Law and Union Democracy: The Changing Shape

Elias, Patrick

doi:10.1007/978-1-349-11931-8_2

Cited by 17 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Such an emphasis on individualism has been a notable feature of the various pieces of employment legislation that have been enacted by successive Conservative administrations (Elias 1990), particularly the restrictions placed on collective methods of organization and resistance at the expense of a rhetoric of individual employment rights (Metcalf 1994;Smith and Morton 1993).…”

Section: The Decollectivization Of Employment Relations In the Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second dimension of the trend towards decollectivization in employment relations is related to the extent to which the Conservative governments of the 1980s and 1990s were concerned to promote the diffusion of individualistic and entrepreneurial values within society (Keat 1990). Such an emphasis on individualism has been a notable feature of the various pieces of employment legislation that have been enacted by successive Conservative administrations (Elias 1990), particularly the restrictions placed on collective methods of organization and resistance at the expense of a rhetoric of individual employment rights (Metcalf 1994;Smith and Morton 1993).…”

Section: The Decollectivization Of Employment Relations In the Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Nature of Some Recent Trade Union Modernization Policies in the UK

Williams

1997

Brit J Industrial Rel

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article draws on recent research to present findings concerning the nature of some recent trade union modernization policies in the UK. In response to decline, it can be seen that the unions have increasingly been encouraged to represent and service members more as individuals than as part of a collective. This appears to be consonant with the frequently expressed view that greater individualism, both in employment and in society more generally, has largely been responsible for recent union weaknesses, and that if they are to endure the unions should adapt to it. Using data generated from interviews with fulltime officers from a number of unions and from a case study of Unison organization within a local authority, the paper identifies two crucial problems with such an approach. First, it is argued that the substantial difficulties that the unions have experienced recently have been caused by a process of decollectivization in employment relations, and not one of individualization. Second, an indication of the complexity of the relationship between individualism and collectivism within trade unionism is given, something that is entirely ignored by proponents of the thesis that unions should concentrate solely on appealing to individuals.

show abstract

Section: The Decollectivization Of Employment Relations In the Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Decollectivization Of Employment Relations In the Ukmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Nature of Some Recent Trade Union Modernization Policies in the UK

Williams

1997

Brit J Industrial Rel

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Whilst New Labour and the New Unionism overhang both public and private sectors, there are obvious risks in attempting to`read off' prospects for self-organization from the conjuncture of these discursive practices. Thus it is important to remind ourselves that the NALGO SOGs flourished precisely in the era of the New Right offensive against trade unionism, and that the radical UNISON constitution was ratified by the Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union members which had been established in part to deter unions from these kinds of`excesses', with powers to intervene in internal union governance (Elias, 1990). The laws enacted by New Labour and the words espoused by contemporary union leaders do, however, involve an emphasis upon individual rights as always undergirding and occasionally overriding collective rights (Undy, 1999).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Organization and Trade Union Democracy

Humphrey

2000

The Sociological Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article is an offshoot of a three year study into the self-organized groups for women, black members, disabled members and lesbians and gay men which have been enshrined in the constitution of the UK's public sector union UNISON. The argument is that self-organization has become a significant axis around which trade union democracy is being reconstituted in the late twentieth century. However, our understanding of this phenomenon has been obscured by the ascendancy of mainstream union perspectives over self-organized perspectives, which has unfortunately been compounded by academic researchers. A re-conceptualization of selforganization proceeds in three stages. First, it is contextualized politically and theoretically in terms of trade union histories, new social movements and models of a diversified democratic polity. Second, it is re-signified by attending to its actual unfolding over the past two decades and the self-understandings of its activists. Third, is problematized with reference to exogenous pressures towards bureaucracy and oligarchy, and endogenous pressures towards essentialisms and exclusions.

show abstract

Strike Ballots, Democracy, and Law

Creighton

Denvir²,

Johnstone

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The purpose of the research upon which this book is based was empirically to investigate whether the ballot requirements in the Fair Work Act do indeed impose a significant obstacle to the taking of industrial action, and whether those provisions are indeed impelled by a legitimate ‘democratic imperative’. The book starts from the proposition that virtually all national legal systems, and international law, recognise the right to strike as a fundamental human right. It acknowledges, however, that in no case is this recognition without qualification. Amongst the most common qualifications is a requirement that to be lawful strike action must first be approved by a ballot of workers concerned. Often, these requirements are said to be necessary to protect the democratic rights of the workers concerned: this is the so-called ‘democratic imperative’. In order to evaluate the true purpose and effect of ballot requirements the book draws upon the detailed empirical study of the operation of the Australian legislative provisions noted above; a comparative analysis of law and practice in a broad range of countries, with special reference to Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States; and the jurisprudence of the supervisory bodies of the International Labour Organisation. It finds that in many instances ballot requirements – especially those relating to quorum – are more concerned with curtailing strike activity than with constructively responding to the democratic imperative. Frequently, they also proceed from a distorted perception of what ‘democracy’ could and should entail in an industrial context. Paradoxically, the study also finds that in some contexts ballot requirements can provide additional bargaining leverage for unions. Overall, however, the study confirms our hypothesis that the principal purpose of ballot requirements – especially in Australia and the United Kingdom – is to curtail strike activity rather than to vindicate the democratic imperative, other than on the basis of a highly attenuated reading of that term. We believe that the end-result constitutes an important study of the practical operation of a complex set of legal rules, and one which exposes the dichotomy between the ostensible and real objectives underpinning the adoption of those rules. It also furnishes a worked example of multi-methods empirical, comparative and doctrinal legal research in law, which we hope will inspire similar approaches to other areas of labour law.

show abstract

Law and Union Democracy: The Changing Shape

Cited by 17 publications

References 0 publications

The Nature of Some Recent Trade Union Modernization Policies in the UK

The Nature of Some Recent Trade Union Modernization Policies in the UK

Self-Organization and Trade Union Democracy

Strike Ballots, Democracy, and Law

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About