Works council and trade unions: complementary or competitive? The case of SAGCo.

Abstract

This longitudinal case study in a Japanese owned manufacturing company examines the relationship between union-based representation and organisation and other forms of employee voice. The study covers the period before and after the passage of the Employment Relations Act 1999. During that period the Company voluntarily agreed to the recognition of an independent trade union at the same time as abandoning a pre-existing employee works council and its replacement by a Japanese-style company advisory board. The study investigates, inter alia, how far, and to what extent the inpending EU directive establishing mechanisms for employee information and consultation could influence existing trade union representation and organisation.

Different rooms, different voices: double-breasting, multi-channel representation and the managerial agenda

“…However it must be stressed that the forum also featured as part of a broader human resource strategy to create a harmonious and consensual workplace culture through the enhanced provision of information and communication. This resonates with case study research from the UK by Bonner and Gollan (2005) and Waitling and Snook (2003) which indicates that for a large majority of non-union firms the main aim of non-union voice forums is to increase the flow of information and communication. Notably a further ad-hoc arrangement was then established -the SWC-to prevent the second forum being undermined by combative engineers from the Dublin South facility.…”

Partnership, collaboration and mutual gains: evaluating context, interests and legitimacy

“…Alternative forms of employee voice that promote employee creativity and greater use of discretionary effort are important factors to consider within the collaborative approach of non-union workplaces. Non-union firms tend to use employee voice as a means of upward problem-solving, with the core aim to increase performance through information sharing (Dundon et al 2005;Bryson, Charlwood and Forth 2006;Wilkinson, Dundon and Marchington 2013) but are not always seen as partnership, often with employee representatives accused of being 'in the pockets of management' (Watling and Snook 2001). Cathcart (2014) argues that the lack of independent representation in John Lewis an employee-owned company led to capture of processes for organisational elites.…”

Re-conceptualizing voice in the non-union workplace

“…workplace 1189 interdependence (Hyman, 2005). It is possible, therefore, that such arrangements are more than substitution and/or the suppression of union triggers, but actually act as a 'complement' to management decision-making (Gall and McKay, 2001;Gollan, 2000;Kaufman, 2000;Taras and Copping, 1998;Terry, 1999;Watling and Snook, 2003). This additional possibility of complementarity contrasted against substitution is summarized in Table 1.…”