Can trade unions be accommodated within the neo-liberal economic model?
There is a tendency to accuse the trade unions for inhibiting private sector investment that is crucial for UK’s long term economic success. The unions were also being accused of “holding monopolistic power over corporations”, which is utterly untrue. (Marlow, Sue., p.95) A more accurate explanation for anti-worker legislation is that it has allowed corporations to optimize methods of production, which result in short term increase in productivity as some of the redundancies (including human redundancies) were scrapped. However, there is a price to pay for this short-sightedness, which most corporations don’t seem to understand (Healey, Nigel M., p.292). In other words, while the existing terms and conditions offered to workers have increased the profitability of businesses, there is no denying the fact that significant damage had been inflicted upon the workers and their unions, making any significant repeal in favour of workers unlikely. Studied in this broader context, the internal efforts made by individual business corporations in giving greater voice to their employees and encouraging them to get involved in the success of the company can only go so far. As long as there is only limited legal recourse for claiming their right to have a say in the decision-making process of the company, the workers will not have any meaningful ‘voice’ within the workplace.
References:
Books:
J. Bratton and J. Gold, Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice (Palgrave Macmillan, 4thy edition, 2007) chapter 12
P. Blyton and P. Turnbull, The Dynamics of Employee Relations (Palgrave Macmillan, third edition, 2004), chapter 8
M. Marchington and A. Wilkinson, Human Resource Management at Work: People Management and Development (CIPD, 4th edition, 2008) chapter 10.
Journals:
Marlow, Sue. (Jan-March 2001), “`The Characteristics of Small Business Employees’.” International Small Business Journal 19.2 : 95.
Farnham, David, and Lesley Giles., (March 1995) “Trade unions in the UK: trends and counter-trends since 1979.” Employee Relations 17.n2 : 5(18).
Fitzgerald, Niall. (Autumn 1997) “Tomorrow’s Europe. (future of European Union).” European Business Journal 9.n3 : 21(8).
Casey, Bernard. (March 1994) “Employers’ provision of pensions and sick pay: evidence from the 1990 Workplace Industrial Relations Survey.” Applied Economics, 26.n3 : 229(9).
Biney, A. (2008, June)., Britain Skin Colour Still Matters: Racism in Britain Is Now Disguised in Language Such as Diversity, Immigration and Citizenship, and Is Thus Far More Sophisticated, Subtle and Slippery in Identifying. but as Ama Biney Finds out, the Colour of One’s Skin Still Very Much Matters in Britain Today. New African 86+.
Healey, Nigel M. (Dec 1992) , “What price trade union reform? (analysis of the UK’s labor market policies).” Contemporary Review 261.n1523 : 288(6).
Kessler, Sid. (Oct 1995) “Trade union recognition: CIR and ACAS experience., (UK’s Commission on Industrial Relations and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service).” Employee Relations 17.n6 : 52(15).
Phillips, Estelle M. (March 1992) “Managing to Discriminate.” Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 65.n1 : 77(2).
Taylor, P. & P Bain, ‘An assembly line in the head’: work and employee relations in the call centre’, Industrial Relations Journal, 2007
Newspapers:
Thompson, Mark, Bias, the BBC.And Why I Will Not Allow Newsreaders in Veils. (2006, October 29). The Mail on Sunday (London, England), p. 42.