DEVELOPING EMPLOYEE VOICE AND TRADE UNIONISM

An International Comparison

Lecture Objectives

Critically evaluate The purpose and rational for employee

voice; The varying forms and dimensions of

employee voice; Employee voice within an international

context; Case study analysis

The purpose &rational for employee voice?

“Employee voice can be defined as the ability for employees to have an input into decisions that are made in organisations…(Boxall and Purcell, 2003)

Varying forms,functions & expressions of Employee VoiceForms, Functions and expressions:1. Expression of individual dissatisfaction in

order to resolve a grievance;2. Expression of collective organisation by

employees;3. May contribute to management decision

making by facilitating improvements in work organisation, quality and productivity. (Lucas, R., Lupton, B., & Mathieson, H., 2006:229)

Rational for employee voice articulation (Strauss 1998:8-14) Humanistic grounds; Power sharing; Impact on organisational efficiency

Humanistic Grounds

Related to employee satisfaction re: Creativity Achievement & social approval Self actualisation

Power sharing

Related to: Embedding democratic values Rejection of autocratic authority

relationships Important element of ‘industrial

democracy’ A means of influence of management

decisions

Impact on organisational efficiency

Related to: Organisational efficiency Critical importance of employee

knowledge sharing Critical to competitive success Support enhanced employee

commitment

Importance of Employee Voice

Voice can be a positive efficiency enhancing alternative to employee exit due to dissatisfaction where employees are dissatisfied with some aspect of their job. (Hirschman, 1970)

Dimensions of Employee Voice

Considerable variation in level of say provided by employee voice ranging from:NoneLow – e.g. receipt of informationMedium – e.g. consultation and collective bargainingHigh – typically confined to workers’ cooperatives (Blyton and Turnbull, 2004; Marchington et al, 2001)

Employee Voice within an International Context

Variation e.g Germany – indirect voice via ‘dual

channel system’ UK – contrasting ‘single channel system’ USA – either union based indirect

participation or non union system of participation

Diversity – Institutional School of Thought

Focus on: Institutional arrangements and societal

structures in which organisations are embedded.

Benefits: Helps to explain differences between

societies in that institutions play a mediating role between pervasive pressures for change, e.g. globalisation, and actual experience within particular employee relations systems. (Lucas, R., Lupton, B., & Mathieson, H., 2006:234)

Institutionalist Perspective Framework (Poole et al, 2001)

Four sets of variable:1. Macro level structural economic and

technical conditions, cultural and ideological variables, and the politico-legal framework;

2. The strategic choices of the parties3. The power of the parties4. Organisational structures and processes

at the level of the enterprise.

Global challenge for employee representation/voice

Regulatory and institutional forms of employment protection may be perceived as impediments to competitiveness and deter inward investors;

The effects of mobile capital ‘upping sticks’ and exiting from regions where collective bargaining(CB) is extant to those where it is absent;

The effects of labour market segmentation around flexibility and contracted out work…difficult to identify the real employer for the purposes of CB

Significant expansion in numbers in the ‘informal economy,

many of whom not employees who experience extreme representational insecurity. (ILO, 2000:9-12)

Cultural values and ideologies

Cultural features predispose to promote or constrain the development of employee voice as well as to influence its articulation in particular ways, e.g.

Useful to compare study of worker participation in Germany and Taiwan. (Han and Chiu, 2000:160)

The political-legal context

“Can have a profound impact on the policies and practices which regulate the employment relationship and the provision of worker voice”. (Lucas, R., Lupton, B., & Mathieson, H., 2006:236)Useful to consider four regimes:1.Repression2.Tolerance3.Intervention4.Neo-corporatism(Cella and Treu (2001:461:5)

International study of Trade Unions (Olney, 1996 and Jose (1999)

Need to consider the external and internal Factors impacting on the ability of TUs to dominate the channel of voice including:‘Friendliness of the prevailing legislative climate to employers;Employees’ attitudes towards trade unions;Changes in the structure of employment;Rise in unitarism

International trends in employee voice (Source: ILO, World Labour Report 1997-98)

Region Average % Union Density

Average CB coverage % for which data is available (number of countries)

Percentage of world population in each region

AmericasAsia and OceaniaEuropeAfrica

14.5015.5842.6414.00

30.90(12)18.53(10)72.89(13)30.00(8)

13.761.312.012.9

Case study analysis

Employee voice and restructuring at Lufthansa and British Airways (Turnbull et al, (2004); European Industrial Relations Observatory (2005b)

The Cross Border Transfer of Employee Relations Practices – Subsidiaries of US MNCS in the UK (Journal of World Business, Vol. 41, No. 1:66-80)

Reading Sources

Key Reading Lucas R. Lupton B and Mathieson

H. (2006), Human Resource Management in an International Context.

Brewster C. Sparrow P. and Vernon G. (2008), International Human Resource Management, 2nd edition CIPD,

Boxall P. and Purcell J. (2003) Strategy and Human Resource Management, London.

Blyton P. and Turnbull P. (2004) The Dynamics of Employee Relations (3rd edition) London: Routledge.

Additional Reading Han T.S. and Chiu S. (2000)

Industrial democracy and institutional environments: a comparison of ‘Germany and Taiwan, Economic and Industrial Democracy, Vol. 21: 147-82

Hirscham A. (1970) Exit, Voice and Loyalty. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Poole M. Lansbury R. and Wailes N. (2001) ‘A comparative analysis of developments in industrial democracy’ Industrial Relations, Vol. 40 No. 3: 49-525

International Labour Organisation (2000) Your Voice at Work. Geneva: ILO

RougledgeCella G.P. and Treu T. (2001) National trade union movements, in R. Blanpain and C. Engels (eds) Compariative Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Industrialised Market Economies. The Hague: Kluwer Law International

Strauss G. (1998) ‘An overview in F. Heller, E. Pusic, G. Strauss and B Wilpert (eds) Organisational Participation: Myth and reality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.