If both social movement studies (Polletta and Jasper, 2001) and labour studies ( Hyman, 1975 ;Kelly, 2018 ) have stressed the importance of identity processes as a precondition for framing collective interests, it has been analyzed here how in this fi rst cycle of struggles in digital platforms, various forms of collective action have attempted to overcome the condition of labour individualization and fragmentation, by building new forms of solidarity among workers, producing diff erent outcomes in terms of collective identity. However, by analyzing the diff erent episodes of contention and collective action among digital workers, variations have been found depending on the diff erent articulations between digital and physical spaces of sociality, which characterize the conditions of crowdworkers and on-demand workers via apps. ...
Digitalization of labour and global value chains
It is necessary to investigate digitalization as a global phenomenon that responds to the new logics of capital accumulation and expansion in terms of both space and time. While Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have enabled the rise of a network-based company structure, they have also triggered new forms of division of labour and a new organization of production. Technology and labour are distributed in global value chains that are based on different phases and different contents of production and take place in specific places. At the same time, far from being a linear process, technological innovation and global production chains are constantly being reshaped by economic and political processes, which take place at different specific nodes.
Structural changes triggered by the new phase of digitalization compels us to take a critical look at the relationship between work and technological innovation. The new forms of work, new production processes, and new services introduced by digitalization and platformization need to be understood as specific social phenomena that form part of a more general process of global economic competition involving both traditional industries and new companies. Temporal acceleration and constant connectivity are two of the main principles of the new world of work shaped by digitalization, which through outsourcing and offshoring is extending its networks of production into new areas of the globe. Although most of the implications of this process are global, a focus on specific sectors is essential in order to avoid the shortcuts of deterministic and unilinear hypotheses. Indeed, contradictory dynamics are at work at different levels of this process. This is especially the case in a highly fragmented, specialized, and constantly changing international division of labour in which State, transnational institutions, traditions of industrial relations, and worker power operate.
In the current networked configuration of international production and trade, the expansion of digital technologies in terms of both space and time needs to be investigated through the analysis of its ‘global value chains’ (Gereffi et al, 2005). This involves looking at the complex phases of production that are distributed across several areas of the world. One of the main emerging labour divisions implies the formation of a centre (or ‘head’) of the chain, which governs and directs knowledge work, designs productive and managerial innovation, and the articulation of ‘arms’ that organize, execute, and perform manual work and material production.
... Hyman's critique to the school of industrial relations (Hyman, 1975) can be cited as an antecedent of the LPT. There Hyman places the control processes on labour relations as the main concern of a Marxist theory of industrial processes. ...
... 1 Despite Kelly's intellectual background and work in the Marxist tradition of industrial relations pervading his mobilization theory-constituting in itself a good theoretical antidote to any type of explanation purely based on subjective experiences-the centrality he assigns to injustice within the theory ("the sine qua non of collective action", Kelly, 1998, p. 27 and what "should form the core intellectual agenda for industrial relations", Kelly, 1998, p. 126) and particularly in framing workers' interests ("perceived injustice is the origin of workers' collective definition of interests", Kelly, 1998, p. 64) is contradictory. On the one hand, it is made clear that workplace conflict is a feature of the antagonistic relations existing between workers and employers in the capitalist system and that because of this, two sets of diverging, often conflicting, interests emerge (Hyman, 1975). On the other, it is giving theoretical relevance to a concept like that of injustice that is flawed both for its appeal to moral and ethical values and for its own indeterminacy. ...
The aim of this chapter is to underline why the concepts of informal labour and reproductive labour were important vehicles for a critique and further development of an understanding of the political significance of work, and why nonetheless their restricted focus and their Western Fordist context of emergence serves to reproduce the dichotomies that they initially sought to overcome. I argue that new concepts are needed in order to address the issues raised by the introduction of those concepts, and I sketch out what could be the consequences for a Marxist or liberatory politics of labour.
... Open and expansive unionism involves recruiting union members from several occupations. It is based on the belief that increased membership strengthens the union (Hyman, 1975). Although trade unions in Zambia in particular and Southern Africa in general have adopted reform strategies, they are still weak. ...
... At policy-making level, the CSAWUZ responded by changing its structure from a closed and restrictive union to an open and expansive one. This meant that the categories of workers from which it drew its membership had increased (Hyman, 1975). This response was illustrated by the change of its name from Civil Servants Union of Zambia (CSUZ) to Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (CSAWUZ) in 2002. ...
This article analyses the incorporation of social dialogue in industrial relations and its role in pacifying public sector unions in Zambia. A sample of 19 managers of public institutions and union leaders in Lusaka participated in the research. The research reveals that social dialogue is used to pacify trade unions as governments implement structural adjustment policies, which bring about poor employment conditions. Although the unions have responded to pacification by diversifying and servicing their membership, they are still weak. This finding is significant because it helps us to understand why unions in Southern Africa are weak in the post-independence era.
... 6. Wood (1976) had also criticised Hyman's (1975) radical approach to the field in an earlier piece. ...
... 1. Dunlop's systems theory was criticized by Hyman (1975) as being one-sided and inadequate. He argues that the restrictive nature of the theory, especially the definitions of industrial relations, portrays it as only concerned with how conflict is contained and controlled instead of the process through disagreement and disputes are generated. ...
This chapter focused on relevant theoretical perspectives on the 21st Century Inter-Group Relations. It critically interrogated the structural- functionalist perspective, systems theory, conflict perspective and symbolic interactionism in relation to inter-group relations. This is because social theories have proven to be germane in the explanation of social phenomenon such as inter-group relations in the 21st Century. This chapter concluded that understanding these theories of inter-group relations and their applications in groups' transactions can go a long way to ameliorate some of the social vices peculiar to the 21st century such as banditry, Boko-Haram insurgency, Fulani Herdsmen attacks, political thuggery, cultism and other issues
... Martin's (1970, p. 432) criticism continued and centred on what was termed a "feeble discussion of "the balance of power"' (432) [12]. Fifth, industrial relations began to shift away from a basis in pluralism towards a more radical analysis of industrial relations (Fox, 1973(Fox, , 1974a(Fox, , b, 1979Goldthorpe, 1974;Hyman, 1975Hyman, , 1978Edwards, 1986), which eventually became a dominant frame [13]. ...
Purpose
This article examines the intellectual antecedents of Alan Fox’s frames of reference and contributes to academic work that seeks to unravel the pre-Donovan roots of British industrial relations. It examines the origins of the unitary and pluralist frames of reference with a particular focus on the work of Norman Ross.
Design/methodology/approach
This article draws on published academic materials to examine the origins of the unitary and pluralist frames of reference.
Findings
The article identifies usage of the term “frame of reference” in industrial relations literature from the 1940s and demonstrates the origins of the unitary and pluralist conceptions of the firm in the works of Ross in the 1950s and 1960s.
Originality/value
The article provides a “fresh look” at the origins of the frames of reference.
... Classical approaches to IR emphasised the central role of trade unions in the Western countries in which their analyses were situated, but they also acknowledged the potential historical and regional variability of forms of labour organisation (Dunlop, 1993;Hyman, 1975;Ross, 1966). Along with a growing institutionalisation of the field, IR developed increasingly narrow conceptions of worker agency. ...
Work is at the centre of the social metabolism with nature. This means that industrial relations (IR) are always also environmental politics. This article reviews core contributions to IR literature, showing that they do not systematically address this role of nature and separate the politics of work from their ecological basis. Drawing on historical case studies of the processing of three core products of capitalist modernity (fossil fuels, meat and concrete), the article presents the heuristic of metabolic politics in which nonhuman nature is conceptualised as an autonomous force in IR rather than a mere context of it. This approach allows analysis to systematically take into account the effects of IR on nonhuman nature as well as nature’s own shaping of IR. Such an interdisciplinary approach is necessary to understand the entanglement of IR with climate change and the broader ecological crisis
... Fox's apparent disinterest in LPT is occasionally mirrored in British IR. For example, Hyman's (1975) Industrial Relations refers readers to Fox's Man Mismanagement on the topic of control rather than Braverman [6]. The absence of reference to Braverman in Hyman's book is noteworthy because, according to Frege et al. (2011), Hyman had read chapters of Braverman's book before it was published while part of a Marxist discussion group at the University of Warwick. ...
Purpose
The 50th anniversary of Fox's Beyond Contract and Man Mismanagement coincides with another vital contribution to the sociology of work from 1974: Braverman's Labor and Monopoly Capital. This article analyses these two scholars' complementary approaches to job design and the extent to which Fox's ideas influenced subsequent labour process thought.
Design/methodology/approach
The article's methodological approach is a historiographical reading of Fox and Braverman's thought in the context of their times and later scholarship.
Findings
The article demonstrates that despite some noteworthy overlap with Braverman concerning scientific management, Fox's insights were marginal to later iterations of labour process analysis. It delves into the reasons for this relative neglect, providing an understanding of the dynamics at play.
Originality/value
This paper's value lies in its combined industrial relations and labour process historiography. It offers a fresh perspective on Alan Fox's relationship to the latter field of study.
... The objectives and policies of a union stem from union leaders, influencing member perceptions and attitudes [2,4,5,7,17,18]. Trade unions' actions affect not only economic and job regulations but also members' self-fulfillment through their power and authority [19]. Union leaders are the primary providers and key sources of cues and information for these judgments and perceptions [20,21]. ...
Existing research has tended to overlook the diverse roles of union leadership in contributing to member attitudes. Drawing on the social information processing theory, this study examines how union leaders’ (shop stewards) service-oriented leadership relates to member job satisfaction. To clarify the mechanism underlying this relationship, this study focuses on union instrumentality as a mediator. The research also examines managers’ ethical leadership as a conditional factor in the relationship between union leaders’ service-oriented leadership and member job satisfaction through union instrumentality. To test our hypothesis, this study analyzed the results of a survey of 603 respondents from two branches of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union. The findings of this study indicate that union instrumentality is the link between service-oriented union leadership and member job satisfaction. Additionally, the strength of the mediated relationship between the aforementioned factors through union instrumentality is contingent on managerial ethical leadership. This study contributes to an integrated understanding of the way in which service-oriented union stewards and ethical managers influence member job satisfaction through their leadership.
... Σύμφωνα με τον Hyman (1975: 36˙ βλ. και Salamon 2000: 157˙ Leat 2007, ως δομή του συνδικαλιστικού κινήματος νοείται το σύνολο των κριτηρίων ένταξης ή αποκλεισμού των μισθωτών στις συλλογικές οργανώσεις. ...
Με την παρούσα εργασία επιχειρούμε να συνεισφέρουμε στη συζήτηση για την αναζωογόνηση των συνδικάτων, η οποία αποκτά ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον με δεδομένη την υπερ-δεκαετή πολιτική έμμεσης και άμεσης θεσμικής απαξίωσής τους. Εξετάζουμε βασικά χαρακτηριστικά του εργατικού συνδικαλιστικού κινήματος στην Ελλάδα. Μέσω της επισκόπησης της ελληνικής και της διεθνούς βιβλιογραφίας, διερευνούμε όψεις της δομής του, παράγοντες υστέρησης της ποσοτικής ανάπτυξής του, καθώς και ποιοτικά χαρακτηριστικά του τη μεταπολιτευτική περίοδο, όπως είναι ο «κυβερνητικός συνδικαλισμός». Σημαντικό τμήμα της παρούσας εργασίας αφιερώνουμε στη μέτρηση της δύναμης των συνδικάτων μέσω της συνδικαλιστικής πυκνότητας. Επισημαίνοντας την τάση υπερεκτίμησής της, εξετάζουμε ζητήματα μεθοδολογίας για τη μέτρησή της, τους προσδιοριστικούς παράγοντες του ύψους της και εκτιμούμε το ύψος της για το εργατικό συνδικαλιστικό κίνημα στην Ελλάδα μέσω δευτερογενών δεδομένων. Η επισκόπηση πρόσφατων εμπειρικών ερευνών που πραγματοποιούμε, αναδεικνύει –μεταξύ άλλων– τη χαμηλή συμμετοχή των γυναικών, των νέων, των επισφαλώς εργαζόμενων, των εργαζόμενων στις μικρού μεγέθους επιχειρήσεις του ιδιωτικού τομέα, καθώς και την κρίση εμπιστοσύνης των μισθωτών προς το συνδικαλιστικό κίνημα και εντονότερα προς τις ηγεσίες του.
[This paper attempts to contribute to the discussion revolving around trade unions revitalization. This discussion is of particular interest given that Greek trade unions have been indirectly and directly discredited over than ten years by the implemented policies. Against this backdrop, some of the key features of the Greek trade union movement are examined. Through a review of the Greek and international literature, we investigate aspects of Greek trade union movement structure, factors that have been responsible for its quantitative development, as well as factors that have been responsible for the formulation of its qualitative characteristics in the period followed the collapse of the dictatorship, such as the “governmental unionism”. An important part of the paper is dedicated to the measuring of the trade unions power through the index of the union density. While highlighting the tendency to overestimate the union density, methodological issues for its measurement and the determinants of union membership are examined. By using secondary data, we aim to estimate the union density of the Greek trade union movement. The review of recent empirical studies points out – among other things – the low union density of women, young people, precarious employees, and those employed in the private sector’s small-scale enterprises, as well as the crisis of confidence towards the trade union movement and its leaderships by employees.]
... Et c'est cette autonomie même, ce qui fait que le mandataire n'est pas le groupe, qui permet au responsable syndical d'être reconnu et légitimé par l'employeur. C'est ce qu'en disait en d'autres termes R. Hyman (1975) en proposant que le responsable syndical, pour établir un rapport de forces face à l'employeur, doit être en mesure d'exercer un pouvoir sur ses membres. Avec toutes les possibles dérives oligarchiques repérées par Michels (1949). ...
... Several other conceptions of unions have been developed, with others seeing them as 'an agency and medium of power' (Hyman, 1975) or more broadly in terms of functions or purposes (e.g., Martin, 1989) or institutions of violence (Hoxie, 1923), to name a few. There are also conceptions of unions based upon typologies (e.g., Bramble, 1995). ...
Employee relations (ER) have been evolving in Ghana. ER in Ghana was initially characterised by colonial history and entrenched in the formal economy. Nevertheless, an informal sector has been dominant in Ghana’s economic structure, which supports increasing levels of self-employment (peasant proprietorship) and family workers. Over the last three decades, the liberalisation of the economy and the dependence on multinational enterprises (MNEs) to develop key sectors of the Ghanaian economy brought with it employment relations systems shaped by MNEs’ human resource (HR) policies that both engaged with and opposed trade unions. The chapter highlights how the different contextual characteristics interact and contribute to a fragmented ER environment in Ghana. The historical background and the interface of the formal economy alongside the informal economy, small business sector, labour commodification and MNEs have immediate consequences for the current fragmentation of ER. The implications and strategies for trade union revitalisation in Ghana are discussed.KeywordsEmployment relationsTrade unionsInformal sectorHRMGhana
... Taking an IR approach to voice can help to address the weaknesses of other disciplines through emphasising the problematic nature of the employment relationship, the influence of political economy, and capturing broader contextual factors related to institutions such as unions and collective bargaining (Kaufman, 2012). The field of IR has also been enhanced by embracing a Marxist analysis of strikes (Hyman, 1975), the macroeconomic forces that influence them (Kelly, 1998), as well as radical studies of other forms of conflict (Edwards, 1986), legal enactment and the influence of labour law, and the influence of HRM. In the latter case, IR scholars have adopted a critical perspective. ...
Conceptualisation of voice in the majority world (developing and emerging economies) should avoid simply using the lens of the minority world (advanced economies). Yet, both can benefit from taking a multidisciplinary approach. Marchington was one of the early pioneers of multidisciplinary work on voice in advanced economies. While being fundamentally an industrial relations (IR) scholar who was alert to the influence of power and context, he took a pluralist approach in applying IR ideas to HRM, exploring empirically why and how workers use voice. This paper is inspired by Marchington’s multidisciplinary approach but considers voice within different institutional contexts. Our key research question is, ‘How can majority world conceptions of employee voice enrich our understanding of what voice is for, its outcomes and whom it serves?’ Through interrogating how different intellectual traditions have underpinned work in the majority world (exemplified by South Africa and China) we highlight the need for further theoretical development of the concept of lateral voice and argue that voice should be more closely linked to forms of resistance. Our concluding section uses this analysis to start the reimagining of voice in minority and majority world contexts.
... A temática do conflito e negociação nas relações de trabalho pode ser abordada de diversas perspectivas teóricas: a corrente institucionalista que aceita o conflito entre capital e trabalho, desde que dentro das regras e normas estabelecidas pelo sistema de regulação criado pelo Estado ou instituições específicas e que aponta para a criação de convergências e para uma ideologia comum entre capital e trabalho (Kerr; Dunlop, apud Carvalho Neto, 2001); a corrente da escola de recursos humanos ou administração de pessoal (HR -Human AS RELAÇÕES DE TRABALHO EM UMA EMPRESA GLOBAL ... resources ou PM -personnel management), que considera indesejável, mas não aceita o conflito trabalhista; a perspectiva crítica enraizada no pensamento marxista, que abrange a contradição e a instabilidade política conflitiva nas relações de trabalho como parte das relações sociais de produção capitalista, que, ao incluir as relações pessoais e não-estruturadas no local de trabalho, podem implicar as instituições do trabalho e as organizações dos trabalhadores (Hyman, 1981); a corrente da escolha estratégica, baseada na posição dos atores sociais em relação às forças ambientais, sejam os líderes sindicais, os assalariados, empregadores e gestores, públicos que representam o elemento dinâmico das relações de trabalho (Kochan, Katz e McKersie, apud Carvalho Neto, 2001); há ainda a escola francesa, que não acredita na ideologia compartilhada e comum de Dunlop e Kerr, e argumenta que, de acordo com a situação política e econômica favorável ou desfavorável ao trabalho, o conflito e a negociação podem adquirir características diversas (Costa apud Carvalho Neto, 2001). ...
Este artigo trata das relações de trabalho em uma empresa global e foi resultado de pesquisa em uma montadora de caminhões instalada na região do ABC no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. A empresa estudada apresenta um padrão dos mais avançados na dimensão organizacional das relações de trabalho ou no local de trabalho considerado o contexto brasileiro. A solução de conflitos do trabalho nesta empresa aponta fortemente para um padrão negocial em relação ao estatutário (Zylberstajn e Pastore, 1985), o que levou alguns autores a indicar um modo de cooperação-conflitiva para lidar com as relações de trabalho (Rodrigues, 1997) e uma via institucionalizada de inserção dos trabalhadores nos processos de inovação tecnológica e gerencial (Bresciani, 2002). O esquema montado dentro da empresa foi resultado da estratégia do sindicato no local de trabalho e da gestão da empresa em particular da gestão de recursos humanos. A análise da experiência permitiu verificar além de um paradigma avançado de relações de trabalho, a afirmação de uma tendência ao corporativismo societário ou neocorporativismo em relação ao corporativismo estatal típico do sistema trabalhista brasileiro. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: relações de trabalho, sindicalismo e comissão de fábrica, políticas de recursos humanos, corporativismo e indústria automobilística.THE LABOR RELATIONSHIPS IN A GLOBAL COMPANY: a new paradigm or neocorporativism? Arnaldo José França Mazzei Nogueira This paper discusses labor relationships in a global company and it was the result of research in an trucks assembly plant in the ABC area in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The company studied presents a most advanced pattern in the organizational dimension in labor relationships or in the workplace, Brazilian context considered. The solution of labor conflicts in this company points strongly to a negociation pattern in relation to the statutory (Zylberstajn and Pastore 1985), what took some authors to indicate a way of cooperationconflictive to work with labor relationships (Rodrigues 1997) and an institutionalized way of workers insertion in the processes of technological and managerial innovation (Bresciani 2002). The scheme mounted in the company was a result of the union strategy in the workplace and of the company administration, in particular of human resources. The analysis of the experience allowed to verify, besides an advanced paradigm of labor relationships, the statement of a tendency to the societary corporativism or neo-corporativism in relation to the corporativism typical of state companies in the Brazilian labor system. KEYWORDS: labor relationships; syndicalism and factory commission; human resources policies; corporativism and automotive industry.LES RELATIONS DE TRAVAIL DANS UNE ENTREPRISE GLOBALE: un nouveau paradigme ou du neocorporatirme? Arnaldo José França Mazzei Nogueira Cet article, résultat d’une recherche effectuée dans une usine d’assemblage de camions installée dans la région de l’ABC de Sao Paulo, au Brésil, traite des relations de travail dans une entreprise globale. Dans le contexte brésilien, cette entreprise présente l’un des niveaux les plus élevés d’organisation autant au niveau des relations de travail que du lieu de travail. La manière de résoudre les conflits de travail dans cette entreprise montre très clairement un niveau de négociation en fonction des statuts (Zylberstajn et Pastore, 1985), ce qui permet aux auteurs d’indiquer une voie de coopération conflictuelle pour administrer les relations de travail (Rodrigues, 1997) et une voie institutionnalisée d’insertion des travailleurs dans des processus d’innovation technologique et de nouvelles gérance (Bresciani, 2002). Le schéma établi au sein de l’entreprise est le résultat des stratégies du syndicat local du travail et de la gestion des entreprises et tout particulièrement de la gestion des ressources humaines. L’analyse de l’expérience a permis de vérifier non seulement un paradigme avancé dans les relations de travail, mais aussi une tendance au corporatisme sociétaire ou néocorporatisme par rapport au corporatisme d’état, typique du système travailliste brésilien. MOTS-CLÉS: relations de travail, syndicalisme et commission de fabrique, politiques des ressources humaines, corporatisme et industrie automobile. Publicação Online do Caderno CRH: http://www.cadernocrh.ufba.br
... In the critical work place or organizational relationship, the labour market is not seen as a neutral forum for matching self-interested workers with self-interested firms, rather it is seen as a socially-based instrument of power and control (Hyman, 1975). The workplace relationship is therefore not a voluntary exchange but rather a contested exchange (Bowles and Gintis, 1990). ...
Internal conflicts are part and parcel of any organization including university with more complex structures that specifically handled different functions in achieving its set goals and objectives. This paper use theoretical method by analyzing the common internal conflicts and factors responsible for the internal conflicts. It begin by outlining the theoretical perspectives to internal conflicts including pluralist, critical, Lewis Coser social functions of conflicts and Ralf Dahrendorf class and class conflicts in industrial society. Each perspective provided an insight into what causes internal conflicts and the common internal conflicts experienced in organisations such as universities. The common internal conflicts experienced in Nigerian Universities are conflicts between academic staff and the university authorities, conflicts between academic staff and non-academic staff, conflicts between non-academic staff and university authorities, conflicts between workers' unions and interpersonal conflicts among staff. Similarly, the common causes of internal conflicts includes non-payment of salaries as and when due, sudden change in university policies, imposition of decisions on employees without their consultations, inadequate social amenities such as electricity and water, denial of rights and privileges, communication gap between the authorities and workers, high-handedness on the part of the managements, refusal of managements to honour agreements reached with workers unions, strong allegations of corruption against managements and the discriminatory application of university rules and regulations. Therefore, the paper recommends that internal conflict management strategies such as dialogue, consultation, and established internal conflict management committee among others are critical in handling internal conflicts in Nigerian universities.
... Hyman's (1975) critique of systems analysis has however brought to fore "the dynamic nature of social relations of production, and the need for an analysis to take on the historical dimensions as point of reference. According to Hyman, employment relations systems, far from being a stable and an integrated whole, are full of contradictions amongst the actors [33]. To Hyman, to discuss industrial relations as a study of a "System" or as the study of the "Institutions of job regulations" (Flanders 1965) was to narrowly focus on "conflict containment" and regulation, "rather than on the process through which disagreements and disputes are generated [34]. ...
The concept of social process is further explicated in this paper as a route to further understand employment relations system; in its comparative perspectives and analysis. The paper argues that analysis of employment relations needs to focus on context i.e. specifics, and cross national patterns of cultural/social process trajectories, in the explanation of institutional structures and characteristics that influence the dynamics and functions of a variety of employment relations systems. Review of extant literature on employment relations system calls for a re-cast, and embedding of social process into employment relations analysis. Such nuanced perspective seeks to adequately explain national employment relations institutions and their outcomes in historicity and context. Integrating cultural/social process nuances into our understanding, significantly explains all the dimensions embedded in a national employment relations system.
... Critical industrial relations scholars have traditionally criticized moderate trade unions (Hyman, 1975;Kelly, 1996Kelly, , 1998, decrying the negative outcomes deriving from partnership practices (Danford et al., 2014;Martinez Lucio and Stuart, 2002), particularly in the context of liberal market economies (Upchurch, 2009). On the contrary, pluralist defence of participation through collective bargaining or workplace partnership is that it provides a means of regulating conflict and achieving mutual gains (Johnstone, 2015;Johnstone et al., 2010;Roche, 2009), giving workers an independent voice to express their distinct interests, and integrating them into stable democracies (Bacon and Blyton, 2002). ...
Drawing on qualitative research in the main UK unions for nurses/midwives, this article explores union reps’ views of the functioning of workplace partnership in two feminized professions working in the English National Health Service (NHS). Through the investigation of two professional unions, which despite their vitality remain under-researched, the study offers an investigation of the interactions between formal and informal partnership arrangements at the workplace level, and the ways in which they intersect with the professional nature of the union context, and the deterioration of working conditions. In doing so, this article contributes to reflections on the prospects of workplace partnership for professional trade unions.
The level of low productivity among workers especially in the public sector has left much to be desired training and development of employees have been championed as a remedy to this malaise. However, the paper examines the extent to which capacity development enhances the quality-of-service delivery in the Abia State civil service commission, Umuahia and to identify the factors that have been militating against capacity building of employees in the Abia State civil service commission, Umuahia. The survey design was adopted to guide the investigation. The population of the study is 280. The theoretical framework adopted was Organizational Development theory that was propounded by Kurt Lewin in 1950. The researcher used chi-square for testing the hypotheses. Moreover, the major findings of the study were that capacity building enhances the quality-of-service delivery in the Abia State civil service commission, Umuahia and that lack of training, insufficient fund and lack of modern technologies are the major factors militating against capacity building of employees in the Abia State civil service commission, Umuahia. The major recommendation was that government should make policy that will encourage continuous staff training and development of its workers so that the potentials of the employees would be adequately harnessed.
Este artigo recupera algumas dimensões do debate sobre revitalização sindical com o intuito de analisar o caso brasileiro. Examina os conceitos de sindicalismo de movimento social e sindicalismo radical para refletir sobre as características político-ideológicas do sindicalismo nos governos petistas. Considera que as centrais majoritárias assumiram uma perspectiva de parceria social e moderação política que não condizem com a noção de revitalização. Por outro lado, a construção de um polo sindical radical também não é suficiente para revitalizar o sindicalismo, dado seu caráter amplamente minoritário e sua baixa inserção junto às bases.
Esse ensaio apresenta o modelo conceitual de Relações de Trabalho (RT) de Alan Fox. Fox foi um integrante influente da Escola de Oxford nos anos 1970 e suas contribuições, indiscutivelmente, influenciaram muito os estudos sobre negociação e conflito e estilo de gestão nas RT. Mesmo atualmente, os pesquisadores anglófonos de RT na literatura internacional apresentam as três visões de mundode Fox como paradigma. Embora o modelo de Fox seja considerado paradigmático na academia anglófona e, particularmente, no campo de Industrial Relations(IR), que aqui traduzimos por Relações de Trabalho, é praticamente desconhecido no campo da Administração no Brasil. A abordagem de Fox enquadra a noção de conflito entre empregado e empregador em três visões distintas baseadas nos conceitos de unitarismo, pluralismo e radicalismo. Os pontos principais de cada abordagem são discutidos e, ao final, concluímos trazendo a discussão para os tempos atuais, ampliando a agenda para futuras pesquisas sobre as RT.
Attempts to regulate labour standards in multinational companies face clear difficulties, not least because companies themselves may not have the executive power to enforce terms throughout complex and fragmented subcontracting structures. In the case of international framework agreements (IFAs), this might suggest a fundamental weakness. Taking our example from the South African construction industry, this article presents an IFA in the context of both employer and union strategy. We demonstrate that a two‐track approach exists: highly interventionist approach to quality‐critical issues compared with labour‐related issues. On this basis, we suggest that, far from being over‐hyped, IFAs have yet to be taken seriously enough.
The literature on migrant workers generally indicates limited worker collectivism. Based on a comparative study of two Danish platform companies, however, this article shows how digital migrant networks are a crucial social infrastructure in precarious working environments. Using a novel conceptual framework that differentiates between collective strategies of coping and resistance, we show that collective resistance can spring from migrant networks. This foregrounds an understanding of how collectivism underpinned by strong migrant networks can wax and wane, which broadens our understanding of collectivism as a dynamic practice. The study’s findings underscore the importance of political networks as a foundation for strategies of resistance, the value of network embeddedness, and the effects of particular migrant and employment characteristics on collective strategies.
This paper explored perspectives for the determination of national Industrial Relations policies used by countries in managing
labor-management relations. With the aid of a historical/ analytical approach, the paper highlighted two major perspectives
(voluntarism and interventionism) as labor or industrial Relations policy options put in place in countries with increasing Union
density for the minimization of industrial Relations adversarialism and promotion of industrial harmony at workplaces. The
paper also highlighted the variants of voluntaristic labor policies (including management dominated and joint determination
oriented labor policies). Further highlighted are the interventionist Industrial Relations policies with its variants (including the
various forms through which the State intervenes in the determination of the ways in which the principal actors in Industrial
Relations are to function). The paper concluded that perspectives on the determination of national labor and Industrial
Relations policies evolved during the unregulated interplay between the demand and supply of labor which led to increasing
immiseration of the working class and the clamor for regulatory mechanisms to balance the power of the principal actors in
Industrial Relations. The Nigerian labor policy experience was explored and a justification put forward by the Nigerian State for
the model adopted is discussed.
KEYWORDS: Voluntarism, Interventionism, Labor Policy, Management Domination, Joint Determination, Industrial
Harmony, Industrial Relations Adversarialism
There has been an increasing debate regarding the relationship between the state and unions and how this relationship tends to affect employment relationships in the changing business environment. However, within the African context, little is known about this union-state relationship despite being one of the crucial factors affecting labour employment in Africa, particularly Zimbabwe. Consequently, this chapter explored the changing relationship between trade unions and the state, using Zimbabwe as a study context. The chapter highlighted the challenge of defining and theorising trade unions, engaged in a critical discussion of the framework of state-union relations in Zimbabwe, considered the role of trade unions as civil society, and the contested role of the West and the issue of trade union involvement in politics and political alliances.
Purpose
"Gross National Happiness," which is rooted in Buddhist philosophy and culture, has now
been put into effect. As a result, the ideal framework for economic development across the
the nation has been developed as a socio-economic system founded on Buddhist and feudal
ideals. In order to bring about fine-tuning of the subsequent change of Bhutanese belief,
faith, and values and opinions transforming into GNH philosophy and culture that permeated
down to nation/society/industrial community/individual citizen of the country as a whole,
especially employer and employee relationships (IR) and organizational culture in
manufacturing, the study has the effort to reveal the fact as reflected and manifested
everywhere in the implementation of GNH policy doctrine with the employee-employer
relationship.
Design/Methodology/Approach
The data have been collected from nine (09) domestic manufacturing industries of Bhutan.
Results are indicating a positive impact of GNH policy doctrine on organizational culture,
industrial relation and employee satisfaction. Industrial Relation is found positively related
to employee satisfaction in manufacturing companies of Bhutan. This was an indication
that societal culture is not the sole determinant of organizational performance.
Findings
According to the study's findings, GNH culture's employer-employee relationships (IR)
generate a friendly and inviting workplace environment, which has a big impact on HRM/IR
practices in Bhutan. The GNH's interpretation of the Buddhist concept of "Happiness" has been
successful in achieving the aims and purposes of policy doctrine, policy implementation, and
GNH's declarations as a framework for development in Bhutan.
The end of free movement of labour from the European Union represents an unprecedented form of re‐regulation of the UK labour market. This study explores how old and new actors engage with the sphere of migration, arguing that not only their economic interests but also different political agendas and meanings of regulation shape dialogue on migration regulation post‐Brexit. Our findings suggest moving away from a unilateral, positive view of regulation in work and employment as well as to overcome any artificial distinction between the economic and the social implications of international migration.
e purposes of this study are to measure the relative importance of organizational effectiveness (OE), collective bargaining effectiveness (CBE), industrial relations climate effectiveness (IRCE) with the effectiveness of trade unions (TUs) and to examine the mediating effects of buyers’ codes of conduct (BCoC) on TUs. This study has been conducted using a positivism paradigm and cross-sectional survey design. Based on the literature and conceptual model, ten hypotheses were drawn. A structured questionnaire with closed-ended questions was developed, designed, and surveyed and had 276 responses with an answer rate of 62.73% using the convenience sampling technique. A partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modeling (SEM) approach is used to analyze the data. The study finds a significant positive relationship between the OE, CBE, IRCE, BCoC, and TUs effectiveness where BCoC results mediation relationships of OE, CBE, IRCE, and TUs effectiveness, and such mediation increase the effectiveness of TUs in protecting the rights of the workers in the RMG industry in Bangladesh. The findings of this study have significant policy implications in the Bangladeshi context
Despite a global trend of declining trade unionism, the Ethiopian trade union movement is resurgent. Having fought off a harsh labour bill and forced industrial parks to open to trade union organising in the past few years, it has scored some of its most momentous achievements, acquiring in the process momentum and leverage. Membership has grown substantially in the last few years, and a sharp increase in workplace-level collective action has occurred over the same period. This article seeks to examine the factors that have enabled the rapid resurgence of trade unionism in Ethiopia, and thus the seeming paradox of a buoyant trade union movement emerging in a context where structural vulnerabilities prevail, at a historical time of global decline in the power and influence of labour organisations. It does so by comparing contemporary trade union strategies to historical iterations. It identifies willingness and capacity to engage in class contestation as the most important factors, and finds that they are premised upon and propelled by pressures and activity from below. The article finds the situation of Ethiopian trade unions to be at once pregnant with possibilities of further advances and serious risks of sharp reversals.
KEYWORDS: trade unions; labour movements; Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions
While solidarity is widely understood as key to worker capacity to improve terms and conditions of employment, the creation of solidarity has received less attention. This article advances the theory that dignity is the creative process, based on a psycho‐social understanding of dignity not as an outcome but an interpersonal exchange. Mutual recognition of each other's capacities to participate in social rules creates solidarity, thereby catalysing collective action and making workplace improvements more likely. The argument is developed through comparison of three cases of worker struggles in the strawberry sector that produced varied outcomes, from steady improvements through union collective bargaining to persistence of poverty wages and gender‐based violence. The proposed model of dignity‐based worker power suggests both functional and psychological effects of democratic practice within worker organizations, coalitions and workplaces.
This is an 'interdisciplinary' book that blends the leading issues in general management, human resource management, organisational behaviour, and industrial relations in a seamless manner. While targeting the Nigerian tertiary educations institutions, it reflects the global best practices. The book was peer-reviewed by an authority in higher education management, Professor Gidado Tahir.
This article offers to rethink John Kelly’s mobilization theory within the social structure of accumulation (SSA) approach, a long-wave theory version. The SSA theory claims that institutional changes shape long waves with the decisive roles of capital–labour conflict, economic crises and political decisions. The SSA theory also introduces a different long-wave chronology that is more consistent with Kelly’s approach. Such a chronological reorganization allows Kelly’s expectation of union revitalization to be maintained. By drawing an intersection of these two theories, it is conceivable to conceptualize long waves more in line with the character of mobilization theory. Therefore, the article suggests that union revitalization is still possible in the context of these theories.
Ένας από τους πρώτους ορισμούς που συναντούμε στη βιβλιογραφία των Εργασιακών Σχέσεων από τους Sidney και Beatrice Webb (1920: 1) ορίζει τα συνδικάτα ως «[…] την ένωση των μισθωτών με σκοπό τη διατήρηση και βελτίωση των συνθηκών του εργασιακού βίου τους».
Οι διάφοροι ορισμοί σε σχέση με τα συνδικάτα συγκλίνουν στο ότι αυτά μπορούν να οριστούν ως προς τους συμμετέχοντες και τους σκοπούς τους (Leat, 2007: 258). Έτσι, μπορούν να οριστούν ως οι ενώσεις εργατών ή/και υπαλλήλων που έχουν ως στόχο την προάσπιση των συμφερόντων τους στο πεδίο του εργασιακού χώρου και της κοινωνίας, καθώς επίσης και μέσω της συμμετοχής τους στις συλλογικές διαπραγματεύσεις με τους εργοδότες/managers (Salamon, 2000: 93, βλ. επίσης Leat, 2007: 258).
Στη μαρξιστική ανάγνωση των εργασιακών σχέσεων τα συνδικάτα μπορούν να οριστούν ως οι συλλογικότητες εργαζομένων που στοχεύουν στον επηρεασμό του καθορισμού της τιμής πώλησης της εργατικής δύναμης αλλά και της άσκησης ελέγχου επί του εργασιακού περιβάλλοντος και της εργασιακής διαδικασίας αλλά και στον μετασχηματισμό της κοινωνίας (Leat, 2007: 261, βλ. επίσης Hyman, 1989: 20-53).
Ο Έγκελς αναφέρει πως τα «συνδικάτα αποτελούν την καθαυτό ταξική οργάνωση του προλεταριάτου, με την οποία διεξάγει τους καθημερινούς αγώνες με το κεφάλαιο, όπου εκπαιδεύεται […]» για την κατάργηση του καπιταλισμού (σε Μαρξ, 2007: 46). Για τον Λένιν (1982: 84; 1977: 45-47; 1975: 140) οι συνδικαλιστικές οργανώσεις συνενώνουν τους εργάτες που συνειδητοποιούν την αναγκαιότητα της ένωσής τους για την πάλη ενάντια στους εργοδότες και την κυβέρνηση. Αποτελούν τις πλατιές οργανώσεις των εργατών για την διεξαγωγή της οικονομικής πάλης. Ο Λένιν προσδίδει στην έννοια της οικονομικής πάλης την έννοια της αντίστασης και της συλλογικής πάλης των εργατών ενάντια στους εργοδότες για ευνοϊκούς όρους πώλησης της εργατικής δύναμης, για τη βελτίωση των όρων εργασίας και της ζωής των εργατών (Λένιν, 1975: 69, 77). Ο καθημερινός ταξικός αγώνας και ο συσχετισμός δύναμης είναι αυτός που καθορίζει το ύψος των μισθών, ανάμεσα στο φυσικό ελάχιστο όριο – πέρα από το οποίο θα έμπαινε σε κίνδυνο η ίδια η ικανότητα του εργάτη για εργασία – και στο μέγιστο όριο πέρα από το οποίο θα εξαντλούνταν τα κέρδη του καπιταλιστή (Μπατίκας, 1994: 305˙ Ένγκελς σε Μαρξ, 2007: 44-45). Ωστόσο, για τον Μαρξ (2003: 76) «[ο] ρόλος των συνδικάτων είναι να αποτελούν κέντρα αντίστασης ενάντια στους σφετερισμούς του κεφαλαίου αλλά αποτυχαίνουν ολοκληρωτικά στο σκοπό τους όταν περιορίζονται στα αποτελέσματα του σημερινού συστήματος αντί να προσπαθούν να το αλλάξουν χρησιμοποιώντας τις οργανωμένες δυνάμεις τους ως μοχλό για την οριστική κατάργηση του συστήματος της μισθωτής εργασίας».
Η συλλογική δράση των εργαζομένων αποτελεί το αντίβαρο στην οικονομική εξουσία του κεφαλαίου. Έτσι, τα συνδικάτα αποτελούν τον πλέον προφανή θεσμό που εκφράζει την συλλογική δράση των εργαζομένων έναντι της κυριαρχίας του κεφαλαίου/εργοδοτών στη σχέση απασχόλησης (Hyman, 1975:32), δίνοντας μορφή και γενικεύοντας τις διαδικασίες αντίστασης και διαπραγμάτευσης των εργαζομένων (Hyman, 1989: 36).
Το μέγεθός των συνδικάτων και η δυνατότητά τους να προσελκύουν και να διατηρούν μέλη εντός της δομής τους αποτελεί καθοριστικό παράγοντα για την θέση τους στο συσχετισμό δυνάμεων, για την επίτευξη των στόχων τους, την έκβαση των συλλογικών διαπραγματεύσεων σε οποιοδήποτε επίπεδο αυτές διεξάγονται, για την επίδραση που ασκούν στην πολιτική των κυβερνήσεων (ως όλον εργατικό κίνημα).
Ο δείκτης που χρησιμοποιείται συχνότερα για την απεικόνιση της δύναμης τους εργατικού κινήματος, του συσχετισμού δύναμης μεταξύ εργοδοτών-εργαζομένων και για τις διεθνείς συγκρίσεις αναφορικά με τη συμμετοχή στα συνδικάτα είναι η συνδικαλιστική πυκνότητα (Ebbinghaus & Visser, 1999: 135, Visser, 1992: 18). Στην Δυτική Ευρώπη, την μεταπολεμική περίοδο αύξησης της συμμετοχής τα συνδικάτα (1950 -1975) διαδέχθηκε η περίοδος που ακολούθησε την κρίση του 1973 και είναι περίοδος μείωσης της συμμετοχής (βλ. Ebbinghaus & Visser, 1999). Τις τελευταίες δύο δεκαετίες, πολλές έρευνες (π.χ. Western, 1995˙ Scruggs, 2002˙ Visser, 2006) έχουν δείξει την πτώση της συμμετοχής στα συνδικάτα – επομένως και της συνδικαλιστικής πυκνότητας – τόσο στην Ευρώπη όσο και σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο.
Η Ελλάδα –με τις ιδιαιτερότητές της– ακολουθεί αυτήν την γενική τάση μείωσης της συνδικαλιστικής πυκνότητας. Στην περίοδο της τρέχουσας κρίσης, παράγοντες που σχετίζονται αρνητικά με την συμμετοχή στα συνδικάτα παροξύνονται σαν αποτέλεσμα των πολιτικών λιτότητας και της αναμόρφωσης των εργασιακών σχέσεων που επιβάλλονται από ΕΕ-ΔΝΤ-ΕΚΤ. Μεταξύ άλλων, τέτοιες είναι η εκρηκτική αύξηση της ανεργίας, η διάδοση μορφών ευέλικτης απασχόλησης όπως είναι η μερική απασχόληση, η αναμόρφωση του πλαισίου για τις συλλογικές διαπραγματεύσεις στην κατεύθυνση της αποκέντρωσής τους (βλ. Zisimopoulos et al, 2011).
Η παρούσα εργασία επιχειρεί να συμβάλλει τόσο στην παροχή και παρουσίαση πρόσφατων εμπειρικών δεδομένων σχετικά με την συμμετοχή στα ελληνικά συνδικάτα αλλά και μιας συνεκτικής ανάλυσης των παραγόντων που σχετίζονται με αυτή. Σε αυτή την κατεύθυνση η παρούσα εργασία δομείται ως εξής: Στην πρώτη ενότητα παραθέτουμε το εννοιολογικό πλαίσιο σχετικά με τη μέτρηση της συμμετοχής στα συνδικάτα και ειδικότερα αυτό της συνδικαλιστικής πυκνότητας. Στην δεύτερη ενότητα γίνεται η ανασκόπηση της βιβλιογραφίας σχετικά με τους παράγοντες που σχετίζονται με την συμμετοχή στα συνδικάτα. Στην τρίτη ενότητα παρουσιάζουμε την μεθοδολογία της έρευνας και στην τέταρτη ενότητα τα ευρήματα που προέκυψαν από αυτή. Τέλος, η παρούσα εργασία ολοκληρώνεται με τις συμπερασματικές παρατηρήσεις.
Damgalama, kişileri kusurlu ve küçümsenen bir seviyeye indirgeyen ve derinden itibarsızlaştıran bir davranış türüdür. Bu davranış türü işyerinde görüldüğünde verimliliğin düşmesine sebep olabilir. İşe yabancılaşma kavramı ise çalışanların kapasitelerini tam kullanamaması sonucunda kendilerine, iş arkadaşlarına ve çevrelerine olan ilgilerinin azalmasını ifade etmektedir. Çalışanlar arasında görülen damgalama ve işe yabancılaşma tutum ve davranışları, işyeri performansını olumsuz etkileyebilmektedir. Bu bağlamda çalışmanın amacı, bir kamu kurumu çalışanlarının damgalama ile işe yabancılaşmaya yönelik tutumlarının incelenmesi ve damgalama davranışının, işe yabancılaşma durumu üzerindeki etkisinin saptanmasıdır. Bu etkiyi belirlemek için kurulan model ise tarama yöntemidir. Tarama yöntemine ek olarak ilişkisel tarama yöntemi de bu araştırma kapsamında kullanılmıştır. Aynı zamanda katılımcıların demografik durumları açısından her değişken ayrıca ele alınmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklemi oluşturulurken kartopu örnekleme yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Çalışma grubu 52 kamu kurumu çalışanından oluşmaktadır. Damgalama ve işe yabancılaşma değişkenlerinin anlaşılması açısından betimleyici ve fark analizleri yapılmıştır. Damgalama tutumunun işe yabancılaşma durumuna olan etkisi, basit regresyon analizi kullanılarak test edilmiştir. Analiz sonucunda iki değişken arasında pozitif istatistiksel düzeyde anlamlı bir ilişki tespit edilmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular göstermektedir ki damgalama tutumu, işe yabancılaşmayı istatistiksel olarak anlamlı şekilde yordamaktadır.
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