However, unions face the reality of an increasing trend among employers to use non-union mechanisms for communicating with their workers.

This situation has been compounded by the development of a ‘single employer’ system of employment law in recent decades, which has served to make employers in unorganised industries more hostile to unions. Unions may have to demonstrate that they can ‘add value’ to a firm’s competiveness in order to dampen employer resistance. The unionlearn agenda presents an opportunity for unions in this respect, as studies have highlighted the benefits delivered by learning agreements for unions, workers and firms alike.

Unions also meet considerable challenges in representing certain groups of workers in today’s labour market. While overall membership decline has slowed in recent years, the vast majority of younger workers and new labour market entrants are not joining unions. The growth in short-term employment contracts, agency labour and other forms of ‘atypical employment’, and the trend among firms to outsource their non-core activities to other firms, have made it increasingly hard for unions to organise and create resilient labour standards across industries.

These new realities make it all the more important for unions to develop innovative organising and bargaining strategies. For instance, unions may consider following the examples of Unite, the CWU and others in organising around supply chains and using the procurement policies of large firms to influence the labour practices of their suppliers. They might also look at the strategies developed by GMB and UNISON for working with community and civil society organisations to reach workers in atypical employment that have proven difficult to organise.

As the paper argues, unions will doubtless continue to play a constructive and valuable role in representing workers, but the rapidly shifting contours of the labour market mean that their capacity to regulate labour standards in the future is likely to rely on the development of innovative strategies along these lines.

High bargaining coverage is one of the reasons why the Scandinavian countries have among the highest levels of income equality in the world. The ‘social case’ for collective bargaining is well established, and is acknowledged by international bodies such as the OECD and the ILO. Indeed, the decline of collective bargaining coverage in Britain has been singled-out by various studies as a key reason for rising inequality over the past three decades. The number of workers that were classified as ‘low-paid’ (i.e. earning less than two-thirds of the median income) was 13% in 1979 when collective bargaining coverage was near its peak, but has since risen to 22%.

While unions can point to the social benefits of collective bargaining, the economic case is more complicated. But it is on this point where the Scandinavian examples are most informative. Studies on the economic impact of collective bargaining have produced rather mixed findings, with many claiming that it can actually worsen unemployment and inflation.

In 1994, the OECD said that labour market deregulation was the best way for countries to reduce unemployment. However, the OECD revised its recommendations in 2006 after the Scandinavian countries showed that highly coordinated collective bargaining systems and active trade unions could actually produce strong economic performance and jobs growth (essentially the opposite of what the OECD had originally prescribed).

There is considerable agreement within the academic community that highly coordinated systems of collective bargaining have a more positive impact than ‘uncoordinated’ or ‘fragmented’ systems. In other words, it is not how many or how few workers are covered by collective agreements, but rather the extent to which bargaining is coordinated, that matters most in assessing whether collective bargaining systems have a positive or negative macroeconomic impact. This is important if unions want to make a political case for extending collective bargaining coverage across the workforce.

More information on employment relations in Scandinavia, and some of the possible lessons for Britain, can be found in the latest issue of the TUC/ESRC Unions, Collective Bargaining and Employment Relations Research Bulletin.

• Collective bargaining in Scandinavia – what lessons for Britain?
• The opportunities for bargaining around the union learning agenda
• An overview of proceedings from the recent Roundtable on the Future of Collective Representation
• And a wrap-up of the recent issues of the academic employment relations journals

You can find a copy of the latest bulletin here.

There is an undercurrent in the report that private sector employment relations practices should be a model for the public sector. It is unsurprising that Policy Exchange would attempt to manufacture a Wisconsin-style divide between public and private sector workers in this manner, given its general antipathy towards unions and collective employment relations.

In any case, Policy Exchange’s proposals are seriously muddle-headed. The report points to the growing disparity between public and private sector pay as justification for its recommendations, including the claim that “several predominantly private sector occupations have seen no real terms increase in their income since 1997”.

This is not an outcome to aspire to. As the NIESR noted last week, declining wages equals declining consumer spending equals lower tax revenues. How this makes for good economic policy is anyone’s guess.

The British economy is unlikely to recover until we see growth in the wages of private sector workers. An extension of collective bargaining could assist in this process, particularly since the continued decline in private sector union density and collective agreement coverage most likely contributed to the sharp fall in real wages over the past few years.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said last month that “collective bargaining rights are important, especially in an environment of stagnating real wages… Stability depends on a strong middle class that can propel demand”.

Policy Exchange’s prescriptions would almost certainly see further wage decline across the British workforce. Policymakers should instead be looking to public sector employment relations as a model for delivering wage-driven growth.

At last week’s TUC/ESRC roundtable, we heard from a number of speakers on the negative outcomes that followed from the decline in collective bargaining coverage over recent decades, for instance the rise of low-paid work and the growth in latent conflict between workers and managers. 

There was also consensus among  participants that unions can help to address some of the economic problems facing Britain, such as rising living costs and falling consumer demand, by making the case for stronger collective bargaining regulation. I’ve echoed some of these arguments in a post on Left Foot Forward today, where I say that collective bargaining can help to boost wages and consumer spending, which would facilitate economic growth.

But a number of speakers also made the point that unions need to find innovative ways to organise in order to extend collective bargaining coverage. We heard some interesting presentations on the various tools available to unions to increase their organising presence. Steve Murphy (UCATT’s Midlands Regional Secretary) spoke about how UCATT have used framework agreements with large companies to improve pay, conditions and union access among their sub-contractors and suppliers, and Annie Watson (the ETI Trade Union Coordinator) told us of the organising opportunities available through the Ethical Trading Initiative and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Keep an eye out for the next Unions, Collective Bargaining and Employment Relations Project Research Bulletin for a full report from the roundtable.

We have an impressive list of speakers lined-up, as you can see from the programme.

If you would like to attend, please contact Zoe Molyneaux  on zmolyneaux@tuc.org.uk or 0207-467-1273. Places are strictly limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Programme – TUC/ESRC Roundtable, The Future of Collective Representation, Congress House, Wednesday 23 March

Introduction (10.00-10.15): The TUC/ESRC Unions, Collective Bargaining and Employment Relations project (Chris Wright, TUC and Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge)

1st session (10.15-11.45): Collective employment relations – Past, present and future
Chair: Kay Carberry, Assistant General Secretary, TUC

• Understanding the reasons for the decline of collectivism (William Brown, University of Cambridge)
• The impact of recession and austerity on collectivism abroad: What are the lessons for the UK? (Lionel Fulton, Labour Research Department)
• The current state of play in collective bargaining (Paul Nowak, Head of Organisation and Services, TUC)
• Looming developments in public sector bargaining (Christina McAnea, National Secretary, UNISON Education and Children’s Services)

2nd session (12.00-13.15): The challenges of a fragmented workforce
Chair: Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, Unite

• The growth of low-paid and atypical work and how to deal with it (Damian Grimshaw, University of Manchester)
• Responding to the rise of unorganised conflict (Peter Harwood, Chief Conciliator, Acas)
• Non-union representation, and what it means for unions (Edmund Heery, Cardiff Business School)

3rd session (14.00-15.30): Innovative union strategies

Chair: Roger McKenzie, Assistant General Secretary, UNISON

• Union responses to self-employment (Steve Murphy, Midlands Regional Secretary, UCATT)
• Unions and the regulation of occupations (Maria Koumenta, Oxford Brookes University)
• The use of corporate codes to influence good labour practices (Annie Watson, Ethical Trading Initiative)
• Opportunities for reforming collective bargaining regulation (Alan Bogg, University of Oxford and Keith Ewing, King’s College London)

Final session (15.30-16.30): Panel discussion on the future of collective representation
Chair: Alex Bryson, National Institute for Economic and Social Research

• Frances O’Grady (TUC Deputy General Secretary), John Kelly (Birkbeck, University of London) and Robert Taylor (author and journalist)

The release of Power in Coalition is timely given the need for civil society organisations to come together to present an alternative economic and social vision in response to the public service cuts.

Amanda Tattersall will lead a discussion on how coalitions can be a powerful strategy for social change, organisational development and union renewal, and offer suggestions for how UK unions should go about building coalitions with community organisations. The event will take place at Congress House, and Frances O’Grady (TUC Deputy General Secretary) will introduce Amanda and launch the book. A drinks reception will follow.

How can we change things in an age in which governments are fixated on the bottom line and conventional protest rallies are not enough? Coalitions can be important tools for social change and union revitalisation. What makes them successful? What causes them to fail? Power in Coalition explores these questions through an examination of successful coalitions between unions and community organisations in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Amanda Tattersall is the instigator and Director of the Sydney Alliance, a diverse coalition of unions, community organisations and religious organisations. She has been a community and union organiser, a researcher, and is currently an elected official (Deputy Assistant Secretary) with Unions NSW.

Date: Wednesday 23 February, 18.00-19.00 (followed by drinks reception)

Location: TUC, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS

RSVP: Zoe Molyneaux (email zmolyneaux@tuc.org.uk or phone 0207-467-1273)

On Friday’s Today programme, Francis Maude called on unions to “see themselves as social partners working together with the government as much as possible”, along the lines of the corporatist partnership model that exists in much of Western Europe. And George Osborne used an interview on The Politics Show on Sunday to reiterate the invitation for greater social dialogue.

The TUC has always sought to establish practical working relations with governments, but it was not able to do so under the last Conservative administration, which effectively closed to door to unions for 18 years. One of the biggest barriers to continental-style social partnership has been an unwillingness on the part of governments, particularly (though not exclusively) Conservative ones.

It’s refreshing to see that the Cameron government has taken a more enlightened stance.

 The roundtable will bring together union officials, academics, and representatives from organisations such as Acas to discuss the challenges and opportunities for unions and collective employment relations in the current economic and political climate.

 If you would like to attend, please contact Zoe Molyneaux at zmolyneaux@tuc.org.uk or on 0207-467-1273. Places are strictly limited and will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis.

Draft Programme – TUC/ESRC Roundtable, The Future of Collective Representation, Congress House, Wednesday 23 March

 1^st session: Collective employment relations – Past, present and future (10.15-11.30)

• Understanding the reasons for the decline of collectivism (William Brown, University of Cambridge)
• The remaining areas of collective bargaining coverage: Can they be replicated elsewhere? (speaker tbc)
• Looming developments in public sector bargaining (Christina McAnea, National Secretary, UNISON Education and Children’s Services)

 2^nd session: The challenges of an individualised and unorganised workforce (11.45-13.00)

• The growth of atypical and low-paid work and how to deal with it (Damian Grimshaw, University of Manchester)
• Responding to the rise of unorganised conflict (Peter Harwood, Chief Conciliator, Acas)
• New forms of employer collaboration, and what it means for unions (Edmund Heery, Cardiff Business School)

 3^rd session: Innovative union strategies (14.00-15.30)

• Union responses to self-employment (Steve Murphy, Regional Secretary, UCATT Midlands)
• Unions and the regulation of occupations (Maria Koumenta, Oxford Brookes University)
• The use of corporate codes to influence good labour practices (speaker tbc)
• Supply chain strategies in the unorganised workforce (Chris Wright, University of Cambridge/TUC)

Final session: Panel discussion on the future of collective representation (15.30-16.30)

• Francis O’Grady, TUC Deputy General Secretary and John Kelly, Birkbeck, University of London