High Performance Workplaces: the Role of Employee Involvement in a Modern Economy Evidence on the EU Directive Establishing a General Framework for Informing and Consulting Employees

This paper contains evidence submitted on the DTI green paper 'High Performance Workplaces: The Role of Employee Involvement in a Modern Economy: A Discussion Paper'. This follows on the EU Directive establishing a General Framework for Informing and Consulting Employees. The comments proceed as follows. The first section places the development of representative systems in Britain in a broad historical perspective, arguing that there have been a number of missed opportunities in the past in this area. The second section then maps the current situation - it deals with what British workers obtain by way of representation in general and information and consultation in particular. This is compared broadly in the third section with arrangements in three other major countries, the US, Germany, and France, where we suggest there are important lessons to be learnt. The fourth then deals with what British workers say they want. In the fifth section, we speculate about various scenarios and likely future developments. In the final section, answers are provided to some of the specific questions posed in the consultative document.

Microsatellite genotyping of apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) genetic resources in the Netherlands: application in collection management and variety identification

A highly informative set of 16 microsatellite markers was used to fingerprint 695 apple accessions from eight Dutch collections. Among the total sample, 475 different genotypes were distinguished based on multi-locus microsatellite variation, revealing a potential redundancy within the total sample of 32%. The majority of redundancies were found between collections, rather than within collections. No single collection covered the total observed diversity well, as each collection consisted of about 50% of unique accessions. These findings reflected the fact that most collection holders focus on common Dutch varieties, as well as on region-specific diversity. Based on the diversity patterns observed, maintenance of genetic resources by a network of co-operating collection holders, rather than by collecting the total diversity in a single collection appears to be an efficient approach. Comparison of microsatellite and passport data showed that for many accessions the marker data did not provide support for the registered variety names. Verification of accessions showed that discrepancies between passport and molecular data were largely due to documentation and phenotypic determination errors. With the help of the marker data the varietal names of 45 accessions could be corrected. Microsatellite genotyping of apple appears to be an efficient tool in the management of collections and in variety identification. The development of a marker database was considered relevant as a reference instrument in variety identification and as a source of information about thus far unexplored diversity that could be of interest in the development of new apple varietie

Impact of the Recession on Workplaces and on Employment Relations

The first findings of the 2011 UK Workplace Employment Relations Study, published in January 2013, present an authentic picture of employee representation, collective bargaining and consultation arrangements in British workplaces. They also throw an interesting light on the impact of the recession on workplaces, and practices relating to employees and employment relations. This report, which compares the situation with that of the 2004 survey, also explores the impact of recent major policy initiatives

Emerging technologies for the non-invasive characterization of physical-mechanical properties of tablets

The density, porosity, breaking force, viscoelastic properties, and the presence or absence of any structural defects or irregularities are important physical-mechanical quality attributes of popular solid dosage forms like tablets. The irregularities associated with these attributes may influence the drug product functionality. Thus, an accurate and efficient characterization of these properties is critical for successful development and manufacturing of a robust tablets. These properties are mainly analyzed and monitored with traditional pharmacopeial and non-pharmacopeial methods. Such methods are associated with several challenges such as lack of spatial resolution, efficiency, or sample-sparing attributes. Recent advances in technology, design, instrumentation, and software have led to the emergence of newer techniques for non-invasive characterization of physical-mechanical properties of tablets. These techniques include near infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray microtomography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging, terahertz pulsed imaging, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, and various acoustic- and thermal-based techniques. Such state-of-the-art techniques are currently applied at various stages of development and manufacturing of tablets at industrial scale. Each technique has specific advantages or challenges with respect to operational efficiency and cost, compared to traditional analytical methods. Currently, most of these techniques are used as secondary analytical tools to support the traditional methods in characterizing or monitoring tablet quality attributes. Therefore, further development in the instrumentation and software, and studies on the applications are necessary for their adoption in routine analysis and monitoring of tablet physical-mechanical properties

Comparatively Open: Statutory Information Disclosure for Consultation and Bargaining in Germany, France and the UK

Information provision is an important part of all mechanisms which give employees voice atwork. This paper considers the law on information disclosure for joint consultation andcollective bargaining in three countries, Germany, France, and the UK, chosen for theirdistinctive legal and institutional arrangements, within a common European Union context. Itis argued that there is coherence between the law and institutions in Germany; in France,despite extensive legal support for information provision, the law and institutions complementone another less; in the UK, there are contradictory approaches and new dilemmasconfronting the traditional system. Although European Directives harmonise statutoryminima, there are few signs of common disclosure practice emerging across the threecountries.Collective bargaining, information disclosure, unions, Germany, France, UK

Firms and the welfare state: the emergence of new forms of unemployment

The goal of this paper is to provide the elements of a unitary analytical framework that incorporates the findings of two bodies of literature which, so far, havedeveloped independently: comparative models of the political economy that distinguish between coordinated and uncoordinated market economies and comparative models of social policy. While sharing the emphasis on firm behaviour of the first models, the paper attempts to build a micro-logic into comparative models of social policy, in order to overcome the functionalist character of these analyses.By using combined insights from both models and by specifying the micro-regulatory role of the welfare regimes and the impact of welfare regimes on firm adjustment, we can explain cross-national differences in the changes of the institutions situated at the interface between the welfare state and firms during the1980s and cross-national differences in the mix between employment and non-employment. -- Ziel des Papiers ist es, Elemente für einen einheitlichen Analyse-Rahmen zuentwickeln, der Ergebnisse zweier unterschiedlicher Stränge der Forschungsliteratur aufgreift, die bis jetzt unabhängig voneinander entwickelt worden sind: es geht zumeinen um die vergleichenden Modelle der politischen Ökonomie, die zwischen koordinierten und unkoordinierten Marktwirtschaften unterscheiden und zum anderenum vergleichende Modelle bezogen auf Sozialpolitik. Von den erstgenanntenModellen wird die Fokussierung auf das Verhalten von Unternehmen übernommen, denn es geht um den Einbau einer Mikro-Logik in die Modelle zur Analyse von Sozialpolitik. Damit soll der funktionalistische Charakter dieser Analysen überwunden werden. Durch die Kombination von Ergebnissen beider Modelle und durch eine genaueAnalyse der mikro-regulatorischen Rolle wohlfahrtsstaatlicher Regelungen sowiederen Bedeutung auf Anpassungsprozesse von Unternehmen können Unterschiedezwischen verschiedenen Ländern bei der Veränderung der Institutionen an der Nahtstelle des Wohlfahrtsstaats und der Unternehmen während der achtziger Jahre und Unterschiede in der Verteilung von Beschäftigung und Arbeitslosigkeit erklärtwerden.

The Global Employer: How to Respond to a Global Crisis

This publication has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Baker & McKenzie. It is intended to provide only a summary of selected legal developments. For this reason the information contained in this publication should not form the basis of any decision as to a particular course of action; nor should it be relied on as legal advice or regarded as a substitute for detailed advice in individual cases. The services of a competent professional adviser should be obtained in each instance so that the applicability of the relevant legislation or other legal development to the particular facts can be verified

Political Entrepreneurs and Co-Managers: Labour Transnationalism at Four Multinational Auto Companies

This paper examines labour transnationalism within four multinational automakers. In our sample, we find different forms of labour transnationalism, including transnational collective bargaining, mobilisation, information exchange and social codes of conduct. We explain these differences through the interaction between management and labour in the context of the company structure; of particular importance are transnational coercive comparisons by management and the orientations of worker representatives as political entrepreneurs or co-managers. We conclude that, although intensified worker-side crossborder cooperation were not preventing wage-based competition in general (due to the lack of between-firm coordination), they have reshaped employment relations within these MNCs