John Stirling

Power, process and practice: communications in European Works Councils

This article analyses European Works Councils (EWCs) as constellations of interest groups that have to struggle if they are to create cohesion and coherent identities. Cultural and linguistic barriers are problems not only of communication, but as power relationships that reinforce inclusiveness or exclusion. Drawing on data derived from their direct involvement with training for EWCs, the authors argue that sensitivity to issues of language and cross-cultural communication is a key factor in achieving success and effectiveness.

A slow burning flame? Organisational change and industrial relations in the fire service

The process of organisational change in the public sector has led to a restructuring of the employment relationship in a context of budgetary constraints, the introduction of performance indicators and the development of new management strategies. The pace of change has been uneven and mediated by service cultures that have been resistant to innovation. Our case study of a metropolitan fire brigade explores these issues and suggests that financially driven organisational change has a major impact on industrial relations and that trade union organisation rooted in workplace culture can provide a significant challenge to restructuring.

There's a new world somewhere: The rediscovery of trade unionism

This article argues that the malaise that has characterised Britains trade unions since the late-1970s can be located in an international context that also provides possibilities for renewal. It suggests two chronological phases in the response to decline, and then analyses the current debates in relation to partnership and organising. The paper concludes with an assessment of ideas of community unionism and their applicability in the UK.

Coming to Terms with Quality: UNISON and the Restructuring of Local Government

The authors argument is that current quality initiatives are managerially driven and coincide with the development of so-called ‘new right’ politics in the public sector. They criticize those those who argue that quality is simply imposed on a quiescent workforce and suggest instead that the process is mediated through workers and their representatives. They use case study evidence from a local authority to analyse trade union responses and locate this within a discussion of the ‘union renewal’ thesis.

Partnership and process in the maritime construction industry.

The authors provide a case study of a partnership agreement in the Tyneside maritime construction industry. They focus on the role of trade unions and the complex tensions that emerge between regional and local officials and workplace representatives. They argue that agreements can only be understood within the context of existing employee relations structures. Their conclusion suggests that the agreement had little impact on a “branch plant” of a national company and that it was often received with hostility and little commitment. As a consequence the partnership became a symbolic agreement with potential significance for external customers but no role in shaping workplace employee relations.

This great Europe of ours: Trade unions and 1992

After years of membership decline and political exclusion, the trade unions seem to have found a new Holy Grail. The European Community’s Social Charter promises political popularity and real gains for members. The years of opposition to the ‘common market’ have been overtaken by a commitment to a document described by Margaret Thatcher as inspired by the era of ‘Marx and the class struggle’. The GMB has informed its members that ‘Britain is a backwater for workers’ rights and social protection... The Social Charter gives trade unions a new bargaining weapon. It will soon be converted into law (GMB,1990 p.l). USDAW has told shop workers that ‘the Social Charter is more than just a “shopping list” of rights for working people. It fundamentally challenges the whole Thatcherite notion of working people as cheap and disposable’ (USDAW, 1990 p.18). The Labour Research Department has recorded that ‘there now seems a real chance that new European Community laws will provide fresh rights for workers’ (Labour Research, December 1989). 7

European Works Councils: representing workers on the periphery

This article presents the results of a survey of European Works Council (EWC) delegates in multinational companies in the North East of England. It uses empirical data from a postal questionnaire and interviews with all regional representatives to analyse the key issue of employee representation. The authors argue that EWC representation is inextricably linked with corporate organisation and that this creates significant problems in a region such as the North East where a “peripheral” economy is particularly sensitive to the rapid restructuring of multinational capital. The analysis is developed in a context of closure and divestment and explores the questions of how EWC delegates are selected; their ability to “report back” to those they might be said to represent and the problems of working across national boundaries.

‘Because we were living it’: the hidden work of a strike

This article presents an individual’s experience of a strike lasting one year and nine months. It brings to readers’ attention the unrecognized work that is involved in maintaining a strike – the continuous organization of ‘working’ the strike, ongoing networking with other activists for support, constant quests for help from trade unions, politicians and others and ongoing campaigns to raise funding and awareness. It also highlights the personal, emotional and physical effects that working a strike can have on those involved, their families and their community.

Trade Unions in a Fragile State: The Case of Sierra Leone

This article explores approaches to rebuilding trade union capacity in Sierra Leone. It analyses their potential by assessing the problems encountered in an economy dominated by informal employment. It evaluates union strategies in building workplace organisation; working with civil society and influencing government, and concludes by assessing change in the context of a case study of diamond mining.

Global unions: Chasing the dream or building the reality?

This article takes as its theme the global restructuring of capital and its impact on worker organization. It argues for a reassertion of class in any analysis of global solidarity, and assesses the opportunities and barriers to effective global unionization. Rooted in the UK experience, the article analyzes the impact of the European social dimension on trade unions, before taking the discussion into a global dimension. It concludes by suggesting that there are reasons for cautious optimism in terms of solidarity building, despite difficult historical legacies and the common replacement of action with rhetoric.