Trade unions are the subject of a new paper published by Acas (written by yours truly – apologies for the shameless self-promotion) as part of its Future of Workplace Relations discussion paper series. In the paper I draw on academic research to argue that unions continue to play an effective role in representing workers, as reflected…
I’ve recently been looking at the lessons that British unions might be able to take from the Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Denmark, where there is widespread political support for collective labour market regulation, with union membership and collective bargaining coverage both at enviably high levels. High bargaining coverage is one of the reasons…
The July issue of the TUC/ESRC Unions, Collective Bargaining and Employment Relations research bulletin is now online. A range of themes relevant to British unions are explored in this issue, including: 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…
Policy Exchange released a report today in which they take aim at public sector pay and employment relations. In the context of the Coalition’s fiscal austerity measures, the report calls for an overall freeze in public sector pay until 2014/15 (to bring wage costs back down to 2003/04 levels), the introduction of a graduated pension…
The enormous turnout at the March for the Alternative on Saturday showed the TUC’s capacity to mobilise opposition against the government’s cuts agenda. The next obvious step is to mobilise support for an economic alternative, and I would argue that a stronger system of collective bargaining needs to be prominent in the case that unions…
I’ve just put together the first research bulletin for the TUC’s Unions, Collective Bargaining and Employment Relations research project, which is supported Economic and Social Research Council. This first bulletin provides some context for the project, and outlines the various studies and related activities that will take place over the coming months. You can find…
There are a few places remaining for The Future of Collective Representation roundtable on 23 March. The event is part of the joint TUC/ESRC Unions, Collective Bargaining and Employment Relations research project, which explores how unions can meet challenges and opportunities of extending collective bargaining coverage in the current economic and political climate . We…