Richard Saundry

Networks and social capital in the UK television industry: The weakness of weak ties

Accounts of the shift to post-industrial modes of employment have tended to present an over-simplified view of networks as an assemblage of contacts used to gain individual advantage in the labour market. Creative industries represent a challenge to this as typically they rely on networks to foster collaboration, trust and co-operation. In this article we explore how a variety of networks are used to promote both individual competition and co-operation in an industry where re-regulation has resulted in the break up of bureaucratic organizations and widespread casualization of the labour market. We argue that there is a need to extend the debate on the role of networks in a casualized labour market to examine how individuals organize themselves via the plethora of networks that result from organizational break up.We use qualitative data from a series of interviews with freelance television production workers in the United Kingdom to suggest that workers use networks as a source of competitive advantage and, at the same time, support and co-operation. Overall our research suggests that network activity is more complex, and networks themselves more dynamic, than existing research and theory implies.

PRIVATE PROFIT, PUBLIC LOSS: THE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF U.K. PORTS

When compared to the publicly owned ports, the financial and economic performance of the U.K.s privatized ports has failed to live up to expectations. Any improvement in service to port users in recent years has arisen from employment deregulation (the abolition of the National Dock Labour Scheme) rather than privatization, while the sale of public ports represents a significant loss to the taxpayer and other stakeholders. Based on a detailed comparison of public and private ports, the propriety of further port sales is questionable, and the current ownership, administration and operational structure of the U.K.s port transport industry should reconsidered.

Broadcasting Discontent Freelancers, Trade Unions and the Internet

This paper examines the potential of web-based networks for representing the interests of freelance audio-visual workers. It suggests that while such networks provide for a for the expression and mobilization of interests, their ability to represent workers is limited. Consequently, they provide an opportunity for trade unions to extend organization.

Accompaniment, Workplace Representation and Disciplinary Outcomes in British Workplaces Just a Formality?

The Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004 provides data that, for the first time, measure the extent to which workforce representation is part and parcel of grievance and disciplinary processes in British workplaces. This article explores the impact of the introduction of the statutory right to accompaniment at grievance and disciplinary hearings on rates of disciplinary sanctions, dismissals and employment tribunal applications. It concludes that there is little evidence to suggest that either the right to accompaniment or the operation of formal grievance and disciplinary procedures moderates disciplinary outcomes. Instead, it argues that trade union and employee representatives may be influential in facilitating the resolution of workplace disputes.

The Limits of Flexibility: the Case of UK Television

The organization of the UK television industry has undergone radical change in the last ten years in response to a concerted programme of regulatory change and rapid technological development. It has been seen by some commentators as an exemplar of flexible specialization and of further evidence that mass production methods have become increasingly obsolescent. Vertically disintegrated, flexibly specialized forms of organization are, on this view, best placed to cope with increasing product diversity, competition and uncertainty. This paper argues that the experience of television in the UK bears little resemblance to the model of flexible specialization. Indeed, the response of firms to changing product market conditions has not been to embrace vertical disintegration but to re-establish traditional organizational structures. Transaction-costs analysis, while providing a number of useful insights into the development of organizational structures within television, also fails to take account of the complex web of forces determining the degree of horizontal and vertical integration in the sector.

Contractual (in)security, labour regulation and competitive performance in the port transport industry: A contextualized comparison of Britain and Spain

Spanish ports have traditionally been derided for poor performance and acrimonious labour relations. This situation has been reversed in recent years through a programme of reform that has (a) created a more congenial organizational ecology in which firms co-operate as well as compete; (b) ensured the collective provision of vital production inputs such as training and social peace; and (c) co-ordinated investment in new port capacity and equipment. Spanish ports now match the performance of Britains privatized and deregulated port transport industry, where co-operation is more notable by its absence, insecurity is rife and price competition intense. Through a contextualized comparison of labour regulation in the two countries, it is possible to demonstrate that an ‘institutionally saturated’ and ‘politically bargained’ system of production and employment is compatible with, if not a necessary condition for, competitive performance in the international port transport industry.

Regulatory change and performance in TV production

The last ten years of re-regulation and rapid technological change have had a significant impact on organizational structure and employment within television in the UK. While this may have resulted in one-off productivity gains, it has also seen progressive casualization of employment. The fragmentation of employment is rooted in both specific regulatory provisions and also the structure of commissioning in the independent sector. We argue that this not only threatens to undermine the skills base of the industry but also has generally negative performance attributes. Therefore, re-regulation has removed one source of x-inefficiency but created another with damaging long-term consequences for the industry. In order to sustain those efficiency gains that have been made, actors within the industry must, within regulatory constraints, attempt to continue to move towards stable organizational structures and long-term contracting relations that will provide the necessary continuity of employment.

Explaining Activity and Exploring Experience-findings from a Survey of Union Learning Representatives

This article draws on data from one of the largest surveys to date of union learning representatives (ULRs) in order to build a unique picture of ULR experience and activity. It is found that ULRs made a contribution to increased diversity and represented an injection of ‘new blood’ within workplace union structures. Moreover, ULRs with no previous union involvement were just as likely to be active in promoting learning as their more experienced colleagues. At the same time, we found that a significant minority of trained ULRs were not active in union learning. While ULR activity was not confined within traditionally unionised settings, active and effective ULRs were most likely to be found in workplaces with substantive structures and institutions that underpinned union learning and reflected a clear commitment from the employer. ULR activity was more difficult to start and to sustain in workplaces in which this support was absent. The article concludes that in order for ULR activity to permeate such environments, some degree of additional statutory support may be necessary.

Discipline, representation and dispute resolution—exploring the role of trade unions and employee companions in workplace discipline

This article reports findings that suggest that trade union representation both protects worker interest and also facilitates the informal resolution of disciplinary disputes. However, this is dependent on robust representative structures and high-trust relationships with employers. Conversely, non-union companions were found to have no substantive impact on disciplinary processes and outcomes.

Social Capital and Union Revitalization: A Study of Worker Networks in the UK Audio‐Visual Industries

This article examines Jarleys contention that trade union revitalization is conditional upon the generation of social capital through the systematic creation of networks. It draws on a qualitative study of freelance workers in the UK audio‐visual industry to consider two propositions. The first, that ‘social capital within networks is forged on “bonds” that are conducive to trade union identity’ was not sustained by the data, which instead suggested that social capital is more likely to be generated by networks outside trade union structures. However, the data did support the second proposition that ‘trade unions can harness social capital in order to achieve concrete industrial relations outcomes’ by linking networks to reservoirs of expertise and influence.