The Future of Collectivism and Co-operation in Employment Relations

1
The Future of Collectivism and Co-operation in
Employment Relations

• William Brown and Sarah Oxenbridge
• (University of Cambridge)

2
What might be the future role of trade unions in
Britain?

• Consider past changes in their role
• Implications for collective bargaining
• Look at recent developments
• Report on two ESRC research projects
• Implications for the future

3
Union membership and strike propensity 1893-2002
period Change in union density () Strikes per million members pa Days lost per 1000 members pa
1893-1909 10 - 14 320 3749
1910-1959 15 - 44 174 2027
1960-1979 44 - 56 252 773
1980-1999 55 - 30 71 388
2000-2002 29 - 29 24 107
4
Changes in collective bargaining

• Different levels and forms
• Local, national, enterprise, workplace
• Negotiation or consultation
• Pay, work management, strategic issues
• Dependence on strikes

5
Dual and varying aspects

• Collective bargaining
• Rules to protect members
• Representation of members - industrial
  citizenship

• Trade unions
• Protecting vested interests of members
• Sword of justice social purpose

6
1990s - trade unions in crisis

• Collapse of membership and influence
• Firms in crisis rethinking union relations
• Unions responding with a changing role
• Facilitating and legitimising innovation
• Upholding increasing numbers of statutory
  individual rights

7
Did New Labour bring a change in direction?

• Project 1
• Responses to 1999 Employment Relations Act
• 60 selected private sector employers
• 34 trade union officials
• 15 employer organisation officials

8
Findings

• Employers forced to review union relations
• Responses from excluding to renegotiating
• Facilitated by Acas
• Where bargaining, scope often narrowed
• Whether or not bargaining, substantial increase
  in consultation
• Many cases of newly co-operative relations

9
Co-operative union/employer relationships

• Partnership arrangements ranged from nurturing
  trade unions to containing them
• Project 2
• The nature and conduct of co-operative
  union/employer relations
• - 9 cases covering different viewpoints
• - different degrees of formality and
  explicitness of partnership

10
Findings

• Variation in implied union rights from robust to
  shallow-rooted
• Importance of mutuality of the relationship
• Need for substantial consultation on issues that
  matter
• Short life expectancy for the shallow-rooted
• Importance for the union of managing mixed
  union/non-union groups

11
Future of collective bargaining

• Much depends upon
• Government agenda of industrial citizenship
• Implementation of Inf and Cons Directive
• Unions developing a social purpose role
• Facilitate change through effective
  representation
• Upholding individual rights within the workplace
• Win new membership within recognised sites
• Organise the unorganised beyond