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Trust in Relations between Unions and Employers in Europe

Is it possible for trade unions to fight precarity in an adverse global context? Although existing research suggests this is possible, there is limited understanding of the interplay of resources that enable unions to address precarity in deregulated markets. This study employs a power resource approach to investigate how unions overcome their external constraints. It draws upon 130 in-depth interviews with key informants across nine Central and Eastern European countries to investigate successful and unsuccessful union actions in sectors with differing external resources. In each sector, unions that mobilise their internal resources have been able to reduce various precarity dimensions, such as low wages, lack of voice, and irregular working time. The results reveal that unions whose objectives are based on convincing win–win discourses can make strides, acting as drivers of change in precarity patterns even in unfavourable conditions. Moreover, the study introduces a multi-dimensional conceptualisation of union success, identifying union actions that result in measurable improvements in precarity dimensions for all worker types. To deepen understanding of the role unions play in fighting precarity in adverse contexts, future research could investigate union actions that improve a wider range of precarity dimensions for all workers.

Globalization, which refers to the process of increased integration between countries, has had significant effects on employee relations (Lansbury, 2018). Economic liberalism, a key feature of globalization, has fostered individualism and competition since the 1980s, hindering collective mechanisms aimed at limiting ‘a race to the bottom’ in labour standards in many countries (Doellgast et al., 2018). Despite being one of the causes of the 2008 financial crisis, the neo-liberal political discourse has become, over the past decade, a one-size-fits-all recipe for structural reforms with the blessing of international bodies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the European Union (EU). In the EU, most governments have sought to reduce unemployment and/or contain labour costs primarily by weakening the role of statutory and/or collective bargaining regulations in setting labour standards (Koukiadaki et al., 2016; Marginson, 2015). Thus, economic liberalism during the crisis has reduced the role of institutional mechanisms (e.g. collective bargaining and labour laws) and increased the role of market forces in the regulation of employee relations.

Globalization, which refers to the process of increased integration between countries, has had significant effects on employee relations (Lansbury, 2018). Economic liberalism, a key feature of globalization, has fostered individualism and competition since the 1980s, hindering collective mechanisms aimed at limiting ‘a race to the bottom’ in labour standards in many countries (Doellgast et al., 2018). Despite being one of the causes of the 2008 financial crisis, the neo-liberal political discourse has become, over the past decade, a one-size fits-all recipe for structural reforms with the blessing of international bodies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the European Union (EU). In the EU, most governments have sought to reduce unemployment and/or contain labour costs primarily by weakening the role of statutory and/or collective bargaining regulations in setting labour standards (Koukiadaki et al., 2016; Marginson, 2015). Thus, economic liberalism during the crisis has reduced the role of institutional mechanisms (e.g. collective bargaining and labour laws) and increased the role of market forces in the regulation of employee relations.

There are disagreements about the key factors affecting a line manager’s conflict management modes. Psychologists emphasise the role of the conflict situation and personal traits, while other scholars focus on the impact of organisational aspects in managing interpersonal conflict. This paper provides empirical evidence suggesting that three sets of factors, namely, situational, personal and organisational aspects, influence the mode of handling conflict by line managers. Mixed methods were used to collect primary data from 19 line managers and two human resources managers working in two Irish subsidiaries of multinational companies. Although the research design did not allow for a verification of whether each of those three sets of factors has a significant influence on managing conflict by line managers, the paper suggests that combining psychological and managerial approaches to managing conflict provides a fuller understanding of handling interpersonal conflict. It also provides original findings on how line managers handle interpersonal conflicts, contributing to a better understanding of the under-researched area of the actual role of line managers in dealing with negative HR aspects.

In their seminal book on the models of eastern European capitalism, Bohle and Greskovits (2012) argue that Romania has a special type of neoliberal society with weak state institutions, a high degree of centralisation and collective bargaining coverage and relatively high mobilisation power on the part of the trade unions. Before the 2008 crisis, Romania had a comprehensive system of industrial relations with widespread collective bargaining at national, sectoral and establishment levels. The legal system supported the development of bipartite and tripartite consultation and negotiation between trade unions, employers and the government (Trif 2010). However, this system was radically altered by the government after the crisis, despite opposition from trade unions and the largest employers’ associations (Ciutacu 2012). The legal changes led to the implosion of trade unions’ fundamental rights to bargain collectively, to form trade unions and to take industrial action. As a result, cross-sectoral collective agreements ceased to exist and very few multi-employer collective agreements were concluded after the new labour code was adopted in 2011. The crisis was used as a pretext by the centre-right government to reform the industrial relations system, with the support of the ‘Troika’, comprising the European Union (EU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB).

PROJECT GOALS This project investigated the role of industrial relations in addressing precarious work. It focused on the initiatives and responses that trade unions and employers’ associations developed to deal with precarious work in Croatia, the Czech Republic (hereafter Czechia), Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia since 2008. In each country, the study analysed developments in five sectors, namely public healthcare, the metal industry, construction, retail and temporary agency work (TAW). The project used a qualitative approach to examine the dimensions of precarious employment, including low pay, irregular working hours, low job security and limited representation of workers’ rights. DUAL LABOUR MARKETS Apart from an increase in the share of non-standard work contracts since 2008, findings suggest that all forms of employment were exposed to more precarious conditions following various degrees of labour market deregulation across the 10 countries. In a context of weak law enforcement and decreasing unions’ role and influence, employers were able to use (and sometimes abuse) their enlarged prerogatives to increase the workload, the use of irregular working time and sometimes, to reduce the income of workers on all types of contracts. Still, workers in the informal market and dependent self-employed have the most precarious working conditions across the countries. These vulnerable groups are most prevalent in the construction and the retail sectors, often doing work for small domestic firms. In contrast, large (often multinational) firms, particularly in the construction and metal sectors use more frequently outsourcing to reduce labour costs. The share of agency workers, fixed-term and part-time employees has risen across the countries but less than expected in some countries (e.g. Croatia and Romania) due to labour shortages associated with massive emigration and the fact that employers have sufficient leverage to demand

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate concerning the compatibility of variable pay schemes (VPS) and trade unions, by investigating the effects of the managerial function (to increase management control over employees) and market function (to attract and retain suitably qualified employees) of VPS for trade unions. Design/methodology/approach – A critical case study approach was used to verify how the two varying functions of VPS affect the trade union of a large multi-establishment Irish financial institution. Data are based on a total of 60 in-depth interviews with key informants (trade unions, managers and non-managerial employees) at various levels in the organisational hierarchy and a representative survey of employees. Findings – While the findings confirmed the a priori expectation that the managerial function of VPS is more likely to damage unions than the market function, this study revealed that the interplay between the two functions varied over time and across outlets, and was primarily contingent on the disposition of line management towards the use of VPS and the market context. Research limitations/implications – The consequences of the shift to a managerial function of VPS following the 2008 economic crisis could only be assessed in a preliminary manner due to the time frame of the study. Practical implications – Trade unions, managers and employees need to consider the potential gaps between the intended purposes of VPS and their actual implementation to assess whether they are of potential benefit. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the existing literature in two main ways. First, it adds that the market function of VPS serves managers’ aims not only in aiding them attract, retain and motivate suitably qualified employees as indicated by Flanders (1970), but also in helping them gain great control over labour costs, which in turn, has mixed effects for trade unions. Second, in addition to the pragmatic reason

This article examines the impact of the recession on collective bargaining in Romania, focusing on legislative changes and developments in the public health care and the construction sectors. Prior to the recession, Romania had a legal system that supported dialogue between trade unions, employers and the government, resulting in widespread collective bargaining at all levels. In 2011, the government scrapped all collective agreements and changed, without parliamentary debate, the main labour laws, making it impossible to have cross-sectoral collective agreements and far more difficult to negotiate collective agreements at the sectoral, multi-employer and company levels. The recession was thus used by the centre-right government as a pretext to reform the industrial relations system.

This article compares collective bargaining practices in Romania after 1989 with those in continental Western Europe. It focuses on the structures, processes and outcomes of collective bargaining in four large chemical companies; comparisons are also made with other Eastern European countries. Unexpectedly, the findings point to an increase in state intervention in establishing terms and conditions of employment after 1989. The development of collective bargaining in Romania appears to follow a nation-specific path, with the continuance of certain pre-1989 features, such as unclear boundaries between trade unions and management.

"Trotz einer Vielzahl von Studien über die Entwicklungen der Tarifverhandlungen in Osteuropa in den letzten Jahren herrscht Uneinigkeit darüber, inwieweit die osteuropäischen Verhandlungspraktiken mit den westeuropäischen übereinstimmen. Dieses Papier trägt zu dieser Debatte bei, indem es die Ergebnisse empirischer Analysen von Tarifverhandlungen in Rumänien auf der theoretischen Grundlage des akteurzentrierten Institutionalismus analysiert. Die Untersuchung konzentriert sich auf vier Großunternehmen der chemischen Industrie. Es werden Vergleiche zu anderen Ländern gezogen, um die Entwicklungen in den rumänischen Fallbeispielen hervorzuheben. Unvorhergesehenerweise zeigen die Untersuchungsergebnisse, dass nach 1989 staatliche Eingriffe in der Bestimmung der Arbeitsbedingungen zugenommen haben. Dies ist auf die neuen Aufgaben des Staates zurückzuführen, die dieser während des Transformationsprozesses im Bereich der Beschäftigungssicherung übernommen hat. Die Studie zeigt einen merklichen Anstieg der Einflussnahme des Topmanagements auf Tarif- und Arbeitsbedingungen, während Gewerkschaften im Bereich der Sozialleistungen in großen Unternehmen einen weiterhin großen Einfluss ausüben. Die Ergebnisse deuten auf eine Weiterführung bestimmter Praktiken hin, die vor 1989 üblich waren, wie zum Beispiel die starke staatliche Intervention sowie die begrenzte Unabhängigkeit der Gewerkschaften vom Management. Dieses Working Paper trägt zum besseren Verständnis des institutionellen Wandels im Rahmen des Wechsels von einer Zentral- zu einer Marktwirtschaft bei." [Autorenreferat], "There are several studies on recent developments in collective bargaining in Eastern Europe, but there is still a debate about the extent to which collective bargaining practices resemble those in continental Western Europe. This paper aims to contribute to this debate, by examining primary data on collective bargaining practices in Romania using an actor-centred institutionalist approach. It focuses on collective bargaining in four large chemical companies. Comparisons are made to other countries in order to highlight the developments in Romanian cases. Unexpectedly, the study's findings point to an increase in state intervention in establishing the terms and conditions of employment after 1989, due to the state’s new roles during the transformation process that affected job security. The study suggests a considerable increase in the influence of top managers in determining pay and working conditions, while trade unions retained the considerable influence over social benefits in large companies. The findings show continuance of certain pre-1989 practices, such as a persistence of high state intervention and a limited independence of the trade unions from the management. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of institutional changes in the context of a shift from a centrally planned economy to a market-based economy." [author's abstract]

"Mit dem Wechsel von Zentralwirtschaft zu Marktwirtschaft mussten Gewerkschaften in osteuropäischen Ländern entscheiden, wie sie sich in den industriellen Beziehungen positionieren. Dieses Working Paper fragt, ob und warum Gewerkschaften sich strategisch für ein kooperationsorientiertes oder konfliktorientiertes Verhalten gegenüber den Arbeitgebern entschieden haben. Gegenstand der Untersuchung sind dabei die Beziehungen zwischen Arbeitgebern und Gewerkschaften auf nationaler, sektoraler und Unternehmensebene in Rumänien. Konflikthafte und kooperative Beziehungen zwischen Arbeitgebern und Gewerkschaften entwickelten sich nach 1989 parallel zueinander, mit einer höheren Tendenz zur Kooperation. Die Studie zeigt, dass nicht nur ein ideologisches Erbe und überkommene Institutionen, sondern auch die anfangs entschiedene Teilnahme an der makroökonomischen Transformation für die Entscheidung der Gewerkschaften zur Kooperation mit den Arbeitgebern ausschlaggebend waren. Die weit verbreitete Ansicht, dass Gewerkschaften in Osteuropa schwach sind, wird bestätigt. Gleichzeitig wird jedoch gezeigt, dass sie es in der Hand haben, ihre eigene Zukunft offensiv zu gestalten, vorausgesetzt, es gelingt ihnen, ihre Mitglieder zu mobilisieren. Darüber hinaus müssen Gewerkschaftsführungen fähig und willig sein, sowohl Konflikt als auch Kooperation in ihren Beziehungen zu den Arbeitgebern nutzen können. Der Vergleich der Ergebnisse aus Rumänien mit anderen osteuropäischen Ländern spiegelt den Stand der Transformation in Rumänien wider und zeichnet ebenso einen erweiterten Anwendungsbereich des der Studie zugrunde liegenden theoretischen Ansatzes." [Autorenreferat], "The shift from centrally planned economies to market-oriented economic models presented trade unions in Eastern European countries with crucial choices in relation to their roles as industrial relations actors. This paper investigates whether (and why) unions have chosen adversarial and/or co-operative relationships with the employers, based on a strategic choice conceptual framework. It focuses on trade union relations with employers at national, sectoral and company levels in Romania. It is argued that adversarial and co-operative relations between unions and employers developed simultaneously after 1989, but co-operation was the prevalent approach. Evidence suggests that ideological legacies, former institutions and the initial decision to participate in the macroeconomic transformation played a key role in shaping unions' choices towards co-operation with employers. Although this paper confirms the widespread view that labour is rather weak in Eastern Europe, it indicates that unions can be proactive and shape their own future if they have the capacity to mobilise their members and union leaders have the skills and willingness to use both conflict and co-operation in their relationships with employers. The comparison of evidence from Romania with other Eastern European countries reflects on the stage of Romanian transformation and also illustrates a wider possible applicability of the theoretical framework employed for the study." [author's abstract]