Brian Abbott

Civil society organizations and trade unions: cooperation, conflict, indifference:

Sociologists of labour have explored the relationship of trade unions to other social movements and the conditions that allow ‘coalitions across the class divide’ to be formed. This article examines this question by presenting evidence on the interaction between trade unions and other civil society organizations in the UK; that is, advocacy, identity and single-issue, campaigning organizations. It finds that there is no single, dominant relationship but rather a complex pattern of cooperation, conflict and indifference.

The Involvement of Civil Society Organizations in British Industrial Relations: Extent, Origins and Significance

This article examines the involvement of civil society organizations (CSOs) in UK industrial relations. Organizations of this type, including advocacy, campaigning, identity and community organizations have attracted increasing attention from employment relations scholars in recent years. The study reported in this article demonstrates that CSOs have become increasingly active in the sphere of work and employment, partly in response to trade union decline but also owing to political opportunities, afforded by the labour market policy of the New Labour government. It is claimed that CSOs operate at multiple levels of the industrial relations system and interact with the state, employers and trade unions. They generate significant effects within UK industrial relations and can rightly be judged significant ‘new actors’ on the UK employment scene.

The emergence of a new industrial relations actor: the role of the Citizens' Advice Bureaux?

How do employees seek representation and how is workplace conflict resolved in the absence of trade unions? This article contributes to this debate by suggesting that employees are seeking advice and representation outside the traditional labour movement and from voluntary organisations such as the Cititzens’ Advice Bureaux (CABx).

The emerging regime of civil regulation in work and employment relations

This article examines the role of civil society organizations in generating civil regulation; that is, non-statutory norms, codes and standards of good practice that are intended to govern human resource management. It uses case study evidence of four charitable organizations in the United Kingdom to explore why they engage in civil regulation, the methods they use to secure business compliance and the forms of regulation they generate. There is an expanding literature on civil regulation, much of which focuses on the creation of voluntary codes that govern international business activity. Regulation of this type is often designated ‘private regulation’ and is understood as a functional alternative to regulation by the state. This article presents an opposing view, that civil regulation often develops within the nation-state and that it is not a form of private regulation but is bound up inextricably with the juridification of the employment relationship.

Non-Union Worker Representation Through Civil Society Organisations: Evidence from the United Kingdom

Drawing on research evidence from the United Kingdom, the main features of non-union worker representation through civil society organisations (CSOs) are elaborated. The interventions of CSOs are marked by an emphasis on using indirect methods of worker representation beyond the boundaries of the workplace, such as awareness raising measures and political lobbying.

The new shop stewards - the Citizens' Advice Bureaux?

States that shop stewards have traditionally been viewed as “pivotal” to employee representation at the place of work. Given the changing composition of the workforce, increasingly part‐time and female, combined with the growth of non‐union firms, stewards are increasingly absent from many new workplaces. Argues that, in this environment, it is not only stewards that employees go to with workplace problems, but the voluntary sector and, in particular, the Citizens’ Advice Bureaux (CABx). The paper will then go on to outline the overlapping nature of the work of CAB advisers and stewards. The final section argues that, rather than replacing the traditional shop steward, CABx provide stewards, and unions generally, with the opportunity to reinforce their presence among sections of the workforce that have traditionally been alienated from the labour movement.

Civil society organizations and the exercise of power in the employment relationship

Purpose – This paper seeks to focus on civil society organizations (CSOs) and their capacity to exercise power in the employment relationship. In particular, the paper is concerned with identifying the sources of power, how it is exercised and whether CSOs can exert pressure on other employment actors despite their apparent lack of resources possessed by more established representative structures. Design/methodology/approach – Findings are based on 139 completed postal questionnaires and 47 interviews, primarily face-to-face, across 34 different CSOs. Findings – Adopting a resource dependence framework suggests that CSOs have the capacity to exercise power and influence key employment actors. However, the power of CSOs is undermined by the absence of an internal organizational presence, making it difficult to mobilize workers. Research limitations/implications – The research highlights the role of an often-ignored employment actor. To provide further insights further research is needed to garner the views of other employment participants. Originality/value – In employee relations discussions of workplace power have typically focused on the power of the state, employers and trade unions. This paper adopts a novel angle by exploring the role of CSOs and their ability to exercise power.

Civil society organizations and employee voice

In this chapter we examine the form of employee voice developed by civil society organizations, institutions that have become the focus of considerable research attention by employment relations scholars in recent years, particularly in the USA and UK. By civil society organizations (CSOs) we mean non-union and non-profit seeking organizations that are formally independent of the state and which develop campaigns, services, programmes or other initiatives designed to advance the interests of working people. Generally, organizations of this type are not concerned solely with the workaday selves of the people they represent and are quite diverse in their structure and patterns of activity. Most of those that provide voice to workers, however, fall into one of three overlapping categories: advocacy organizations that provide information, advisory and representation services, identity-based organizations that promote the interests of working women and minorities and issue-based organizations that run campaigns relating to the workplace.

Widening the ‘Representation Gap'? The Implications of the ‘Lobbying Act’ for Worker Representation in the UK

The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (the ‘Lobbying Act’) imposes tight restrictions on the campaigning and lobbying activities of civil society organisations in the UK, diminishing their capacity to represent the interests of working people and thus likely compounding the ‘representation gap’ within British workplaces. Along with austerity measures and employment law reforms, the legislation exemplifies the UK governments attempts to shift the balance of power further towards employers.

Non-union worker representation through civil society organisations: evidence from the UK

Drawing on research evidence from the United Kingdom, the main features of non-union worker representation through civil society organisations (CSOs) are elaborated. The interventions of CSOs are marked by an emphasis on using indirect methods of worker representation beyond the boundaries of the workplace, such as awareness raising measures and political lobbying.