Crisis-related collective bargaining and its effects on different contractual groups of workers in German and Belgian workplaces

Abstract

This article investigates the effects of crisis-related collective bargaining on different contractual groups of workers. Comparing four workplaces of two multinationals in Germany and Belgium in the recent economic crisis, the authors observe that Belgian unions could protect some temporary workers' jobs and when the crisis endured, the jobs and working conditions of the permanent workforces. In contrast, temporary jobs in the German workplaces were not protected and later on, the works councils had to concede on the permanent workers' working conditions to safeguard their jobs. This is explained by the intersection of institutional and firm-level differences which interacted to offer (or not) resources to unions to enforce protection.

Varieties of workplace dualisation: a study of agency work in the German automotive industry

“…This empirical evidence contributes to the growing industrial relations literature focusing on workplace dualisation and labour strategies (e.g. Doerflinger and Pulignano, ; Pulignano and Keune, ) because it clearly illustrates how the wider context of liberalisation and international competition and local external circumstances affect labour strategies and power resources at workplace during negotiations on dualisation (Holst, ). This account is only partly compatible with the dualisation literature, which attributes a central role to labour preferences and cross‐class coalitions at workplace in the labour market dualisation in Germany (Hassel, ; Palier and Thelen, ).…”

“…This article demonstrates the value of incorporating workplace dynamics in national‐level accounts of labour market dualisation, thereby further developing the contribution of the industrial relations literature to political economy debates (e.g. Doerflinger and Pulignano, ; Pulignano and Keune, ).…”

“…In contrast, industrial relations research analyses in great depth how unions, using Streeck's words, ‘support principles of allocations other than competitive pricing in free markets’ (p. 234) and fight to impose social obligations on employers. Unions bargain arrangements protecting not only core workers from market competition such as promotion rules, wage scales and qualification requirements (Lautsch, ; Rubery, ) but also marginal workers (Doerflinger and Pulignano, ; Håkansson and Isidorsson, ). Bargaining outcomes are explained through power dynamics: even though often implicitly, scholars mostly use a ‘dispositional’ concept of power, pointing out the ability of labour actors to use their power resources and to build them up in order to affirm their interests over employers' interests (Lévesque and Murray, : 335).…”

The strange non-death of employer and business associations: An analysis of their representativeness and activities in Western European countries

“…Even though it was sometimes argued that along with the "decline" of corporatism (e.g., Molina and Rhodes, 2002) the scope and intensity of EBA involvement weakened slightly over time there is evidence that since the advent of the economic crisis in Europe the involvement of EBAs in the public policy making agenda increased significantly again. This, however, includes both bi-and tripartite policy making (e.g., Doerflinger and Pulignano, 2015;Marginson and Galetto, 2016). The bottom line is that, in different countries, different institutional structures and institutions of business and employer interest representations emerged which differ significantly in their degree of "influence".…”

Trade union strategies on climate change mitigation: Between opposition, hedging and support

“…The literature on collective bargaining in situations in which job losses are likely to occur provides insights into how trade unions can be expected to deal with the emerging jobs-versus-environment dilemma. Ongoing since the 1980s, the debate on concession bargaining has demonstrated that unions have in many instances adopted bargaining strategies aimed at safeguarding employment and improving company competitiveness, even if these strategies contradict general principles upheld by unions such as the defence of working conditions and broader solidarity among workers (Cappelli, 1985; Doerflinger and Pulignano, 2018). Literature dealing with the consequences of the US recession in the 1980s indicates that unions accepted to reduce or freeze wages, cut back benefits, implement two-tier wage plans for new hires and increase overall flexibility to strengthen company competitiveness in exchange for job guarantees, no-layoff policies or earning protection (Cappelli, 1985; Kochan et al, 1986).…”