TRADE UNION

Changing Role of the Trade Union Movement in the United Kingdom over the Next Ten Years

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction1

Background of the study1

Problem Statement1

Purpose of the study3

Rationale of the study3

Research Questions5

Significance of the study5

Chapter 2: Literature Review7

Chapter 3: Methodology35

Research Design35

Literature Search35

Keywords36

References37

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background of the study

In order to examine the role and responsibilities of trade unions now and in the near future, it would be useful to try to identify what is changing in society and the economy and the potential impact of these changes on trade unions. Some aspects of society are changing rapidly, some are not. In order to adapt successfully to the changes, trade unions, like other organizations, need to continuously scan the environment. Currently human resource management (HRM) policies have been taken up by managements in many sectors. Drawing on ideas elaborated these policies have been implemented in various ways, theoretically laying the foundation for changed relations between managers, workers and their trade unions (Storey, 2010: 45). For management, this implementation is part of a view that such approaches provide the basis for more consensual social relations of production and create more malleable and compliant workforces, who identify with the enterprise or employing unit (Tuckman, 2010: 154). Following on from this, the foundation is thus laid for more effective and efficient forms of work and employment, based on the individualization of work relations and the associated social identities (Bacon and Storey, 2010: 235).

Problem Statement

Clearly, if the more extreme claims made by the advocates of these policies are realized then the relations of production will be transformed, with the consequent marginalization of trade unions (Storey, 2010, pp. 243, 250-5). In practice, however, such managerial approaches challenge trade unions, which can no longer rely on past established relations and which often confront a narrowing of their access to the resources of collective power (Smith and Morton, 2010, p. 100). Paradoxically, however, these initiatives also provide opportunities for workers and their unions to re-examine the basis of union organization and the scope of bargaining ((Martinez Lucio and Weston, 2010a; Bacon and Storey, 2010, p. 163). To develop the argument, a contrast will be drawn between the public sector and the privatized utilities on the one side and manufacturing on the other. The policies associated with HRM, and particularly Total Quality Management (TQM), have been taken up in the public sector and the privatized utilities in an almost promiscuous fashion, with the encouragement and backing of the State, whereas in manufacturing there has been a more cautious and uneven embrace of these policies. The implication of this variation is that the potential threat to and possibilities for unions in the public sector and the privatized utilities are much greater than is the case in manufacturing.

Observes that there has been much discussion about human resource management (HRM) policies and packages and what their implications may be for trade unionism. Explores the impact of HRM policies and practices on trade unionism through a detailed three-year case study examination in manufacturing, utilities and ...