Bargaining for work–family benefits in the UK

Abstract

Using data from the Labour Research Department's Payline bank of collective agreements, and drawing on case studies of the (male-dominated) rail transport and (female-dominated) food retail sectors, this article analyses agreement on enhanced work–family benefits, focusing on maternity and paternity leave and pay, and Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and pay. The opportunity structure for bargaining, consisting of internal and external factors encouraging or facilitating union engagement with work–family measures, has developed unevenly in the British case, resulting in only a small number of agreements overall. Collectively agreed provision offers significant benefits mainly for maternity leave and pay. The analysis finds evidence of a dynamic of bargaining whereby those organisations with enhanced maternity pay continued to extend provision and to introduce new enhancements for fathers through paternity leave, but also identifies the limits of this dynamic due to complexity of policy design. The article argues that trade unions can coordinate bargaining strategy even in the absence of formal mechanisms for doing so, but that local strategy depends on the external opportunity structure at all levels.

Beyond the surface: Unpacking the opportunity structure for gender equality bargaining in Chile

“…Combining a strategic–relational approach (Jessop, 2001) to the opportunity structure framework can illuminate this disconnection acknowledging that actors’ actions vary based on resources and scenarios arising from opportunity structure components’ interactions. This aligns with recent research in equality bargaining, such as Milner (2022) on union strategies and policy interventions that create opportunity structure unevenness and Williamson and Colley's (2023) identification of an ‘incongruence’ in gender equality regulation spheres, advocating for greater focus on their interrelationships. Our study moves in a similar direction, enhancing the comprehension of the interconnected dimensions discussed.…”

“…Implementing industry-wide or new forms of network-based collective bargaining could significantly address gender equality concerns related to long-term social interests. This is certainly not sufficient to change problems related to trade union culture and strategy, but the latter is certainly conditional on what happens to these external factors (Milner, 2022). Major constitutional reforms in Chile could greatly influence the industrial relations system by dismantling dictatorship-era institutional pillars and encouraging reorganisation of regulatory spheres.…”

“…Building on the idea that these factors constitute a structure, a strategic-relational approach would explore which actors, strategies, identities and contexts are targeted by these structural factors and how actors respond in a given context (Jessop, 2001). The interaction between different components of the opportunity structure can create diverse scenarios, contingent upon union strategies (Milner, 2022), regardless of common trends in gender politics at an aggregate level. This research stresses that notable progress on gender politics in government and union agendas may not necessarily result in significant change in GEB or actor interest in leveraging it.…”

Do work–family conflict or family–work conflict mediate relationships between work‐related hazards and stress and pain?

“…58 Other means to improve work-life interaction for employees include national legislation [59][60][61] and collective bargaining. 59,60,62 An important finding from this work is the role played by FWC in relationships between work-related hazards and health outcomes.…”

“…The use of work‐life policies and practices by senior executives is one way in which organizations can demonstrate their commitment to assisting other workers to better manage WFC 58 . Other means to improve work–life interaction for employees include national legislation 59–61 and collective bargaining 59,60,62 …”