Gregor Gall

Facing ‘fairness at work’: union perception of employer opposition and response to union recognition

The introduction of statutory mechanisms by which unions can gain union recognition in Britain has stimulated employer activity to avoid and subvert union recognition campaigns. This article examines the nature and extent of such employer activities and how unions have responded.

Trade Union Recognition in Britain, 1995–2002: Turning a Corner?

This paper examines developments in union recognition in Britain between 1995–2002 and assesses the influence of the statutory provisions for gaining recognition contained in the Employment Relations Act 1999. The paper details the significant increase in new agreements, concluding that the new law is one important factor explaining this growth. Analysis is made of the nature and circumstances of the new agreements. Finally, the paper considers whether these developments indicate the turning of a corner for trends in recognition coverage.

From adversarialism to partnership

This article critically examines the proposition that industrial relations in banking in the UK are undergoing a move from paternalism to adversarialism and then to partnership. It uses these as ideal‐types totrack and explain the developments in industrial relations and argues that the sectoris sufficiently diverse across space and time and subject to different forces as tobelie sucha straight‐forward and simple characterisation.

Developments in Union Recognition and Derecognition in Britain, 1994–1998

This research note shows a marked change in the relative incidence of cases of derecognition and recognition in the period 1994-1998. It shows that the level of derecognition has fallen significantly in recent years while that of the signing of new recognition agreements has continued at its former level, so that on balance new recognition agreements clearly outnumber cases of derecognition. The context and reasons for this are explained by reference to developments in public policy, employer views and union practice. The results of derecognition and the prospects for union recognition are also examined.

The Changing Relations of Production: Union Derecognition in the UK Magazine Industry

This article examines the motives and strategies of employers in implementing derecognition, the union response to this, and effect on wages and conditions, union-management relations and union membership and organisation. In particular the author analyses the circumstances in which a large number of employers have chosen such a ‘radical’ method to re-order the employment relationship.

All year round: the growth of annual hours in Britain

Makes a critical examination of annual hours (AH), a relatively new development in industrial relations in Britain. First, considers the extent, sectoral distribution and development of AH before moving to examine the reasons why a growing number of employers are introducing this way of organizing working time. Goes on to review the implications for employees. Concludes that AH is only one of many “new management techniques”, that the extent of AH is still limited, and that the scheme has many detrimental implications for employees.

The Organization of Organized Discontent: The Case of the Postal Workers in Britain

The case of the postal workers in Britain is examined in order to develop our knowledge of intra‐union oppositional groupings. Such groupings within the postal workers are shown to have influence as the result of the ‘strategy’ of a small number of activists within largely conducive circumstances of internal strife and worker combativity. However, they do not accord to our normal understanding of factions, being better characterized as shifting and temporary networks and alliances.

Union organising in the “new economy” in Britain

Purpose – This paper examines the attempts by trade unions in Britain to gain organisational rights for their members and for workers in organisations operating within the hitherto non‐unionised “new economy”.Design/methodology/approach – By using data drawn from fieldwork interviews with full‐time union officials and supplemented by secondary sources, the paper assesses the genesis and progress of these campaigns, suggesting a combination of employer hostility and worker indifference explain the limited advances made to date.Findings – In particular, the paper considers the configuration of the inter‐relationship between employer action, union strength and sudden grievances as the major explanatory variable in accounting for the variation in the outcomes of the eight union recognition campaigns. Finally, the high degree of dependence and reliance on full‐time union officers, contra the “organising” model, is examined.Research limitations/implications – Further research on union presence and activity in t...

A review of strike activity in Western Europe at the end of the second millennium

Most analyses of strike activity in Western Europe suggest that it has declined quite dramatically since the early 1970s. The contention of this article is that this decline has been exaggerated, largely as a result of an inadequate recognition of the deficiencies of the statistical data on which these analyses are based. Recognising this, the article argues that strike activity in many countries in Western Europe may be considerably higher than previously thought.

HRM in practice

Returns to a case study of a newspaper company introducing HRM presented five years earlier in this journal. Looks at all the editorial offices of the company and examines the extent to which the company has succeeded in implementing HRM and what this has meant for a key section of its employees, the journalists. Discusses the consequences of HRM for journalists′ union rights, wages and conditions. Shows that the extent to which HRM has been implemented has been dependent on force and conditions not created by the company and that the journalists′ union rights have been curbed and their wages and conditions diminished. The material was derived from extensive face‐to‐face interviews with lay and full‐time union officials and company managers.