The promise of partnership

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-257
Author(s):  
Denis Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Human Resources Management ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Third Way ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Partnership Approach ◽  
Development Of Partnership

‘Partnership’ is a word that crops up with increasing frequency in government, trade union and management circles in the UK. For many it neatly embodies both the practice and sentiment of the so-called ‘third way’. In the workplace, a partnership approach to industrial relations has been offered as a neo-pluralist alternative to the unitarism of Human Resources Management. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is an active proponent of partnership and the government has created a fund to support the development of partnership at the workplace. This article sketches some theoretical underpinning for the practice of partnership. To shed some light on the prospects for partnership it draws on recent UK experience and includes a case study of the development of a partnership between UNISON, the UK’s largest trade union, and Vertex Data Sciences, one of the fastest growing call centre operators in the UK.

Change from Within: Reforming Trade Union Coverage and Structure

1991 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Kollmorgen ◽  
Richard Naughton
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
Union Coverage ◽  
Restructuring Process ◽  
The Government ◽  
Capacity For Change ◽  
Centralized System

The federal government has demonstrated that it supports moves to rationalize trade union structure by enacting legislation which allocates the parties in the industrial relations process different roles in transforming union coverage of workers and workplaces. The power to rewrite union eligibility rules under section 118A of the Industrial Relations Act 1988 provides the Australian Industrial Relations Commission with a direct role in the restructuring process, while the more permissive path towards trade union amalgamations now endorsed by the legislation allows the union movement itself an opportunity to hasten the reform process. The authors contend that the government has chosen to adopt a compromise model of reform by seeking to achieve change from within the existing centralized system. The paper analyzes the different legislative mechanisms, both to identify the capacity for change that currently exists within the Industrial Relations Act, and to assess whether they provide a suitable response to the challenges presently confronting the Australian industrial relations system.

Trade Unions and the Quadripartite Interactions in Strike Settlement in China

2010 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
pp. 104-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Chen
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Social Basis ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
The Government

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.

Challenges posed by the EU minimum wage initiative to the ETUC and European trade union cooperation

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Lovén Seldén
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Institutional Differences ◽  
European Trade ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
The Government ◽  
Role Of The Government ◽  
The Eu

This article addresses recent developments in the debate on a European minimum wage and tries to shed light on the Swedish standpoint, which from a European perspective might be difficult to comprehend. The article argues that even though the ETUC secretariat has tried to find a balance among the member organisations regarding the EU initiative on a fair minimum wage, it is far from enough from a Swedish and Nordic perspective. Issues such as how to approach collective bargaining, how to think about minimum wages and the role of the government in industrial relations cause problems when unions that operate in relatively diverse institutional contexts try to cooperate. It is therefore likely that the EU minimum wage will continue to be at the core of European trade union discussions in the coming years. At the same time, institutional differences between countries are not the only factors determining union cooperation in Europe. Contextual factors also matter.

scholarly journals Industrial Relations in Queensland Under an LNP Government

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Anderson ◽  
Thomas Brauns
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Job Security ◽  
National Party ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
Sector Reform ◽  
Trade Union Movement ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
The Government

<em>The Liberal National Party (‘LNP’) won 78 out of a possible 89 seats in Queensland’s 2012 state election. Facing a budget blowout, the new Government soon used its control of the state’s unicameral parliament to implement a contentious public sector reform agenda. The LNP’s amendments to Queensland’s employment laws struck at the very heart of many of the accepted ‘ground rules’ of industrial relations. Perhaps most signif-icantly, the Government used its parliamentary majority to remove job security commit-ments given to public servants, paving the way for the loss of thousands of jobs. This paper sets out the key industrial relations reforms adopted by the LNP. The authors dis-cuss the Government’s rationale for the changes, and the reaction from Queensland’s trade union movement. The article concludes with some general observations about the changes adopted during the LNP’s term of Government; a period which will undoubtedly be remembered as a controversial part of Queensland’s industrial relations history.</em>

scholarly journals Howard's way: seeking conflict or building commitment?

2005 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 270
Author(s):  
Pauline Stanton ◽  
Tim Bartram
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
First Century ◽  
Australian Health ◽  
Unfair Dismissal ◽  
Workforce Issues ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

WHILE MANY COMMENTATORS are describing the Federal Government?s industrial relations reform package as radical or even revolutionary there is very little in it that is a complete surprise. Further reduction in the power of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), greater simplification in the making of awards and agreements, an increase in anti-trade union legislation, and weakening of unfair dismissal provisions have been on the government?s wish list for some time. The move to a national industrial relations system has also been on the government?s agenda. The impact of these developments on the health industry is difficult to predict beyond saying that it appears to be a recipe for conflict and division. However, our main focus is not to discuss the detail and merits of the proposed changes but instead to ask whether these policies in any way address the major workforce issues facing the Australian health care sector in the twenty first century.

scholarly journals Lockdown: a case study in how to lose trust and undermine compliance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Faulkner
Keyword(s):  
Collective Good ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Coordination Problem ◽  
Coordination Problems ◽  
Social Coordination ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Uk

To protect against COVID-19, the UK Government imposed a national lockdown that shut schools and business, and required people to stay at home. This lockdown instituted a social coordination problem: it demanded the individual bear a cost – a significant restriction to their movement – in order to achieve a collective good. Initially there were remarkably high levels of social compliance with the lockdown restrictions, but the Government defense of Mr. Cummings corresponded with a notable drop in both levels of compliance and levels of trust in government. By considering the logic of social coordination problems, this paper offers an explanation as to why these drops in compliance and trust were to be expected.

Right to Service Acts in India— Fundamental Governance Reforms or an Exercise in Political Rhetoric?: A Case Study of Delhi Administration

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manish Garg
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Indian States ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Veil ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Right ◽  
Governance Reforms

Right-based approach to governance became popular in India in the first decade of present century with the passage of legislations conferring Right to Information, Right to Work in rural areas, and Right to Primary Education upon its citizens. This article examines the next step in that direction—passage of Right to Service (RTS) Acts by a number of Indian States thereby providing its citizens the right to time-bound delivery of notified public services. These Acts not only empower citizens to make claims against the government if the rights are violated but also serve as a tool for the politicians and the senior bureaucrats to control lower bureaucracy. This article traces the genealogy of RTS Acts in Citizen’s Charter movement of the1990s in the UK and evaluates their progress and results with the help of various theories and concepts used for improving the public service delivery. How inept implementation has thwarted the promise of accountability inherent in these Acts will be seen in detail while piercing the veil of statistical data.

scholarly journals Trade union community membership: exploring what people who are not in paid employment could contribute to union activism

2021 ◽  
pp. 102425892110433
Author(s):  
Jane Holgate ◽  
Gabriella Alberti ◽  
Iona Byford ◽  
Ian Greenwood
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Labour Unions ◽  
Community Membership ◽  
Private Sector Union ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Paid Employment ◽  
Union Activism

The industrial relations literature tends to argue that workers join trade unions primarily for instrumental reasons, for example, to obtain assistance if there is a problem at work. But this clearly does not apply to people who are not in work. It is in many ways counterintuitive to join a trade union when one is not an employee or in paid employment, looking for a job, or retired. Generally, there is little material benefit in doing so. Others have noted, however, that personal values, particularly associated with the ideological left, can cultivate a predisposition toward joining a union that is not based on a purely material calculus. Nevertheless, this analysis is usually applied to workers. The research reflected in this article aims to understand the motivation of people who are not in paid employment, such as jobseekers/unemployed, students and retirees, to join labour unions and become active within them. It does so through a case study of the United Kingdom’s largest private sector union, Unite, and considers the contribution to, or rationale for, union activism within community membership and the possibilities for rethinking trade unionism beyond its traditional workplace base.

Incomes Policy and Industrial Relations: Britain, Sweden and Australia

1980 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Wright ◽  
Nixon Apple
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
Government Relations ◽  
Incomes Policy ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Increasingly, economic debate in Australia and other Western, developed economies is directed to the interdependence and potential conflict between the out come of labour market negotiations and government economic policy. Industrial relations becomes identified as a cause of economic problems and governments have been attracted to policies that seek to alter the outcome of labour market negotia tions, using what are often termed "incomes policies". However, because of the nature of industrial relations, incomes policies which might be established to express government demands also have an influence over the balance of powers and relations within the economy. This dynamic process presents problems for practitioners and academics assessing the full effect of incomes policies. The corporatist model developed by Leo Pantich is one useful model of the changes that can occur in trade union, employer and government relations under incomes policy conditions. Draw ing on the flexibility of such a process model, this article details the development of incomes policies in Britain and Sweden, examining the changing relationships and powers that have occurred when the parties (and especially the trade unions) have responded to the demands such policies make on industrial relations. The differences in trade union reactions to industrial relations adjustment provide lessons and experiences for any economy where the government seeks to direct labour market negotiations. In terms of the impact on trade unions particularly and industrial relations in general, the British and Swedish lessons offer valuable insights for Australia. Examining the dynamic incomes policy effects in Australia, we conclude that only if industrial relations practitioners and trade unionists are aware of the dynamic pressures of intervention and respond in a structured manner can they avoid the traps identified by British experience and benefit from the opportunities offered by Swedish initiatives.

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