Showing papers in "European Journal of Industrial Relations in 2019"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assume that women and workers in female-dominated workplaces will have better access to flexible working arrangements and use this as justification for the low wages found in these workplaces.
Abstract: Many assume that women and workers in female-dominated workplaces will have better access to flexible working arrangements. Some use this as justification for the low wages found in these workplace...
46 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the relationship between board-level codetermination and corporate social responsibility in German companies, engaging with two distinct literatures: the literature of codeterminism and social responsibility.
Abstract: We examine the relationship between board-level codetermination and corporate social responsibility in German companies, engaging with two distinct literatures. Most quantitative studies of codeter...
25 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate trade union strategies in fashion retail, a sector with endemic low-wages, precarity and a representation gap, and argue that only those unions with a broad working class orientation could provide an effective representation for fashion retail workers.
Abstract: We investigate trade union strategies in fashion retail, a sector with endemic low-wages, precarity and a representation gap. Unions in Milan organized ‘zero-hours contract’ workers, while their counterparts in New York established an alternative channel of representation, the Retail Action Project. We argue, first, that the dynamics of both cases are counter-intuitive, displaying institution-building in the USA and grass-roots mobilization in Italy; second, union identity stands out as a key revitalizing factor, since only those unions with a broad working class orientation could provide an effective representation for fashion retail workers.
17 citations
TL;DR: The board-level employee representation underpins board level employee representation in 18 European Union member states and Norway, but its characteristics vary greatly, restricted in some countries to the state sector and in others to the private sector as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Legislation underpins board-level employee representation in 18 European Union member states and Norway, but its characteristics vary greatly, restricted in some countries to the state sector and d...
17 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of the 2008-2009 financial and economic crisis on public sector trade union power in Germany, Spain, Sweden and the UK were examined using a power resources approach.
Abstract: We use a power resources approach to examine the effects of the 2008–2009 financial and economic crisis on public sector trade union power in Germany, Spain, Sweden and the UK, comparing structural ...
16 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the divergent trajectories of collective bargaining on agency work in the Italian and German metal sectors were compared, under what conditions can unions successfully regulate precarious employment, and how to regulate precarious work.
Abstract: Under what conditions can unions successfully regulate precarious employment? We compare the divergent trajectories of collective bargaining on agency work in the Italian and German metal sectors f...
15 citations
TL;DR: The authors discusses the effect of neoliberal trends in employment regulation during the 2008 recession and discusses the effects of these trends on employment institutions' performance during the economic crisis, concluding that "liberalization in employment institutions is a long-term trend reinforced by the implement...
Abstract: This article discusses the effect of neoliberal trends in employment regulation during the 2008 recession. Liberalization in employment institutions is a long-term trend reinforced by the implement...
14 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the adverse effects of two of such changes: perceived organizational distress and job deterioration, and examine the extent to which institutions at national level (employment protection legislation and collective bargaining coverage) and at workplace level may act as buffers against these effects.
Abstract: The recession following the 2008 financial crisis brought major changes to employees’ experiences at work. We investigate the adverse effects of two of such changes: perceived organizational distress and job deterioration. We also examine the extent to which institutions at national level (employment protection legislation and collective bargaining coverage) and at workplace level (employment contract and union membership) may act as buffers against these effects. Using data from 21 European countries, we show that recessionary changes were associated with reduced psychological well-being and greater levels of work–nonwork interference.
14 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the negative effect of union membership on job satisfaction was shown to also hold for Continental Western Europe, and given the differences in industrial relations, I hypothoth...
Abstract: Does the negative effect of union membership on job satisfaction, as shown in Anglophone countries, also hold for Continental Western Europe? Given the differences in industrial relations, I hypoth...
13 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare collective bargaining in the Basque and Catalan automotive industries to show that two contrasting bargaining frameworks have emerged since the early 2000s, and the two largest Spanish union...
Abstract: I compare collective bargaining in the Basque and Catalan automotive industries to show that since the early 2000s, two contrasting bargaining frameworks have emerged. The two largest Spanish union...
11 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the expansion of precarious work in industrialized economies, integrating the welfare regime, risk shift and segmentation literatures, and examine trends in wages, working hours.
Abstract: This article analyses the expansion of precarious work in industrialized economies, integrating the welfare regime, risk shift and segmentation literatures. I examine trends in wages, working hours...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the impact of the economic crisis and its aftermath on collective bargaining by comparing reactions to austerity policies of trade unions in healthcare and education in Romania, and found that healthcare trade unions have redefined their strategies and adopted a more militant stance based on a combination of local strikes, strike threats and temporary alliances with various stakeholders.
Abstract: This article examines the impact of the economic crisis and its aftermath on collective bargaining, by comparing reactions to austerity policies of trade unions in healthcare and education in Romania. We develop an encompassing theoretical framework that links strategies used by trade unions with power resources, costs and union democracy. In a tight labour market generated by the massive emigration of doctors, unions in healthcare have successfully deployed their resources to advance their interests and obtain significant wage increases and better working conditions. We also show that in the aftermath of the crisis, healthcare trade unions have redefined their strategies and adopted a more militant stance based on a combination of local strikes, strike threats and temporary alliances with various stakeholders. By comparison, we find that unions in the education sector have adopted less effective strategies built around negotiations with governments combined with national-level militancy.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on longitudinal data to analyse restructuring in 11 EU member states in response to the 2008-2009 financial crisis, finding that despite the dramatic crisis, restructuring regimes remained rather stable.
Abstract: This article draws on longitudinal data to analyse restructuring in 11 EU member states in response to the 2008–2009 financial crisis. It finds that despite the dramatic crisis, restructuring regimes remained rather stable. New policies were adopted and existing policies were reformed, but changes were primarily within the existing regimes, though collectively agreed measures are important. However, in three countries, changes were more radical, indicating a shift in the dominant adjustment and governance mechanisms. These findings have implications for the understanding of how restructuring regimes change and how such changes may be studied, implying that restructuring policies cannot be evaluated in isolation. Any attempt to analyse the impact of restructuring policies on labour market outcomes must take account of the interplay of different policies and how their emphasis and character change over time.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine transnational union cooperation at sectoral level, and test the explanatory value of these three factors: national industrial relations contexts, sectoral contexts and unions' organizational resources.
Abstract: How far, in what ways and on what issues do trade unions in Europe cooperate cross-nationally? Three important structural factors may explain differences in cooperation: national industrial relations contexts, sectoral contexts and unions’ organizational resources. We examine transnational union cooperation at sectoral level, and test the explanatory value of these three factors. We address cooperation in five broad sectors, using a Europe-wide questionnaire-based survey of trade union activities. We find that sectoral differences explain more of the variation in levels of transnational cooperation than do industrial relations regimes when controlling for resources, whereas both sectors and regimes influence which issues are seen as important for current and future cooperation. In addition, small trade unions engage in much less transnational cooperation than large ones.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study the link between organizational transformation and institutions in IG Metall in Germany, which was been influenced by the American Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and find a German variety of organizing rather than a mere copying of "best practice": the union's approach is based on institutional and organizational structures as a resource and constraint.
Abstract: "Organizing is widely discussed as a remedy for continued union decline. Originating in the liberal market industrial relations systems of the Anglo-Saxon world, the ‘organizing’ strategy is increasingly discussed in countries like Germany, traditionally known for consensual industrial relations and multi-employer collective bargaining. To study whether and how ‘organizing’ is translated in union organizations operating in a different institutional context, we study the link between organizational transformation and institutions in IG Metall in Germany, which was been influenced by the American Service Employees International Union (SEIU). We find a German variety of organizing rather than a mere copying of ‘best practice’: the union’s approach is based on institutional and organizational structures as a resource and constraint. "
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate codetermination on German supervisory boards of multinational companies and pose two questions: under what conditions does board-level representation constitute a power resour...
Abstract: We investigate codetermination on German supervisory boards of multinational companies and pose two questions. First, under what conditions does board-level representation constitute a power resour...
TL;DR: Unlike most continental EU countries, Italy lacks any system of board-level employee representation, despite a specific article in the 1948 Constitution as discussed by the authors, which states that "employee involvement and participation remain...
Abstract: Unlike most continental EU countries, Italy lacks any system of board-level employee representation, despite a specific article in the 1948 Constitution. Hence, involvement and participation remain...
TL;DR: In Denmark and Norway, employee representatives are in a minority on the board, do they have a real say in dec... as discussed by the authors, and they do not have real representation in decision making.
Abstract: Codetermination through board-level employee representation has a long tradition in Denmark and Norway. Since employee representatives are in a minority on the board, do they have a real say in dec...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined disabled people's employment in Great Britain and France and found that although both countries have poor rates of employment for disabled people compared to non-disabled people, Great Britain's disabled people employment rate is lower than France's.
Abstract: This article examines disabled people’s employment in Great Britain and France. Although both countries have poor rates of employment for disabled people compared to non-disabled people, Great Britain’s disabled people’s employment rate is lower than France’s. Possible explanations include weak enforcement mechanisms in Great Britain, British judicial resistance, the lack of an institutional role for British trade unions resulting in an implementation gap and the proactive form of French law, a quota-levy scheme, which has no British parallel. The conclusions suggest which of these explanations are the most plausible and propose that Great Britain considers adopting some French provisions, thus tempering Britain’s voluntarist approach.
TL;DR: This article explored differences in resort to short-time work schemes between the recessions in the early 1990s and the late 2000s in Spain and Italy and explore how far these are associated with differences in living standards.
Abstract: We explore differences in resort to short-time work schemes between the recessions in the early 1990s and the late 2000s in Spain and Italy and explore how far these are associated with differences...
TL;DR: In this paper, employee voice in multinational companies has been mainly studied in voluntarist, Anglophone industrial relations systems, and much less in other European countries, and this article examines employee voice.
Abstract: Employee voice in multinational companies has been mainly studied in voluntarist, Anglophone industrial relations systems, and much less in other European countries. This article examines employee ...
TL;DR: The European Company Directive anchored board-level employee representation in European law for the first time in 2001 as discussed by the authors. But it did not specify the rules negotiated between management and worker representatives.
Abstract: The European Company Directive anchored board-level employee representation in European law for the first time. Rules negotiated between management and worker representatives became the primary sou...
TL;DR: In this paper, the complexity of trade-union approaches to board-level employee representation in the Visegrad countries, and the barriers it faces in particular national settings, are discussed.
Abstract: This article addresses the complexity of trade-union approaches to board-level employee representation in the Visegrad countries, and the barriers it faces in particular national settings. Trade un...