Trade union responses to migrant workers from the ‘new Europe’: A three sector comparison in the UK, Norway and Germany

Hardy, Jane; Eldring, Line; Schulten, Thorsten

doi:10.1177/0959680112461464

Cited by 65 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In the UK care sector, the privatization and fragmentation of employment (because of the large number of workplaces, which are geographically dispersed and employ small numbers of people who work shifts) have posed increasing problems for trade union organizing, and membership over recent decades has diminished (Hardy, Eldring, and Schulten 2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Financial Cutbacks Affect the Quality of Jobs and Care for the Elderly

Burns¹,

Hyde²

2016

ILR Review

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Based on case studies in 12 nursing homes in the United Kingdom, the authors illustrate how financial cutbacks affect job quality and the quality of care. The dimensions of job quality that suffered most were those directly related to the ability of workers to provide care: reductions in staffing, longer working hours, and work intensification. Cuts to labor costs eroded the quality of workers' jobs in all 12 homes but with two differential outcomes: in seven homes, care quality was maintained, and in five homes, it deteriorated. Care quality was maintained in homes where a patient-centered care approach and remaining job quality allowed workers to develop work-arounds to protect residents from spillover effects. Care quality declined in homes where custodial approaches to care and low job quality did not provide workers the time or resources to protect residents or to maintain prior levels of care. A tipping point was reached, leading to a spillover into impoverished care. W orries about the quality of residential elder care are a global concern (OECD 2013). As the number of residents in nursing homes 1 has increased dramatically in recent decades-and will double in the next 40 years (European Commission 2008)-a key challenge is the provision of

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Financial Cutbacks Affect the Quality of Jobs and Care for the Elderly

Burns¹,

Hyde²

2016

ILR Review

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“…Further interesting insights could be expected if empirical research was expanded to the situation of (migrant) workers in nonstandard employment, in other sectors and countries (Zeytinoglu and Muteshi, 2000;Hardy, Eldring and Schulten, 2012). Three company case studies in manufacturing based on expert interviews with management representatives and works councillors, interviews and group discussions with employees of different origin, employee surveys, as well as company statistics, were used to explore this issue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Integration and Workplace Industrial Relations

Schmidt

Müller

2013

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This paper tackles the question of how social integration of migrant and native employees takes place in German industry and what role workplace industrial relations play in it. Three company case studies in manufacturing based on expert interviews with management representatives and works councillors, interviews and group discussions with employees of different origin, employee surveys, as well as company statistics, were used to explore this issue. The paper analyzes the social structure of the investigated companies, examines the interaction of employees of different origin and the role workplace industrial relations play in fostering cooperation and social integration. The case studies show that migrants are more likely to be positioned in the lower ranks of the companies’ social structure. Findings suggest, however, that this is primarily a consequence of the migrants having insufficient vocational training, which is probably the result of discrimination outside and at the threshold of the companies rather than a sign of direct discrimination within the companies. Nevertheless, the interviews and surveys show that there is employee resentment against people of different origin. There is a coexistence of resentment on the one hand and good cooperation on the other. Work requirements and the works councils’ and managements’ “internal universalism” (i.e. an orientation towards equal treatment of employees and the interdiction of discrimination within the companies) foster collegial cooperation among employees. German co-determination favours an employee model of interest representation which encourages individuals to choose a work-related identity and labour solidarity to assert their interests rather than identities related to ethnic groups. It is argued that this framework and the daily interaction of the employees eventually evoke feelings of collegiality and foster social integration.

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“…Trade unions may use social regulation to protect migrants from unrestrained market competition . Many unions have made efforts to include migrants and other precarious workers as members to reduce the marginalisation of these workers and to protect their existing members' interests (see Adler et al 2014;Holgate 2005;Holgate 2011;Connolly et al 2011;Fitzgerald and Hardy 2010;Eldring et al 2012;Alberti et al 2013;Vandaele and Leschke 2010;Keune 2013;Bernaciak et al 2014;Hardy et al 2012;Wills 2009;Milkman 2000Milkman , 2006. Despite these efforts, migrants remain underrepresented in trade union membership, as they tend to work more often in sectors or workplaces where trade union presence is weak or non-existent (Gorodzeisky and Richards 2013).…”

Section: Trade Unions and Migrant Workersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some point out that unions have yet to arrive at a viable way of representing these workers ). Yet several trade unions in Europe have adopted organising tactics to recruit migrant workers in their ranks, with mixed success (Bengtsson 2013;Connolly et al 2014;Eldring et al 2012;Hardy et al 2012). Fitzgerald and Hardy argue that in the UK context, migrant organising strategies can work with the so-called 'A8' migrants (from the eight central and Eastern European countries which acceded to the EU in 2004).…”

Section: Hyper-mobile Workers In the Pan-european Construction Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Stepping up to strike: a union mobilization case study of Polish migrant workers in the Netherlands

Berntsen

2015

Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research

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This article examines a union mobilization of Polish temporary agency workers in the Netherlands. The case study contributes to the migrant organizing literature a micro-level account of the dynamics of mobilization from the viewpoint of the migrants and organizers involved. The findings emphasize the importance of key actors in building solidarities within and between different groups of workers in fragmented workplaces, with implications for unions seeking new ways to respond to changing employment practices. This study highlights some of the possibilities and limitations of organizing among contractually fragmented workforces.

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Trade union responses to migrant workers from the ‘new Europe’: A three sector comparison in the UK, Norway and Germany

Cited by 65 publications

References 22 publications

How Financial Cutbacks Affect the Quality of Jobs and Care for the Elderly

How Financial Cutbacks Affect the Quality of Jobs and Care for the Elderly

Social Integration and Workplace Industrial Relations

Stepping up to strike: a union mobilization case study of Polish migrant workers in the Netherlands

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