Patrice Jalette

Discretion in employment relations policy among foreign-controlled multinationals in Canada

This article assesses the extent to which the foreign-controlled subsidiaries of multinational firms have the discretion to establish their employment relations policies. Drawing on a survey of the activities of foreign-controlled multinational companies in Canada, it considers three lines of analysis: the parent company’s country of origin, the subsidiary’s specific organizational capabilities and its position in global value chains. While our results confirm that US-controlled subsidiaries have lower discretion than those from continental Europe and Asia, they also highlight the need to go beyond country-of-origin analysis. Organizational capabilities and the subsidiary’s role in global value chains are also important predictors of subsidiary discretion on employment relations policy.

To what extent is there a regional logic in the management of labour in multinational companies? Evidence from Europe and North America

This paper questions the extent to which a regional logic is adopted by multinationals in how they organise their operations overseas, and seeks to examine the variation within and across regions in this regard. Data are drawn from two of the parallel surveys of employment practice undertaken by the INTREPID (is a research network of academics across 10 countries engaged in comparative research on multinationals) network, namely Canada and the UK. The analysis tests four hypotheses regarding the similarity and differences in the adoption of a regional logic using the data as illustrative of firms in the regions of North American and European. Our analysis demonstrates how divergent structures and dynamics of regional integration in different continents have led to different strategies and processes in multinational companies. In doing so the paper provides insights into the nature of variation within the multinational community and across regional contexts.

Unions and Privatization: Opening the 'Black Box'

Using a survey of Canadian city managers during the period 2002–2003 modeled on the U.S. International Cities and Counties Management Association surveys, the authors examine a range of union responses to proposals to privatize city services. When confronted with possible member losses, unions adopted a number of strategies: a) they reacted not at all or they supported the proposal; b) they engaged in collective action; c) they attempted arbitration and litigation; d) they negotiated to reduce adverse effects; or e) they suggested alternatives to privatization. Though unionized cities attracted a greater number of new privatization proposals, unions effectively rejected them, the most successful strategy being to suggest alternatives. Conversely, initiating strikes and other industrial actions were not as effective. Cities in which multiple strategies were adopted had lower long-term privatization rates. These results support a pragmatic view of union-management relations illustrating how unions and city managers found mutually acceptable alternatives to privatization or adjustment policies.

CONTROL OVER EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE IN MULTINATIONALS: SUBSIDIARY FUNCTIONS, CORPORATE STRUCTURES, AND NATIONAL SYSTEMS

The authors use comparable data on employment practices in multinationals located in four countries—Canada, Ireland, Spain, and the United Kingdom—to examine the question, How can we explain variation among national subsidiaries of MNCs in the extent and form of control on employment matters? In accounting for variation in both output and social control, the authors explore three potential influences: the functions of the national subsidiaries within the wider companies; the role of host country constraints; and the structures of the multinational, including the HR function. They examine the effect of each set of factors in the presence of the others, something that previous research has been unable to do, and show that each is a significant influence. Their study breaks new ground by investigating the functions of subsidiaries and the link with control.

The ‘hollowing out’ of the national subsidiary in multinational companies: is it happening, does it matter, what are the strategic consequences?

This article explores the effects of corporate organizational structure and of subsidiary discretion within multinational companies (MNCs). It draws on a representative survey of the most senior HR practitioner in foreign- and domestic-controlled subsidiaries in Canada. Key findings point to the importance of subsidiary discretion, especially discretion over human resource management. Greater subsidiary discretion is associated with a range of positive outcomes: securing international product and service mandates; greater subsidiary influence within the MNC; the promotion and protection of subsidiary employment (increased headcounts, less offshoring, more onshoring); and enhanced engagement with domestic institutions. These results highlight the strategic importance for union, civil society and public policy actors, as well as MNC subsidiary managers themselves, to focus on the drivers of subsidiary discretion, as opposed to the ‘hollowing out’ of corporate structures, and to weave that discretion into larger policy narratives to promote local economies.

Relocation Threats and Actual Relocations in Canadian Manufacturing: The Role of Firm Capacity and Union Concessions

The goal of this article is to compare the situations of various plants in which there were relocation threats, some of which materialized and some of which did not. It is based on data collected through a survey of local unions in the manufacturing sector in the province of Quebec in Canada. The results show that certain structural characteristics of the plant, such as producing standardized products and being downwardly integrated into the value chain, were associated with a greater probability of a relocation threat. Furthermore, union concessions were linked with a decrease in the likelihood of an actual relocation. There was a significant association between actual relocation and concessions on employment levels but not between relocation and concessions on wages and benefits. In these relocation decisions, there were clearly two logics at work: managerial capacity to relocate and industrial relations dynamics.

Austerity as an opportunity for union revival: Québec public school teachers

This article proposes an account of how two teachers’ labour federations have been reacting to austerity measures in public education. Current austerity measures have coincided with the renewal of collective agreements, thus allowing the study of how unions link bargaining stances to wider issues of service quality and accessibility. Union responses are the result of at least three influences: the institutional framework for public sector collective bargaining and worker representation, the previous orientation of members and their organisations towards social and work relations, and ongoing innovations for renewal and member engagement. We posit that union responses can contribute to renewal if they are guided by concerns to redefine union purpose, union organisation and building capacities. Under these conditions, unions are able to engage members and push forward an alternative agenda to that of the government. In doing so, they may be able to forge temporary alliances with outside stakeholders, namely parents. Analysis of union responses should consider the dialectic between union renewal effort and the opportunities and constraints of the institutional framework for public sector collective bargaining. The challenge for these two labour federations is in sustaining member engagement and activism beyond the current context of collective bargaining.