Raquel Rego

A typology of trade union websites with evidence from Portugal and Britain

Information and communication technologies can provide an important contribution to revitalizing trade unions, since the internet is faster, cheaper and more far-reaching than traditional communication methods. We propose a typology for analysing trade union websites, and apply this by comparing two national cases. The empirical research is limited to the websites of Portuguese and British civil service trade unions. We find that British unions take more advantage of the internet than those in Portugal; not only do they enable interactivity but above all promote the website as a space for sociability. We believe this typology opens up enhanced capacity to monitor, diachronically and synchronically, the relationship between trade unions and the internet.

The use of new ICTs in trade union protests – five European cases

Despite the interest in the use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) by trade unions, little is known about how new ICTs have changed trade union protest. In a period of austerity, in which new groups – including labour-related ones – have shown impressive mobilization using social media, we focus on a cross-country approach, looking at the impact of trade union strikes and protest in the public sector. Our findings show that new ICTs are being used at all stages of strike action and union protests in general, but do not allow us to assert that unions have changed the way they act in a fundamental way.

Os sítios na internet dos sindicatos portugueses: navegação à vista?

Em Portugal, os estudos de relacoes industriais tem dado pouca atencao ao papel das novas tecnologias de informacao e comunicacao. Procurando contribuir para colmatar esta lacuna, este artigo apresenta uma caracterizacao do uso da internet pelos sindicatos portugueses atraves de uma tipologia dos seus sitios, e verifica se existem associacoes estatisticamente significativas entre a tipologia e a filiacao nas principais confederacoes nacionais. Partimos, com efeito, do principio de que a fragmentacao sindical resulta em estrategias de comunicacao diversas. No final esbocamos algumas hipoteses explicativas para os resultados encontrados.

Bridging volunteering and the labour market: a proposal of a soft skills matrix

This work was partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [grant number UID/SOC/04521/2013] while the first author was affiliated at SOCIUS-ISEG-Universidade de Lisboa.

Voluntariado em Portugal: do trabalho invisível à validação de competências

Este artigo nasce de um estudo encomendado por uma ONG a um centro de investigacao. O estudo baseou-se num inquerito por questionario a mais de 300 organizacoes promotoras de voluntariado e em 18 entrevistas a voluntarios regulares de cinco areas de atividade. Os dados recolhidos comprovam a aquisicao de soft skills por meio do voluntariado e evidenciam a existencia de um interesse amplo no reconhecimento institucional das aprendizagens informais a partir da experiencia de voluntariado. Neste artigo conclui-se que a analise sociologica nao pode continuar alheia ao voluntariado como fenomeno potenciador de empregabilidade.

Portuguese Occupational Group Trends Running Counter to EU Policies

This chapter focuses on the pressure and lobbying processes undertaken by occupational groups seeking to acquire self-regulating powers since the implementation of democracy in Portugal. The author details the heterogeneity of professional regulation across Europe before underlining the power and influence of professional associations and especially in southern European countries. The discretionary founding of self-regulating associations is also analysed taking into account the national legal frameworks established to standardize procedures. However, based on interviews, the author explains how there is no apparent and clear position from parliamentary political parties on this question before concluding with discussion of the troika’s pro-deregulation policies within the framework of the current crisis.