Regulating for mutual gains? Non-union employee representation and the Information and Consultation Directive

Interest in ‘mutual gains’ has principally been confined to studies of the unionised sector. Yet there is no reason why this conceptual dynamic cannot be extended to the non-unionised realm, specifically in relation to non-union employee representation (NER). Although extant research views NER as unfertile terrain for mutual gains, the paper examines whether NER developed in response to the European Directive on Information and Consultation (I&C) of Employees may offer a potentially more fruitful route. The paper examines this possibility by considering three cases of NER established under the I&C Directive in Ireland, assessing the extent to which mutual gains were achieved

A Study of the Outcomes of the Transposition of the EU Directive on Employee Information and Consultation in Two Jurisdictions

This thesis examines the impact of the European Union Directive on Employee Information and Consultation (ICED) (2002/EC/14) in workplaces in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Evidence is derived from six research sites in three case study companies operating on a cross border basis. The ICED created for the first time a legal right for employees to obtain information on a specific ongoing basis from their employers. There was considerable anticipation from the academic and practitioner communities that ICED would transform or at the very least have a significant impact on the provision of employee voice. The main rationale of the thesis was to investigate the potential of the regulatory effect of the ICED in terms of shifting the axis of employment regulation and in any subsequent modification of workplace employee voice forms and practices. The investigation was a systematic study that examined the role of workplace governance regimes in shaping the outcomes of voice as observed through the lens of the ICED regulations and the concept of regulatory space. The main conclusion of the study was that the ICED had little workplace impact for a number of differential reasons. Primarily the regularity space for the ICED regulations was captured in the interests of preserving voluntarist and existing voice forms and practices. The type of governance regimes in individual workplaces played a significant part in determining the outcomes experienced by employees from the ICED regulations. As such this thesis makes a contribution to the theory of workplace governance regimes and their role as rule makers in the political arena of employment regulation

The shifting contours of collective bargaining in the manufacturing sector in the Republic of Ireland: Government, employer and union responses since the economic crisis

This article examines the responses of the industrial relations actors to the economic crisis in Ireland and the impact on collective bargaining. The data were collected at national, sectoral and workplace levels. We find the existence of both change and continuity, with increased diversity in collective bargaining in manufacturing, including a distinct shift to enterprise bargaining shaped by the capacity of management and local union representatives to adapt to wider pressures. We consider the implications for government, employers and unions.PUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe

The shifting contours of collective bargaining in the manufacturing sector in the Republic of Ireland: Government, employer and union responses since the economic crisis

This article examines the responses of the industrial relations actors to the economic crisis in Ireland and the impact on collective bargaining. The data were collected at national, sectoral and workplace levels. We find the existence of both change and continuity, with increased diversity in collective bargaining in manufacturing, including a distinct shift to enterprise bargaining shaped by the capacity of management and local union representatives to adapt to wider pressures. We consider the implications for government, employers and unions