Showing papers in "European Journal of Industrial Relations in 1999"
TL;DR: The conclusions of the European summits since 1992 and the content of the Amsterdam Treaty seem to imply that the employment issue has finally reached the Community agenda as discussed by the authors, and the authors in this article review previous EU social policy as regards employment issues.
Abstract: The conclusions of the European summits since 1992 and the content of the Amsterdam Treaty seem to imply that the employment issue has finally reached the Community agenda. How far does the new approach differ from previous policy? How were the changes of the 1990s achieved? This article reviews previous EU social policy as regards employment issues, then analyses the different elements of the European employment strategy (EES) and offers a preliminary assessment. A major question addressed is how, compared to previous regulation methods, this new process is likely to affect the legitimacy and efficiency of `Social Europe'.
277 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the diffusion of employment practices across borders in multinational companies and suggest that it commonly involves a process which they term ''networking within hierarchy'' where diffusion should be seen as the interaction of structural factors and political processes.
Abstract: This article discusses the diffusion of employment practices across borders in multinational companies (MNCs). Case study data are used to address two central questions: whether all MNCs attempt to engage in diffusion, and how this process occurs. We argue that diffusion is not a universal tendency but is promoted or retarded by such factors as the country of origin, the degree of production integration, the extent to which companies are structured along global lines and the nature of product markets. Where diffusion occurs, we suggest that it commonly involves a process which we term `networking within hierarchy'. Diffusion should be seen as the interaction of structural factors and political processes, which we call the `bi-directional' relationship between structure and politics.
82 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines a series of recent texts which address the tension between economic internationalization and national industrial relations systems, and concludes that the notion of globalization identifies real and substantial developments which challenge established forms of employment regulation but these developments are contradictory and create new possibilities for strategic intervention.
Abstract: This essay in review examines a series of recent texts which address the tension between economic internationalization and national industrial relations systems. The notion of `globalization' identifies real and substantial developments which challenge established forms of employment regulation, but these developments are contradictory and create new possibilities for strategic intervention.
55 citations
TL;DR: In many countries there has been a move towards more decentralized labour market systems in the 1980s and 1990s this paper, and this process has been particularly notable in Sweden, where the origin of decentralized labor market systems has been analyzed in this paper.
Abstract: In many countries there has been a move towards more decentralized labour market systems in the 1980s and 1990s. This process has been particularly notable in Sweden. This study analyses the origin...
52 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate progress towards independent trade unionism in the post-command economies of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and, in most detail, the Czech Republic and conclude that unions have made substantial progress in establishing the institutional frameworks of labour representation; but collective bargaining is weak; and unless union membership decline is reversed, labour representation as such seems vulnerable.
Abstract: This article evaluates progress towards independent trade unionism in the post-command economies of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and, in most detail, the Czech Republic. A general introduction is followed by presentation of survey evidence on the views and experiences of trade unionism among workers, union members and union representatives. Issues covered include changing attitudes towards trade unions over the first seven years of capitalist transformation, types of union-management relationships, trade union influence at the workplace, and problems of union decline and retention. The article addresses the relationship between employers and managers and unions, and that between workers and their unions. The conclusions drawn are that unions have made substantial progress in establishing the institutional frameworks of labour representation; but collective bargaining is weak; and unless union membership decline is reversed, labour representation as such seems vulnerable.
45 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the extent to which systems of collective bargaining and minimum wage regimes explain the differences in the distribution of low pay by sector, size of firm, occupation, type of contract and gender.
Abstract: The distribution of low pay by sector, size of firm, occupation, type of contract and gender varies cross-nationally. This article examines the extent to which systems of collective bargaining and minimum wage regimes explain such differences. It compares Britain, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and the USA using a newly harmonized data set, PACO, and the European household panel study for Spain. The findings indicate that strong collective bargaining and minimum wage regimes reduce the percentage of low-paid workers. However, the benefits of such regulation do not extend to women and especially part-time women employees as much as to men.
36 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the link between labour market regulation and the development and maintenance of an adequate skill base, in particular in relation to employment security, and the implications of such regulation.
Abstract: This article examines the link between labour market regulation, in particular in relation to employment security, and the development and maintenance of an adequate skill base. The implications of...
36 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an empirical study of European Works Councils (EWCs) in the metalworking and chemical industries in the UK, Italy, France, and Germany is presented.
Abstract: This article presents and discusses the findings of an empirical study of European Works Councils (EWCs) in the metalworking and chemical industries in the UK, Italy, France, and Germany. It focuses on four issues: internal communication networks; relations with company management; links between EWCs and national institutions for employee representation; and cooperation between EWCs and trade unions. The research indicates that EWC members are rapidly learning to handle and develop the mechanisms of this new body. In a significant number of cases, informal relations between EWC and management have become an established fact. In short, a distinctive European industrial relations system is developing at the micro-level. Whether this proves a threat or an opportunity for the trade unions will depend not least on their own strategies for Europeanization.
32 citations
TL;DR: In the Czech trade union movement after 1989, the emerging leadership aimed to emulate the most successful unions in western Europe as mentioned in this paper, but membership, bargaining coverage and ability to influence the government declined in the following years.
Abstract: This article covers the development of the Czech trade union movement after 1989 The emerging leadership aimed to emulate the most successful unions in western Europe The transformation into a movement emphasizing collective bargaining was generally successful, but membership, bargaining coverage and ability to influence the government declined in the following years Comparison with developments elsewhere in Europe suggests that this can be attributed to the specific political and economic environment and to the new union movement's origins Strategic choices during the reconstitution of the trade union movement led to a structure that made it difficult to adapt to changing economic conditions
29 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the establishment and subsequent meetings of the McDonald's European Works Council (EWC) are analysed and a number of questions are raised. Who is an "employee representative" for the purposes of the EU Directive, how are such representatives elected in practice and what roles do existing national sub-structures play? Can employee representatives adequately coordinate their roles in the absence of significant unionization?
Abstract: This article analyses the establishment and subsequent meetings of the McDonald's European Works Council and raises a number of questions. Who is an `employee representative' for the purposes of the EU Directive? How are such representatives elected in practice and what roles do existing national sub-structures play? Can employee representatives adequately coordinate their roles in the absence of significant unionization? The experience of the McDonald's EWC suggests that where workforces have low levels of unionization and employers are opposed in principle to the prescribed arrangements, a non-union firm can frustrate even the limited aims of the Directive. Furthermore, legally underpinned national-level sub-structures, which are often assumed to make such European-level bodies accountable, may fail to do so in practice.
21 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the views of European Works Councils expressed by senior managers of Japanese multinational companies and reported the results of a survey conducted in 1998, in which a substantial majority of managers gave a fairly favourable overall evaluation of the institution.
Abstract: This article analyses the views of European Works Councils expressed by senior managers of Japanese multinational companies. It reports the results of a survey conducted in 1998, in which a substantial majority of managers gave a fairly favourable overall evaluation of the institution. However, many felt that it would give employees unrealistic expectations, that the financial costs were a burden for companies and that its constitution implied a mismatch with decentralized corporate structure. A majority thought that it would not seriously affect corporate decision-making or companies' competitive edge.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare trade unions' responses to teamwork in one Spanish and two British factories of the same multinational company and reveal significant differences in union responses at both national and local levels.
Abstract: This article compares trade unions' responses to teamwork in one Spanish and two British factories of the same multinational company. According to some authors, different national and local systems of industrial relations are currently converging around a global model of `cooperative dependence', with teamwork as one of the elements. However, the research reported in this article reveals significant differences in union responses to teamwork, at both national and local levels. These differences show, in turn, the continued vitality of national and local frameworks of labour regulation, and indeed the unions' capacity to exploit international constraints in order to reinforce their position in the industrial relations system.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the management of working time is heavily influenced by the domestic division of labour as well as by the prevailing legal and institutional norms in three countries: France, Germany and Great Britain.
Abstract: In France, Germany and Great Britain, large-scale food retailers have increased working-time flexibility by the use of part-time work and precarious forms of employment. There are however considerable differences between countries in the proportion of part-timers, in weekly working time and in the variability and predictability of work schedules. On the basis of case studies carried out in each of the three countries, the authors argue that the management of working time is heavily influenced by the domestic division of labour as well as by the prevailing legal and institutional norms.
TL;DR: In this paper, the attitude of employers' organizations towards concertation results from the interaction of two main variables: the industrial structure and the institutional framework, and they suggest that incentives to concertation can derive from a careful management of constraints and choices related to the two variables.
Abstract: The attitude of employers' organizations towards concertation results from the interaction of two main variables: the industrial structure and the institutional framework. The balance of power within the organizations between large and smaller firms, and the set of rules, legal provisions and representative bodies enforced in each country strongly influence the policy choices. Between the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s different options were adopted in Sweden, Denmark and Austria. This article tries to explain the conduct of employers' organizations in these three countries, and suggests that incentives to concertation can derive from a careful management of constraints and choices related to the two variables.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the relationship between environmental policies and industrial relations systems in 10 European countries, and found that the growing environmental concern is correlated with the industrial relations system.
Abstract: Since 1991 a research group has investigated the relationship between environmental policies and the industrial relations systems in 10 European countries. It might be expected that the growing imp...