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1
Melnyk, Kostiantyn. "Current State and Trends in the Legal Regulation of Trade Unions in Ukraine." Journal of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine 27, no. 2 (June 27, 2020): 107–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.37635/jnalsu.27(2).2020.107-118.
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The paper investigates the relevant issues in both the science of labour law and the rule-making activities on the current state and trends in the legal regulation of trade unions in Ukraine. The relevance of the study is conditioned by the importance of social dialogue both in world of work and in other spheres of life of Ukrainian society for the sustainable development of the national economy and the state in modern conditions. The purpose of the paper is to provide scientifically sound conclusions and proposals for improving the legal regulation of trade unions in Ukraine. The study applied general scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge (dialectical, Aristotelian, comparative legal, system analysis) to inspect the legal status of trade unions; the provisions of the current national labour legislation and the legislation in the field of trade union rights were compared with the provisions of the draft Labour Code of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine "On Labour", etc., which stipulate the rights of trade unions. The study concludes on necessity of the following: 1)to preserve to the full the provisions aimed at ensuring the proper operation of trade unions as representatives and defenders of labour rights of their members in relations with employers and maintenance of high authority and status of trade unions in enterprises, institutions, organisations in current and future national labour legislation and legislation on trade unions; 2) to introduce new forms and methods of activity of trade unions in Ukraine, as well as to coordinate their activities and association with trade unions operating at the supranational level; 3) to make maximum effort to ensure equality of rights of all trade unions in Ukraine and the possibility of exercising the rights, powers, and guarantees of activities stipulated by national labour legislation and legislation in the field of trade union rights
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Lang, Karen, and Mona-Josée Gagnon. "Brazilian Trade Unions." Articles 64, no. 2 (September 9, 2009): 250–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.7202/037920ar.
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Many analysts of Brazilian industrial relations share a determinist vision of the country’s trade unionism, according to which the unions maintain a paradoxical yet atavistic relationship with the heavy body of laws that provide them with advantages while limiting their freedom. We tested this vision by conducting field enquiries into the daily activities of two Brazilian unions: the ABC Metalworkers Union and the Seamstress Union for the Sao Paulo and Osasco Region. In this article, we present the results of our case studies and what they reveal about Brazilian trade unionism’s relationship with the labour legislation. We also briefly discuss former trade union leader and current President Lula’s recent attempts to reform the country’s labour relations system.
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Yatskevych, Ivan. "Reforming Legislation on Collective Labour Relations Engaging Trade Union as a Party." NaUKMA Research Papers. Law 6 (February 15, 2021): 57–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.18523/2617-2607.2020.6.57-72.
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The paper covers problematic issues of reforming the legislation on collective labour relations with the participating trade union representing the interests and defending the rights of employees, consisting in a workers’ collective, during collective bargaining, concluding a collective agreement, holding a social dialogue on the local level. The article contains an analysis of a draft legislation such as draft laws On Labour, On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine (Regarding Certain Issues of Trade Unions’ Activity), On Amending the Law of Ukraine On Collective Agreements and Contracts in order to reveal the main trends of the proposed drafts, their scientific analysis, and producing own conclusions regarding impact of these draft laws upon the efficiency of the trade unions movement in Ukraine.The study of the proposed amendments to certain legislative acts as well as corresponding conclusions are made in observance of the current trends in the development of judicial application of legislative provisions on the preferential right of a unit trade union to represent a collective’s interests during collective bargaining regarding concluding or amending a collective agreement at an enterprise or institution. The paper contains a discussion on problematic (from a perspective of legal exercising and research) issues of the current legislative provisions on the safeguarding implementation of trade unions competence conformity to the Constitution of Ukraine, ILO Convention No. 87, and the recent case-law.The accordance of principles of rule of law and legality, representation, and efficient representing of workers’ collective interests during the in-court dispute resolution regarding representing the collective of workers and accession to an effective collective agreement is highlighted.In the conclusion it is stated that there is a negative trend on further deterioration of the trade unions’ position as representatives of labour collectives empowered with representative and defensive functions in relations with employers. Besides that, it is stressed that adoption and implementation of the argued legislative initiatives will eventually cause deepening the crisis of trade unionism and deteriorating of social standards. It will make a negative impact on a person’s social security in the state. There are grounds to assert forming case-law acknowledging works councils as equally authorized representatives of the workers’ collective in collective bargaining. In the meantime, the practice of rejection of new trade union’s units to join an effective collective agreement within the employer’s enterprise persists. It is concluded with the necessity to improve the system of normative safeguards for the trade unions activity and creating an efficient mechanism for countering abuse of rights, including safeguarding provisions, by parties of collective labour relations.
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Thomas, Adrien. "Cross-border labour markets and the role of trade unions in representing migrant workers’ interests." Journal of Industrial Relations 62, no. 2 (January 13, 2020): 235–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022185619889073.
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New patterns of labour migration are reshaping labour markets and raising new challenges for labour market actors, especially trade unions. This article critically discusses unionization strategies targeting migrant workers and the political and organizational dilemmas involved, taking as an example the case of Luxembourg, a founding member of the European Union with a highly internationalized labour market. Relying on qualitative research and survey results, this article sets out the strategies adopted by trade unions to unionize migrant workers, before discussing the dilemmas and tensions related to the diversification of trade union policies and organizational structures in response to labour migration. It provides valuable insights into two broader issues: the socio-political and organizational dynamics involved in trade unions’ inclusion of migrant workers and the potential role of trade unions in building transnational links and cohesion in border regions.
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Kruger, Johan, and Clarence Itumeleng Tshoose. "The Impact of the Labour Relations Act on Minority Trade Unions: A South African Perspective." Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad 16, no. 4 (May 17, 2017): 284. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2013/v16i4a2416.
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The advent of the new political dispensation in 1994 heralded the coming of a new labour dispensation. Labour relations and labour policies changed significantly from that which prevailed under the previous government. The review of the labour legislation framework was at that stage a priority for the new government, with specific focus on the review of the collective bargaining dispensation. The abuse of trade unions under the previous government gave rise to a unique entrenchment of labour rights in the Constitution. The drafters thereof were determined to avoid a repetition of this abuse after 1994. Section 23 of the Constitution goes to great lengths to protect, amongst others, the right to form and join a trade union, the right of every trade union to organise and the right of every trade union to engage in collective bargaining. In furtherance of section 23(5) of the Constitution, the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 was promulgated. One of the most significant changes of the LRA was that it now provided for legislated organisational rights. Commentators have often viewed the LRA as favouring larger unions and as conferring clear advantages on unions with majority support at the establishment or industry level. It is within this context that this article examines the impact of section 18 of the LRA on the constitutionally entrenched right of every person to freedom of association, the right of every trade union to engage in collective bargaining, and the right of every trade union to organise. Furthermore, this article explores the justifiability of the impact of section 18 on minority trade unions in terms of international labour standards and the Constitution. In part one the article examines the concept of majoritarianism, pluralism and industrial unionism in the context of South African Labour market. Part two deals with the impact of section 18 of the LRA on minority Trade Unions. Whilst part three explores the concept of workplace democracy. Part five investigates the applicability of international labour standards in the context of the right to freedom of association. Part four ends up with conclusion and recommendations on the impact of section 18 of the LRA.
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Campbell, Iain. "Casual Employment, Labour Regulation and Australian Trade Unions." Journal of Industrial Relations 38, no. 4 (December 1996): 571–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002218569603800404.
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This article explores the implications for trade unions of the rapid expansion in Australia of casual employment—a distinctive form of non-standard employment characterized by a lack of entitlement to most employment benefits and forms of employment protection. The article summarizes the main features of casual em ployment and the evidertce for its growth since 1982. It highlights the role of award regulation in shaping casual employment. Casual employment is identified as unprotected employment, which survived within the award system and indeed flourished in the gaps created by officially sanctioned exemptions from protection and limits in the enforcement and reach of award regulation. Labour market deregulation in the 1990s has in turn widened these gaps and facilitated both an expansion of casual employment and an extension of some casual conditions of employment into sections of the permanent workforce. These developments offer a major challenge to Australian trade unions. They underline the failure of tradi tional trade union policies, oriented to a simple rejection of all forms of non- standard employment. They pose a threat both to the set of employment rights and benefits slowly built up by trade union action in the course of past decades and to the legitimacy of trade unions as representative institutions. Australian trade unions are still struggling to come to grips with this threat. Traditional policies remain dominant, but recent trade union policy and practical efforts point towards a new approach that builds on a less hostile and more discriminating attitude to non-standard employment. In relation to the crucial issue of labour regulation the new approach pivots on the important theme of decasualization. The direction of change is promising. But the article argues that the new approach remains weak and underdeveloped as a result of its narrow orientation to the redesign of agreements within the shrinking sphere of effective regulation, its focus on casual status rather than casual conditions of employment and its inability to find effective levers for implementation
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Longstreth, Frank H. "From Corporatism to Dualism? Thatcherism and the Climacteric of British Trade Unions in the 1980s." Political Studies 36, no. 3 (September 1988): 413–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.1988.tb00239.x.
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This article examines the impact on British trade unions of the break in relations with the government, the economic recession and labour market developments in the 1980s. The shift towards a programme of ‘labour exclusion’ is related to specific policies designed to weaken trade unions and liberalize labour markets. A close investigation of data on union organization and activity indicates that, despite evident reversals, a full-scale de-institutionalization of industrial relations is not occurring. However, the links between government policies and longer-term socioeconomic trends pose severe challenges for union revival. The article concludes with some considerations on the future prospects of union-government relations.
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Szabó, Imre. "Trade unions and the sovereign power of the state. A comparative analysis of employer offensives in the Danish and Irish public sectors." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 24, no. 2 (March 25, 2018): 163–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1024258918762077.
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The changing composition of trade unions has far-reaching consequences for the relationship between unions and the polity. In particular, the concentration of trade union membership in the public sector – a process that has been taking place in most EU countries – implies a shift away from collective agreements towards legislation as the dominant way of managing employment relations. Pluralist models of collective bargaining assume a neutral, mediating role of the state, but in the public sector the state by definition acts as an employer as well. The state is equipped with the sovereign power to circumvent traditional bargaining agreements and force its will upon trade unions through legislation. The article investigates major bargaining disputes in Europe after 2008, focusing on two countries (Ireland and Denmark) that have different political environments and that, although affected differently by the financial crisis, underwent similar government interventions in labour relations. The findings suggest that a shift towards legislation is a tendency that affects all types of industrial relations systems.
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Alho, Rolle. "Trade Union Responses to Transnational Labour Mobility in the Finnish-Estonian Context." Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies 3, no. 3 (September 1, 2013): 133. http://dx.doi.org/10.19154/njwls.v3i3.3015.
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This article examines trade union strategies in relation to labor migration in Estonia and Finland, drawing on face-to-face interviews with trade unionists and official union statements. The study considers the national trade union strategies located in two separate but interconnected localities that represent different approaches to market economy. Previous research suggests that the national industrial relations system is a key factor in explaining unions’ labor migration strategies. Unions operating in liberal market economies are claimed to be more open toward immigration and more inclusive toward immigrants than unions in coordinated markets. This study analyzes the extent to which this theory holds in the context of Estonia and Finland—Finland representing a coordinated market economy and Estonia a liberal market economy. Furthermore, the analysis examines how the emergence of a translocal labor market, resulting from the geographical vicinity and linguistic affinity between Finland and Estonia as well as from free mobility within the EU, is reflected in trade union approaches to labor migration. The study finds that Finnish trade union strategies influence labor mobility, whereas Estonian trade unions remain bystanders in the issue.
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Baksheev, A. I. "RELATIONS BETWEEN STATE BODIES AND TRADE UNIONS OF SIBERIA (1918—1929)." Federalism, no. 3 (September 16, 2019): 88–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.21686/2073-1051-2019-3-88-97.
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The problems of the trade union movement are multidimensional and each state has its own characteristics related to the cultural and historical past of nations, traditions, ethnic composition of the population, level of economic development of the state, its territorial communities, etc. Along with the specific features of trade union organizations, theory and practice defined relatively well-established principles of forming trade unions and their tasks, which can be used in the further development of the state, including in today’s Russia. In this regard, the development of relations between trade unions and state structures of Siberia in the 1920s is of great importance. Twentieth century. It was at this time that new areas of work of trade union bodies associated with the development of the Soviet state system are growing and gaining strength. This includes the nomination by the trade unions of candidates for leadership, above all economic, positions and uncritical support by the trade unions of any proposals from managers of enterprises and the abandonment of the struggle for workers’ rights in state enterprises, etc. Thus, Russia began the process of merging trade union organizations with the Soviet state. The reluctance of the trade unions to draw a clear distinction between their duties and the role of the appendages of economic bodies in production had a painful effect on relations with the workers. Such a position of the trade unions separated them from the real needs and demands of the workers, caused frustration and apathy of the population towards the trade union movement.
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Pulignano, Valeria. "Union struggle and the crisis of industrial relations in Italy." Capital & Class 27, no. 1 (March 2003): 1–7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/030981680307900101.
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This paper argues that the Berlusconi government is seeking to replace the ‘social concertation’ arrangement between government and trade unions with ‘social dialogue’ in an effort to undermine trade union ‘power’. This endeavour by the government to impose a policy of ‘social dialogue’ would severely limit trade unions' influence in economic and social policy decision-making and leave Berlusconi free to introduce reforms favouring his friends in employer organisations. One likely outcome would be the deregulation of the Italian labour market strongly damaging workers' rights.
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(АА) Rust, Braam. "The preparation of the labor relations landscape of South Africa (1994-2008): an environmental perspective for sustainable development." Environmental Economics 8, no. 1 (April 12, 2017): 93–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ee.08(1).2017.10.
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This paper undertakes a review of the literature that examines the highlights and changes in specific external environmental factors (Ecology, Economy, Politics, Legislation and legal structures, and Society), between1994 and 2008 in South Africa, with the aim to ascertain how these factors affect the day-to-day labour relations in the workplace and add to sustainable development. These factors form the landscape for labour relations. Changes to them have consequences on the quality of labour relations, that is, inter alia, the frequency, and intensity of conflicts, disputes, demands and industrial actions. It is also evident that with its power and through the political system, the South African trade union was enhanced to shape the labour relations landscape. Labour laws were particularly designed to be worker friendly and to ensure that trade unions could use a fair collective bargaining system to spread the wealth of the mining industry, agriculture and other industries more evenly. Also, because of the alliance that exists between Labour and the ruling party (ANC), the economy was influenced so that economic policies could to a certain extent guide and steer economic growth, unemployment, inflation, interest rates and exchange rates. Trade unions were instruments in ensuring that formal changes in laws and policies did, in fact, reach and positively impact families and households within the social environment. Lastly, trade unions were the most effective instrument for heralding change within South Africa in the environmental fields of ecology, economy, politics, legislation and legal structures, as well as within society. Furthermore, these fields have interchangeably affected the labour relations landscape thereby indelibly shaping it between 1994 and 2008.
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Gumbrell-McCormick, Rebecca, and Richard Hyman. "Democracy in trade unions, democracy through trade unions?" Economic and Industrial Democracy 40, no. 1 (August 24, 2018): 91–110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0143831x18780327.
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Since the Webbs published Industrial Democracy at the end of the nineteenth century, the principle that workers have a legitimate voice in decision-making in the world of work – in some versions through trade unions, in others at least formally through separate representative structures – has become widely accepted in most West European countries. There is now a vast literature on the strengths and weaknesses of such mechanisms, and we review briefly some of the key interpretations of the rise (and fall) of policies and structures for workplace and board-level representation. We also discuss the mainly failed attempts to establish broader processes of economic democracy, which the eclipse of nationally specific mechanisms of class compromise makes again a salient demand. Economic globalization also highlights the need for transnational mechanisms to achieve worker voice (or more radically, control) in the dynamics of capital–labour relations. We therefore examine the role of trade unions in coordinating pressure for a countervailing force at European and global levels, and in the construction of (emergent?) supranational industrial relations. However, many would argue that unions cannot win legitimacy as a democratizing force unless manifestly democratic internally. Therefore we revisit debates on and dilemmas of democracy within trade unions, and examine recent initiatives to enhance democratization.
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Cohen, Tamara. "Limiting Organisational Rights of Minority Unions: POPCRU v Ledwaba 2013 11 BLLR 1137 (LC)." Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad 17, no. 5 (April 10, 2017): 2227. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2014/v17i5a2162.
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The Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 unequivocally promotes the policy choice of majoritarianism, in furtherance of orderly collective bargaining and the democratisation of the workplace. The majoritarian model aims to minimise the proliferation of trade unions in a single workplace and to encourage the system of a representative trade union.Section 18(1) of the Labour Relations Act enables majority unions to enter into collective agreements setting thresholds of representivity for the granting of access, stop-order and trade-union leave rights to minority unions. In furtherance of the majoritarian framework, collective agreements concluded between majority unions and employers can be extended to non-parties to the agreement in terms of section 23(1)(d) of the Labour Relations Act provided specified requirements are satisfied. In Police & Prisons Civil Rights Union v Ledwaba 2013 11 BLLR 1137 (LC) (POPCRU) the Labour Court was required to consider if the collective agreements concluded between the employer and the majority union could be relied upon to prohibit the minority union from securing organisational rights. In so doing, the Labour Court had to reconcile the fundamental principle of freedom of association and the right to fair labour practices (to organise and engage in unfettered collective bargaining) within the context of the majoritarian framework. The Labour Court in POPCRU held that the collective agreement concluded with the majority union must have preference over the organisational rights of minority unions, in keeping with the principle of collective bargaining hierarchy and the legislative framework. This case note argues that, while the finding of the labour court in POPCRU is correct on the facts and is in keeping with the principle of majoritarianism, the legislative model may no longer be suitable within the context of the current socio-economic and political landscape. Strike violence, loss of confidence in existing bargaining structures, and the alienation of vulnerable employees from majority unions has resulted in minority unions taking up the cudgels of frustrated and disempowered employees, as witnessed in the Marikana experience. The note suggests that in the light of the changing dynamics of the collective bargaining environment, it may be time to revisit the majoritarian model.
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Taylor, Robert. "New Labour and the trade unions." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 3, no. 3 (November 1997): 622–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/102425899700300312.
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Taylor, Bill, and Qi Li. "Is the ACFTU a Union and Does it Matter?" Journal of Industrial Relations 49, no. 5 (November 2007): 701–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022185607082217.
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This article seeks to examine whether the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is a trade union organization, with implications for foreign unions, governments and other parties seeking to engage it. After examining the international context of pressure on China, the article will briefly outline the historical and present structure of the ACFTU and examine the problems the ACFTU faces in carrying out its functions. The article will argue through a number of criteria of union characteristics that the ACFTU is not a union. This is a more fundamental position than arguing the ACFTU is not an independent union. However, because the ACFTU is a state organ, closely subordinated to the Chinese Communist Party, foreign engagement can potentially lead to positive results for China's domestic labour. Finally, the article will briefly make suggestions for constructive engagement with the ACFTU as a state organ rather than as a union.
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Waddington, Jeremy. "Introduction: trade unions and labour relations in the United States." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 7, no. 3 (August 2001): 396–405. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/102425890100700305.
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This introductory article provides European readers with a succinct review of the organisation and activity of trade unions in the US. It also provides an analytical framework within which some of the strategic options available to US trade unions in the new millennium may be analysed. Three options are addressed: ‘reform for competitive advantage', ‘associational unionism’ and an adversarial ‘social-movement strategy'.
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García, Magaly Rodríguez. "Constructing Labour Regionalism in Europe and the Americas, 1920s–1970s." International Review of Social History 58, no. 1 (December 18, 2012): 39–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0020859012000752.
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AbstractThis article provides an analysis of the construction of labour regionalism between the 1920s and 1970s. By means of a comparative examination of the supranational labour structures in Europe and the Americas prior to World War II and of the decentralized structure of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), I attempt to defend the argument that regionalism was a labour leaders' construct that responded to three issues: the quest for power among the largest trade-union organizations within the international trade-union movement; mutual distrust between labour leaders of large, middle-sized, and small unions from different regions; and (real or imaginary) common interests among labour leaders from the same region. These push-and-pull factors led to the construction of regional labour identifications that emphasized “otherness” in the world of international labour. A regional labour identity was intended to supplement, not undermine, national identity. As such, this study fills a lacuna in the scholarly literature on international relations and labour internationalism, which has given only scant attention to the regional level of international labour organization.
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BIELER, ANDREAS. "The EU, Global Europe, and processes of uneven and combined development: the problem of transnational labour solidarity." Review of International Studies 39, no. 1 (May 29, 2012): 161–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0260210512000083.
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AbstractIn 2006, the European Union launched its new free trade strategy Global Europe with the explicit goal of increasing European competitiveness. This article explores the positions of trade unions and other social movements on Global Europe. Importantly, while Northern social movements and trade unions from the Global South reject Global Europe due to its impact of deindustrialisation on developing countries, European trade unions support it in so far as it opens up new markets for the export of European manufactured goods. It will be argued that this has to be understood against the background of the dynamics underlying the global economy and here in particular uneven and combined development. Due to the uneven integration of different parts of the world into the global economy, workers in developed countries may actually benefit from free trade, while workers in the Global South are more likely to lose out. It will, however, also be argued that while these different positions within the social relations of production are shaping the position of trade unions, they do not determine them. Over time, through direct engagement, trade unions in the North and South may be able to establish relations of transnational solidarity.
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Costa, Hermes Augusto. "From Europe as a model to Europe as austerity." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 18, no. 4 (October 26, 2012): 397–410. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1024258912458866.
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Twenty five years after Portuguese EU accession, the labour market in general and the trade unions in particular are faced with severely regressive social measures that undermine past expectations of progress towards the achievement of the Social Europe project in Portugal. Thus, on the one hand, this article identifies some of the ambitions and possibilities earlier opened up for the Portuguese labour market, as well as trade union attitudes to European integration. It is argued, on the other hand, that, in the context of the economic crisis and the austerity measures to which Portugal is subjected, the sense of Portugal’s backwardness in relation to the ‘European project’ has become more acute. The article accordingly focuses on and examines some of the austerity measures and certain controversial issues associated with them. In a final section, the impact of austerity on labour relations and the reactions of social partners, in particular the trade unions, are analysed.
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Hagen, Inger Marie, and Ragnhild Steen Jensen. "Trade union representatives from ethnic minorities. Representation revisited." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 25, no. 4 (October 22, 2018): 437–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1024258918800214.
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The Nordic countries have experienced major labour immigration since the EU enlargement round in 2004. Recruiting workers from ethnic minorities is a major challenge for all Nordic trade unions. Less attention has been directed towards the need also to integrate these members inside the unions, for example, by having them serve as trade union representatives at different levels in companies, as well as in the unions. A glance at the top positions in the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian trade unions reveals an almost all-white picture. There is considerable imbalance between the number of ethnic minority trade union members and the number of ethnic minority representatives. This article argues that looking into the concept of representation, and especially the features attributed to trade union representatives and how these features are perceived, enables us to investigate the mismatch between trade union density and trade union representatives among employees from different ethnic minorities.
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Erne, Roland, and Markus Blaser. "Direct democracy and trade union action." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 24, no. 2 (April 8, 2018): 217–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1024258918764079.
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Until recently, the political influence of trade unions primarily relied on ties to labour-friendly political parties. Since the 1990s, however, party-union relations have deteriorated, forcing unions to consider complementary political strategies. This article reviews different direct democratic instruments at local, national and EU levels. We distinguish popular consultations initiated by government from above from citizens’ initiatives initiated from below and discuss corresponding trade union experiences in Germany, Italy, Ireland, Slovenia and Switzerland. We also analyse the successful right2water European Citizens Initiative (ECI) of the European Federation of Public Service Unions and the failed fair transport ECI of the European Transport Workers’ Federation at EU level. Whereas unions have successfully used direct democratic instruments to (i) defend social achievements or (ii) as a lever to extract policy concessions, direct democracy is also challenging. Successful direct democratic campaigns require unions that are able to mobilise their own rank-and-file and to inspire larger sections of society.
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Schoeman, Heidi C. "The Rights Granted to Trade Unions under the Companies Act 71 of 2008." Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad 16, no. 3 (May 3, 2017): 236. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2013/v16i3a2365.
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With the entering into force of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 in 2011 a number of rights were granted to trade unions by the act. The Companies Act 71 of 2008 not only grants rights to registered trade unions, as is the case in labour law, but in some cases it grants rights to trade unions representing employees at the workplace. It is argued that rights afforded to trade unions by the act ought to be granted only to trade unions that are registered in terms of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995. In addition, it is also argued that the Companies Act 71 of 2008 ought in principle to differentiate between rights that are granted to registered trade unions representing employees at the workplace and rights that are granted to registered majority trade unions, or at the least to sufficiently representative trade unions.
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Hanagan, Michael. "Family, Work and Wages: The Stéphanois Region of France, 1840–1914." International Review of Social History 42, S5 (September 1997): 129–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0020859000114816.
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Exploring issues of the family wage, this paper examines labour markets, family employment patterns and political conflict in France. Up to now, the debate over the family wage has centred mainly on analysing British trade unions and the development of an ideal of domesticity among the British working classes, more or less taking for granted the declining women's labour force participation rate and the configuration of state/trade union relations prevailing in Great Britain. Shifting the debate across the Channel, scholars such as Laura Frader and Susan Pedersen have suggested that different attitudes to the family wage prevailed. In France, demands for the exclusion of women from industry were extremely rare because women's participation in industry was taken for granted. But a gendered division of labour and ideals of domesticity remained and made themselves felt in both workforce and labour movement.
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Heinrich, Steffen, Karen Shire, and Hannelore Mottweiler. "Fighting (for) the margins: Trade union responses to the emergence of cross-border temporary agency work in the European Union." Journal of Industrial Relations 62, no. 2 (March 18, 2020): 210–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022185619900649.
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Recent research suggests that trade unions in the European Union have become more receptive towards temporary and migrant workers and recognise their distinct interests. This article investigates to what extent this shift in attitude informs union responses to cross-border temporary agency work, an important variant of migrant non-standard work in the European Union. This employment form entails several potential lines of intra-labour conflicts of interests, that is, insider versus outsider and domestic versus migrant workers, and thus offers a particularly promising case to study whether and how unions seek to aggregate the interests of an increasingly heterogeneous workforce. Our findings suggest that although trade unions have gained considerable regulatory influence and new capacities to mediate conflicts of interest between different worker groups, a considerable degree of ambiguity remains in union positions and strategies towards temporary agency work and cross-border labour. Instead of gradual steps towards full inclusion of workers regardless of status and origin, union responses are best described as selective representation.
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Adăscăliței, Dragoș, and Ștefan Guga. "International actors and trade unions during postsocialism and after: the case of Romania." Employee Relations 40, no. 4 (June 4, 2018): 692–708. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/er-01-2017-0017.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain why, in spite having a relatively powerful labour movement at the start of the economic transformation, Romania ended up with a highly deregulated system of industrial relations in the aftermath of the global economic crisis of 2009 and with trade unions which seem incapable to defend their interests. Design/methodology/approach The authors trace the changing role that Romanian trade unions had in national policy making and show that the beginning of 2000s represents a critical point for the power loss sustained by organised labour. Findings The authors argue that a key element for explaining labour’s decline is the growing pressure exercised by various international organisations for the adoption of deregulatory labour market reforms. While during the 1990s this pressure was circumvented by successive governments which peddled back and forth between union wage pressure and fiscal austerity measures, beginning with 2000s, EU accession conditionalities coupled with IMF and World Bank policy recommendations enabled the international deregulation agenda to be implemented without much opposition. Originality/value The paper brings new evidence on the impact of international actors on the Romanian collective bargaining and labour market institutions.
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Heery, Edmund. "Book Review: New Labour Policy, Industrial Relations and Trade Unions." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 22, no. 2 (April 21, 2016): 255–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1024258916634622.
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Lichtenstein, Nelson. "Labour, Liberalism, and the Democratic Party: A Vexed Alliance." Articles 66, no. 4 (January 17, 2012): 512–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.7202/1007631ar.
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This essay argues that the American trade union movement constitutes a social democratic bloc within the U.S. body politic, episodically successful in broadening the welfare state, expanding citizenship rights, and defending the standard of living of working class Americans, including those unlikely to be found on the union membership roll. But such political influence, which has also helped make organized labour a backbone of Democratic Party electoral mobilization, has rarely been of usefulness when the unions sought to enhance their own institutional vibrancy, their own capacity to organize new members. When demands of this sort are put forward, Republican presidents and politicians denounce them outright, while most Democrats, including virtually every postwar president from that party, see such legislation as but the product of an unpopular interest group and thus safely devalued and ignored.American unions have almost always failed to win legislation advancing their institutional strength and political legitimacy. To understand why, this essay explores the three distinct regimes which have governed trade union “bargaining,” with employers, with the Democrats, and with the state, during the era since the New Deal. They are the era of the New Deal itself (1933-1947) during which a corporatist politicialization of all wage, price and production issues achieved some purchase; the years of classic industrial pluralism and collective bargaining (1947-1980), in which industrial relations was reprivatized to a large extent; and finally, our current moment (1980s forward) in which the labour movement exists and holds the possibility of growth largely in government and the service sector. A highly politicized form of tripartite bargaining, between companies, unions, and government (mainly state and local), has provided the chief avenue for raising the social wage and building nodes of trade union influence in key government-dependent sectors of the economy. With the arrival of the Obama era, this third system is becoming the only game in town, although this appears to be falling far short of labourite expectations.
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Ghosh, S. C. "The British Trade Unions and the Labour Law. The Case of the Industrial Relations Act 1971." Relations industrielles 35, no. 2 (April 12, 2005): 251–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.7202/029062ar.
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The trade unions’ reluctance to accept the reforms envisaged in the Industrial Relations Act 1971 is cited as an important example of trade unions* intransigence and arrogance and of the fact that they consider themselves to be above law. But the way the trade unions fought the Act appears to be quite in keeping with the democratic procedure and the rule of law.
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Knotter, Ad. "Justice for Janitors Goes Dutch. Precarious Labour and Trade Union Response in the Cleaning Industry (1988–2012): A Transnational History." International Review of Social History 62, no. 1 (March 10, 2017): 1–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0020859016000651.
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AbstractPrecarious labour has been on the rise globally since the 1970s and 1980s. Changing labour relations in the cleaning industry are an example of these developments. From the 1970s onwards, outsourcing changed the position of industrial cleaners fundamentally: subcontracting companies were able to reduce labour costs by recruiting mainly women and immigrants with a weak position in the labour market. For trade unions, it was hard to find a way to counteract this tendency and to organize these workers until the Justice for Janitors (J4J) campaigns, set up by the US-based Service Employees International Union (SEIU) from the late 1980s, showed that an adequate trade union response was possible. From the mid-2000s, the SEIU launched a strategy to form international coalitions outside the US. It met a favourable response in several countries. In the Netherlands, a campaign modelled on the J4J repertoire proved extraordinarily successful. In this article, transnational trade unionism in the cleaning industry based on the J4J model will be analysed with a special focus on the Dutch case. How were local labour markets and trade union actions related to the transnational connections apparent in the rise of multinational cleaning companies, the immigrant workforce, and the role of the SEIU in promoting international cooperation between unions?
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Ioannou, Gregoris. "The communicative power of trade unionism: labour law, political opportunity structure and social movement strategy." Industrielle Beziehungen. Zeitschrift für Arbeit, Organisation und Management 27, no. 3-2020 (November 23, 2020): 286–309. http://dx.doi.org/10.3224/indbez.v27i3.03.
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This article argues that more emphasis should be paid to the communicative power of trade unionism because it may constitute a starting point or a privileged standpoint which a trade union may use to counter its weakness regarding its other sources of power. Reviewing the trade union revitalisation literature, it is argued that social movement theory in general and especially ‘political opportunity structure’, can complement and enrich the power resources approach which is a useful tool in the analysis of trade union action. The case study of a weak trade union winning a strike largely as a result of its successful utilisation of its communicative power is presented where the public communication of the two sides to the conflict is subjected to content and discourse analysis. The article argues that trade unions can enhance their position through the adaptation of social movement strategy and campaign tactics into trade union activity because social movements are more accustomed to orienting their action in the public sphere. In this effort trade unions may draw upon the more explicitly normative and substantive dimension of labour law as a resource to legitimise and garner support for the unions’ objectives framing in a more expansive manner the issues at stake so that a significant section of society can identify with the trade union struggle at hand.
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Lee, Chang-Hee. "Recent Industrial Relations Developments in China and Viet Nam: The Transformation of Industrial Relations in East Asian Transition Economies." Journal of Industrial Relations 48, no. 3 (June 2006): 415–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022185606064794.
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Industrial relations in China and Viet Nam are on the way to divergence. The official industrial relations actors in China have attempted ‘institutional cloning’ of key elements of modern industrial relations such as tripartite consultation and collective bargaining within the political limit imposed by the Party-state. This attempt of preemptive corporatism has so far failed to address the rising tide of various forms of labour disputes while yielding some positive results of gradual strengthening of official trade unions at the workplace. Industrial relations in Viet Nam are characterized by more vibrant associational dynamism at national and provincial levels, which is obvious in the co-existence of cooperation and competition between and within the industrial relations actors. Workers in Viet Nam display greater degree of spontaneous solidarity in the form of well coordinated ‘wildcat strikes’, which are accommodated by the government and the official trade unions at higher level.
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Mustchin, Stephen, and Miguel Martínez Lucio. "The evolving nature of labour inspection, enforcement of employment rights and the regulatory reach of the state in Britain." Journal of Industrial Relations 62, no. 5 (April 14, 2020): 735–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022185620908909.
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The role of the state in directly regulating employment through enforcement mechanisms is increasingly significant and politically contentious in a context of weakened unions and the increasingly fragmented and precarious nature of the labour market. This article focuses on qualitative research on labour market regulatory actors in Britain, including the Health and Safety Executive, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, as well as referencing relevant changes in HM Revenue and Customs, trade unions, legal and advice services and other state agencies. The article argues that a curious dynamic is emerging in labour market regulation involving simultaneous processes of deregulation, greater levels of direct intervention in some areas alongside marketisation, and innovative forms of collaboration between relevant state agencies. Much of this is, however, driven by constraints imposed through economic austerity and neoliberal policies with an increasing focus on immigration and policing concerns, creating notable sets of organisational tensions within and between the agencies and the work of their relevant inspectors.
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Ntimba, David Isaac, Karel Frederick Lessing, and Ilze Swarts. "Post-1994 labour legislations: An overview of influence on employment relations in emerging markets." Journal of Governance and Regulation 9, no. 4 (2020): 94–105. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/jgrv9i4art8.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the primary labour legislation that was promulgated after the democratization of South Africa after 1994. These legislations were introduced as regulatory and corrective measures for workplace relationships in work organizations (Booysen, 2005; Vettori, 2018). The data for this paper was collected through the perusal of scientific journals, newspaper articles, published/unpublished dissertations and theses, textbooks, and other relevant informative documents. The significant and influential role, which these labour legislations played in the development of a new era of employment relations in South Africa, cannot be overstated. The South African perspective of employment relations is also presented and discussed in this paper to reveal its nature and its role-players, such as the state, trade unions, and employers’ organizations (Ehlers & Jordaan, 2016; Smith & Diedericks, 2016). The workplace relationship between employers (through their management) and employees (through their trade unions), and the effects which such an antagonistic relationship has had on the South African labour market are also addressed (Finnemore & Koekemoer, 2018). The main finding of this paper is that there has been an improvement in workplace relationships, since the implementation of the post-1994 labour legislation although such improvement has been gradual.
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Chen, Feng. "Trade Unions and the Quadripartite Interactions in Strike Settlement in China." China Quarterly 201 (March 2010): 104–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0305741009991093.
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AbstractAlthough the Chinese government has claimed to be pursuing tripartism for labour relations, the non-judicial resolution of interest conflict in enterprises is largely a process of quadripartite interaction. In addition to the government and employers, the trade unions and workers are separate players: labour strikes in China are always launched by unorganized workers rather than by trade unions, whose task is to defuse the situation. Such a quadripartite process is dominated by the government, with the trade union playing a mediating role, not only between workers and the government but also between workers and employers. The process involves certain explicit and implicit rules, as well as distinct dynamics. This research examines the institutional and social basis of quadripartite interaction and how it led to the settlement of strikes. It demonstrates that although it can effectively defuse workers' collective action, a quadripartite process of conflict resolution reflects a low degree of institutionalization of industrial relations in China.
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Keune, Maarten. "Inequality between capital and labour and among wage-earners: the role of collective bargaining and trade unions." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 27, no. 1 (February 2021): 29–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10242589211000588.
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In the context of rising inequality between capital and labour and among wage-earners in Europe, this state-of-the-art article reviews the literature concerning the relationship between collective bargaining and inequality. It focuses on two main questions: (i) what is the relationship between collective bargaining, union bargaining power and inequality between capital and labour? and (ii) what is the relationship between collective bargaining, union bargaining power and wage inequality among wage-earners? Both questions are discussed in general terms and for single- and multi-employer bargaining systems. It is argued that collective bargaining coverage and union density are negatively related to both types of inequality. These relationships are however qualified by four additional factors: who unions represent, the weight of union objectives other than wages, the statutory minimum wage, and extensions of collective agreements by governments.
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Marsh, David, and Heather Savigny. "Changes in Trade Union–Government Relations 1974–2002." Politics 25, no. 3 (September 2005): 165–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9256.2005.00241.x.
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Even if the role of unions is less than it was, they are still an important aspect of civil society in a democracy like the UK, so that changes in the relationship between the TUC and the government are an important aspect of changing patterns of governance in the UK. Here, we analyse this relationship during the period between 1974 and 2002 based upon the reports of the General Council of the TUC to each TUC Annual Conference. The analysis shows that the contacts between the TUC and government have fluctuated significantly over this period. They did decline in the Thatcher years although, interestingly, contacts were greater under Thatcher than under Major. The election of a New Labour government in 1997 was accompanied by an initial increase in contacts, but contacts declined subsequently. These fluctuations clearly reflect policy changes so, for example, contacts decreased when incomes policies became a thing of the past. However, they also reflected changes of personnel in government; so the replacement of Pym by Tebbit in 1982 was quickly followed by a fall in contacts. As far as New Labour is concerned, their historical links with the trade unions still mean that contacts are greater now than they were under the Conservatives. However, the initial surge in contacts probably reflected a broader pattern, with New Labour delivering on a promise of greater consultation made in opposition.
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Gumbrell-McCormick, Rebecca. "Globalisation and the dilemmas of international trade unionism." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 6, no. 1 (February 2000): 29–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/102425890000600105.
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This article presents the author's reflections on the possibilities of a restructuring of the international trade union movement, on the basis of a collective research project to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) which seeks to open a debate within the movement over the lessons to be learned from its history as a guide for its future action. The most important question facing the trade union movement today is what is generally called 'globalisation', a phenomenon that goes back many years, both in terms of economic developments and labour struggles. From this perspective, the paper examines the basis for the existing divisions of the international labour movement, before going over the work of the ICFTU and of the International Trade Secretariats (ITSs) to achieve the regulation of the multinational corporations and of the international economy, and concluding on the prospects for unity of action in the unions' work around the global economy.
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Crouch, Colin. "Membership density and trade union power." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 23, no. 1 (January 12, 2017): 47–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1024258916673533.
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Union membership has declined in almost all European and other advanced economies, though in many cases the membership that remains reflects overall changes in the gender and occupational structure of the economy. Meanwhile, in most countries unions’ incorporation in governing institutions of the labour market has remained stable or risen. Union strength (membership density and incorporation) and to a lesser extent bargaining coordination correlate positively with core employee interests in the post-Keynesian economy: a combination of high employment and low inequality, and a balance between flexibility and security. The evidence suggests that unions’ most important role today is as part of wider political forces, where the role of membership strength remains ambiguous.
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Valkenburg, Ben. "Activation and trade unions: confronting the dilemma." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 10, no. 4 (November 2004): 588–605. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/102425890401000410.
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Active employment strategies raise complex questions and considerations for trade unions. This is especially true for activation. If unions oppose activation it will be hard for them to play a relevant role in the contemporary debate. If they agree with current activation policies they will share responsibility for the risks attached to them. This article tries to find a way out of this dilemma. It explores the central issue of what constitutes an adequate stance for trade unions with regard to activation, in a situation where full employment is not a realistic aim. A possible way out of the dilemma is formulated from two perspectives. The first is a reciprocal, client-oriented approach to benefit claimants elaborated in terms of rights and duties that are defendable from a trade union point of view. The second is a broader concept of social participation, in which participation is not limited to paid employment on the regular labour market. Formulating these ideas only makes sense if the unions are also prepared and able to back them up with union power. The final section of the article addresses the question of how unions can back up their position on activation with union power.
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Moen, Eli. "Weakening trade union power." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 23, no. 4 (May 11, 2017): 425–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1024258917703547.
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For the past two decades – and in particular after the 2008 crisis – atypical employment has expanded across Europe. The crisis led to increased demand for more flexible labour markets, and thus atypical employment became an important tool for employment, competitiveness and economic growth. However, recent research reveals that employers are using atypical employment not just to compensate for unstable markets, but also as an opportunity to cut costs by bypassing collective agreements and to discipline workers, works councils and unions. The case study presented in this article corroborates these findings, arguing that employers – in addition to reducing costs – are making use of atypical employment to weaken organised labour as a goal in its own right. Whether such behaviour forms part of a larger drive to resist unions needs to be further researched. In any event, atypical employment represents an increasing challenge to trade unions across Europe.
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Fairbrother, Peter, and Victor Oyaro Gekara. "Multi-Scalar Trade Unionism: Lessons from Maritime Unions." Articles 71, no. 4 (January 3, 2017): 589–610. http://dx.doi.org/10.7202/1038524ar.
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Union approaches in relation to the global recalibration of work and employment relations and practices over the last three decades are being worked out in practice. The question for unions is by which means they either have leverage or the potential to exercise power in relation to state and corporate decisions and strategies. Unions thus face challenging questions about the ways they organize, exercise their capacities and attempt to meet their purposes. With reference to the Australian maritime sector, the study examines the ways the main union, the Maritime Union of Australia, developed multi-scalar approaches to localized events. The problem unions face is to defend and advance workers’ interests. The task is to organize, to realize their capacities to defend and advance maritime workers’ interests, increasingly in multi-scalar ways. The argument is that leaderships and activity that ‘bridge’ scalar relationships are an important condition in this process. There appears to be a complex set of cross-connections between the local, the national and the international. While transnational connectivity increasingly defines contemporary forms of trade unionism, these scalar relations are defined in relation to the workplace, the everyday world, and by the ways that transport is a defining characteristic of the global world. These relations constitute contemporary class struggle where work and employment relations are always in a process of change and development. Trade unionism, thus, remains a collective expression of power relations, in an increasingly internationalized world of work and employment. Thus, this research presents important lessons for multi-scalar organization and campaigning by unions to realize their capacities and purpose. Nonetheless, this study is only a beginning. While it indicates the processes of bridging, the next step is to investigate the variety of ways that bridging may take place and with what outcomes for the development of multi-scalar activity.
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Underhill, Elsa, Dimitria Groutsis, Diane van den Broek, and Malcolm Rimmer. "Organising across borders: Mobilising temporary migrant labour in Australian food production." Journal of Industrial Relations 62, no. 2 (December 19, 2019): 278–303. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022185619879726.
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This article builds on the growing literature on migrant worker mobilisation by analysing how the temporary migrant workforce, employed in food production, interacts with two Australian trade unions alongside ethno-specific social media groups, offshore unions and community/religious organisations. The contribution of this article is twofold. Firstly, we demonstrate divergence in union strategies, distinguishing between (i) a ‘traditional self-reliant’ strategy, where unions recruit temporary migrant workforces by using established methods and their own resources and (ii) network collectivism, where unions also engage with temporary migrant workforces obliquely through external social media platforms and alliances. Our second contribution is to examine how the components of network collectivism interact as an integrated strategy for temporary migrant worker mobilisation.
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Brown, William. "International Review: Industrial Relations in Britain under New Labour, 1997-2010: A Post Mortem." Journal of Industrial Relations 53, no. 3 (June 2011): 402–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022185611401996.
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A revival of trade unions was widely expected when Blair’s New Labour government took over from the Conservatives in Britain in 1997. This did not occur and collective bargaining continued to retreat. This article discusses the implications of the changing economic context for the government’s legal innovations, notably, statutory trade union recognition and a minimum wage, and describes the consequences for industrial relations. It concludes that New Labour’s legacy may lie in its nurturing of the institutions of social partnership and the use of conciliation.
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Kozina, Irina. "Transnational corporations, labour relations and trade unions – the case of Russia." SEER 13, no. 1 (2010): 69–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.5771/1435-2869-2010-1-69.
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del Rio Loira, Pablo, and Menno Fenger. "Spanish trade unions against labour market reforms: strategic choices and outcomes." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 25, no. 4 (January 22, 2019): 421–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1024258918818267.
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Trade unions are considered to be key political actors in the formation of welfare states. Their importance for the current fate of welfare states, however, has been disputed within academia. Aiming to contribute to this vast body of literature, this article analyses the participation of Spanish trade unions in labour market reforms since the restitution of democracy in Spain. The article analyses the strategic choices open to trade unions, particularly the choice of calling for mobilisation, and why unions make the choices that they do. Mobilisation in the form of a general strike constitutes unions’ last and most extreme resort for confronting the government. We also explain the context in which such mobilisations are able to prevent retrenchment measures attempted by the government.
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Skorupinska, Katarzyna. "Employee Rights and Labour Relations in Central and Eastern Europe." Journal of Global Economy 6, no. 5 (December 31, 2010): 343–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1956/jge.v6i5.71.
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Transformation of economies in Central and Eastern Europe countries has not been accompanied by sufficient guarantees for social dimension. Following that, the economic recession has particularly badly affected these countries. However, well-functioning social dialogue and regulated labour relations with well developed employee rights are the very bases of social guarantees. The analysis carried out in this paper leads to a conclusion that employee representation in workplaces in Central and Eastern Europe is still trade unions’ domain, in spite of the 2002 Directive’s implementation and (in general) dual system of worker representation in these countries. Initially, trade unions were afraid of the competition from works councils. With the passing of time, they toned down their inimical attitude towards these institutions. However, employees have not completely accepted the new form of worker participation yet and the number of works councils in these countries is still relatively small.
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MacLean, L. A. "Certification — Right to Certification for a Sectarian Organization Restricted to Members of the Christian Faith — Right Denied." Jurisprudence du travail 17, no. 2 (January 29, 2014): 187–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.7202/1021640ar.
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Summary Section 10 of the Ontario labour Relations Act, concerning certification of unions, as well as Section 4 of The Fair Employment Practices Act require that a trade union must extend the opportunity of membership and the right incidental to membership, equally and impartially and on the same terms and conditions to persons of all creeds. Any arbitrary or discriminatory denial of these right and opportunities is not only inimical to basic democratic principles but is incompatible wtih the union's obligation as an exclusive bargaining agent to represent all employees in the bargaining unit. Trenton Construction Workers Association, local No 52, affiliated with the Christian Labour Association of Canada, Applicant, and Tange Company Limited, Respondent; Ontario Labour Relations Board, File No. 20576-60, November 13, 1961. L.A. MacLean, Deputy Vice-Chairman, and Board Members G. Russel Harvey and R.W. Teagle.
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Pajares, Miguel. "Foreign workers and trade unions: the challenges posed." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 14, no. 4 (January 1, 2008): 607–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/102425890801400407.
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Trade unions have always found it difficult to get to grips with the subject of immigration. From their beginnings in the 19th century they assumed that working conditions were determined by labour supply and demand and became apprehensive in the face of any situation of surplus supply. The history of trade unionism abounds with conflicts between local workers and those from further afield. At the present time the European trade unions operate upon the assumption that immigrants are full members of the workforce, whose interests have to be defended alongside those of other workers. Even so, it remains the case that immigration prompts considerable misgivings within the trade unions and that situations of rejection continue to arise. The article identifies differences between southern Europe and central and northern Europe in trade unions' attitudes to new immigrants, differences that are reflected in the debates taking place on European legislation concerning labour immigration.
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Furåker, Bengt. "European trade union cooperation, union density and employee attitudes to unions." Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 26, no. 3 (July 9, 2020): 345–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1024258920933118.
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European trade unions have much to gain from cooperating with each other. Such cooperation does exist, but it is still fairly limited and many obstacles need to be overcome if cooperation is to be improved. According to our survey data, higher-level union officials regard differences concerning financial resources and national labour market regulations to be particularly substantial barriers to cooperation. The enormously varying union density across Europe, and its general decrease, also creates barriers. Therefore, employee attitudes to unions are examined using data from the International Social Survey Programme. As expected, union members tend to be more positive about trade unions than non-members. The most interesting finding, however, is that employees in some countries with low union density exhibit fairly positive views or at least views that are not less positive than what we find among employees in many countries with higher density rates. This suggests that there is potential for recruiting members.