Contemporary strike activity in western Europe: the domination of the political mass strike

Ye

Unions in Britain: Merely on the margins or on the cusp of a comeback?

This paper examines the past, present and future trajectory of unions and the union movement in Britain to analyse whether collectively they remain on the margins of influence in the economy and society or whether, given and because of the crisis of neoliberalism, they may be on the cusp of a comeback. Diagnosis and prognosis are sobering such that a possibility rather than probability of a comeback is discussed. This task is carried out by specifying the dimensions and criteria for renewal and revitalisation across a range of indicators

The obstacles facing sex worker unionisation suggest occupational, rather than workplace unionism, could be a way forward

In Britain, sex workers – unlike other workers – find they have a combined, triple hurdle to overcome in order to secure representation of their collective labour interests through unionisation. Based on research from his new book, Gregor Gall outlines how, due to the nature of the industry, the notion of occupational unionism may have some particular purchase as opposed to workplace unionism

Advancing Industrial Relations Theory: An Analytical Synthesis of British-American and Pluralist-Radical Ideas

YesProminent writers in industrial relations (IR) have concluded the field is in significant decline, partly because of a failed theory base. The theory problem is deepened because other writers conclude developing a theory foundation for industrial relations is neither possible nor desirable. We believe advancing IR theory is both needed and possible, and take up the challenge in this paper. A long-standing problem in theorizing industrial relations has been the lack of agreement on the field’s core analytical construct. However, in the last two decades writers have increasingly agreed the field is centred on the employment relationship. Another long-standing problem is that writers have theorized industrial relations using different theoretical frames of reference, including pluralist and radical-Marxist; different disciplinary perspectives, such as economics, sociology, history, and politics; and from different national traditions, such as British, French, and American. In this paper, we seek to advance IR theory and better integrate paradigms and national traditions. We do this by developing an analytical explanation for four core features of the employment relationship—generation of an economic surplus, cooperation-conflict dialectic, indeterminate nature of the employment contract, and asymmetric authority and power in the firm—using an integrative mix of ideas and concepts from the pluralist and radical-Marxist streams presented in a multi-part diagram constructed with marginalist tools from conventional economics. The diagram includes central IR system components, such as labour market, hierarchical firm, macro-economy, and nation state government. The model is used to explain the four features of the employment relationship and derive implications for IR theory and practice. Examples include the diagrammatic representation of the size and distribution of the economic surplus, a new analytical representation of labour exploitation, identification of labour supply conditions that encourage, respectively, cooperation versus conflict, and demonstration of how inequality of bargaining power in labour markets contributes to macroeconomic stagnation and unemployment

Injunctions as a legal weapon in collective industrial disputes in Britain, 2005-2014

NoThis article examines the frequency, nature and outcomes of employers seeking injunctions against strikes and industrial action mounted by unions between 2005 and 2014. The number of actual and threatened applications continues to be relatively high compared with the previous period when strike levels were significantly higher, with employers continuing to gain overwhelmingly successful outcomes. Yet usage is increasingly concentrated in a small number of industrial sectors, suggesting the notion of ‘strike effectiveness’ provides the best means by which to explain their relative frequency and presence. Comparative analysis with Ireland highlights the specificity of the nature of British legal regulation of employer seeking injunctive relief

Using the endowment effect to explain managerial resistance towards codetermination: implications for employment relations from the German case

This article provides an innovative defence of co-determination by way of exploring two of the most significant theorised objections to it from neo-liberal and libertarian perspectives, namely, the defence of the right to manage as freely chosen by employees and employers alike, and the right to manage being the most efficient, lowest transaction cost mode of employee governance. Instead, we focus upon management preference emanating from the endowment effect, and manifested in management style and ideology, as a more credible explanation for management’s support for its prerogative to manage. The endowment effect prompts both strong employer and manager objections to co-determination and weak employee willingness to seek it because humans place more value upon items currently in their possession than upon those they do not possess. We explore this argument by examining the experience of co-determination in Germany. The significance of our argument lies in identifying managerial preference as the key variable to be challenged and changed in order to pacify management opposition to co-determination through political, ideological and institutional means

The stability and consolidation of the Francoist Regime. The case of Eastern Andalusia, 1936-50

The stabilisation and longevity of Franco’s regime can be explained by the interpenetration of society and the institutions of the ‘New State’ in three overlapping areas: firstly, in the sphere of the shared culture of the community of civil war victors; secondly, through repression, based on the decisive collaboration of those supporting Francoism, which cut short any possible opposition; thirdly, in the socio-economic sphere, where those making up the groups supporting the ‘New State’ would see their personal interests fulfilled. At the same time, the defeated would be ensnared in a maze of misery and silence, abandoning any political concerns and concentrating instead on survival. Accordingly, the regime proved able to win support from a broad range of social groups while also eliminating any signs of opposition.The Spanish Ministerio de Innovación y Ciencia funded the research drawn on for this article (reference HAR2009‐07487)