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This article addresses debates in contemporary industrial relations about practical application of pluralism. We compare the potential efficacy of 'radical-pluralism' and 'neo-pluralism'. Data comes from analysis of employment relationships in two unionised public transport sector organisations, in the comparative country contexts of the UK and Republic of Ireland. It is argued that radical-pluralist framing of the employment relationship is better equipped than neo-pluralism to provide deeper and contextually sensitive understandings of the realities of unequal employment relationships. Desired (pluralist) democratic values differ from real world application of joint regulation (praxis). This raises implications regarding constraints on state regulation and public policy goals institutionalising pluralism as fluid and uneven praxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we show how trust and justice influence the efficacy of employee information and consultation (I&C) bodies. Evidence is drawn from a 2‐year qualitative study of I&C participants in two organizations in the UK. The research builds on Dietz and Fortin's conceptual five‐stage model of the I&C process to provide a more nuanced understanding of I&C trust and justice outcomes. In particular, we point to crucial stages in the process, and how these influence the effectiveness of I&C mechanisms. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, drawing on the latest insights into organisational silence, considers how employers seek to withhold information and circumvent meaningful workplace voice when confronted with regulatory requirements. It offers novel theoretical insights by redefining employer silencing as characterised by the withholding of information and the restriction of workplace dialogue. In outlining three principal routes of non‐compliance—avoidance, suppression, and neglect—we empirically illustrate the path to silence in the regulatory context of the European Union Directive establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees. Rather than considering how employers utilised the regulations, as existing research considers, we look at how employers circumvented the regulatory space in three case studies in the United Kingdom and Ireland and the significant role of employer silencing as a tool for explaining this dynamic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on two influential collective research projects on Employee Participation in Britain, conducted by Manchester / Loughborough academics. This comparative case-study, with a longitudinal element, has allowed us to trace the development of Employee Participation over a decade or more, from a Management approach centred on adversarial trade unions and collective bargaing to one focused on new (non-union) froms of Employee Involvement (EI) and, in some cases, partnership with unions. Our research concludes that important developments have taken place in organisations' approach to managening employees - rejecting the radical view that EI and partnership are 'phantom' forms of participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Given the emergence of new legal initiatives for union recognition, declining levels of union membership and the growth of alternative forms of employee representation, this paper aims to examine the management of employee voice in non-union firms. Design/methodoIogy/approach - The research adopts a case study approach in seven non-union organisations from different sectors of economic activity in the UK. Several themes guided the design of the research instruments. Interviews were conducted with managerial respondents responsible for the design and implementation of employee voice at each case study, including non-personnel practitioners. Findings - Provides information on: the meaning of non-union voice; the range of practices adopted; the potential outcomes; and apparent bathers to the implementation of non-union voice arrangements. Research limitations/implications - The research collected data from managerial respondents only, and this limitation is noted. Further research in this area is suggested, particularly from employee stakeholders involved in the processes of employee involvement Originality/value - The paper addresses a gap on employee voice in non-union settings. It suggests that it is too simple to dismiss voice in non-union organisations as ineffective and inconsequential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine a wide range of employee voice mechanisms from a total of 18 case studies from the UK and Republic of Ireland. We examine how voice is defined by managers and how they link voice with improved economic efficiency. The evidence suggests that employee voice is more extensive in terms of its‘scope’ and‘impact’ than a decade ago, although the‘level’ at which employees have a say remains the preserve of managerial control. The evidence also suggests that the link between voice and organisational performance is problematic. The conclusion argues that organisations now face a diffuse and persistent range of concerns from highly articulate employees. In this respect, managing employee voice will be closely related to managing diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present and assess an analytical framework for examining the different 'meanings, purposes and practices' of employee voice. The data were collected from eighteen organizations in England, Scotland and Ireland. Managers defined voice very much in terms of the perceived contribution to efficiency and tended to downplay notions of rights; however, the linkages between voice and performance outcomes remain problematic. Overall, employee voice is best understood as a complex and uneven set of meanings and purposes with a dialectic shaped by external regulation, on the one hand, and internal management choice, on the other. The evidence suggests that the degree to which voice practices are embedded in an organization is much more important than reporting the extent of any particular individual or collective schemes for employee voice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents empirical evidence about the shape and pattern of non-union employer strategies to remain union free. The data are collected from seven case studies across different industrial sectors and organisational sizes in Britain. Following a brief critique of typologies of union avoidance, the evidence suggests the 'configuration' of anti-union approaches involves an uneven and at times contradictory interaction of context-specific variables. Three mutually inclusive factors that influence employer behaviour are identified: structural ideological and cultural dimensions. It is argued that these represent a deeper understanding of employer hostility towards unions than existing employment relationship classifications. The utility of non-union typologies and the prospects for union mobilisation are considered in the light of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the role of trade unions in bargaining for workplace training in Great Britain. It also examines the extent to which local union representatives are able to engage management within a new agenda of bargaining for skills. There is a positive relationship between trade union involvement in value-added training initiatives and the incidence of training outcomes at workplace level. It is suggested that both the role and influence of trade unions toward a new bargaining agenda of skill formation is likely to increase given the prevailing political and ideological climate in Great Britain.