In many European democracies, political parties and trade unions have developed a long-standing relationship. This relationship has certainly evolved over the last few decades as both actors have had to adapt to changes in their constituencies. This study examines the evolving dynamics between political parties and trade unions across Europe, with a focus on both Western and Central-Eastern European contexts. By utilising data from the Comparative Interest Group survey, we investigate how factors such as political power, resources, and ideological alignments influence these interactions. Our findings reveal that unions prioritise contacts with ruling parties, underscoring the importance of political access. Despite assumptions, financial resources alone do not determine engagement frequency, as well as ideological alliances. We also highlight differing contact levels influenced by political systems, showing that pluralist environments foster more interaction compared to corporatist settings. This research contributes valuable insights into the adaptive strategies of trade unions in contemporary democracies, reflecting on historical ties and varying institutional landscapes.
{"title":"Towards Better Understanding of Party-Union Relationship: An Empirical Analysis","authors":"Paweł Kamiński, Szczepan Czarnecki","doi":"10.1111/irj.12457","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12457","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In many European democracies, political parties and trade unions have developed a long-standing relationship. This relationship has certainly evolved over the last few decades as both actors have had to adapt to changes in their constituencies. This study examines the evolving dynamics between political parties and trade unions across Europe, with a focus on both Western and Central-Eastern European contexts. By utilising data from the Comparative Interest Group survey, we investigate how factors such as political power, resources, and ideological alignments influence these interactions. Our findings reveal that unions prioritise contacts with ruling parties, underscoring the importance of political access. Despite assumptions, financial resources alone do not determine engagement frequency, as well as ideological alliances. We also highlight differing contact levels influenced by political systems, showing that pluralist environments foster more interaction compared to corporatist settings. This research contributes valuable insights into the adaptive strategies of trade unions in contemporary democracies, reflecting on historical ties and varying institutional landscapes.</p>","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"56 2","pages":"173-181"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irj.12457","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143536003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Recent contributions within the disconnected capitalism literature argue that personal financial insecurity related to household indebtedness and pension fund financialisation is positively associated with time-related underemployment. This is because financially insecure workers are more likely to accept worsening working conditions on the fear of losing their job and defaulting on their debts. Using quarterly data from the Eurostat for the period 2008Q3–2020Q4, this paper shows that the persistent rise of time-related underemployment rates in postcrisis Greece is robustly associated with the household debt ratio and pension fund investments in financial derivatives. We also demonstrate that while the effects of financialisation are similar for men and women, the employment-tied and gendered nature of social benefits in the country has disproportionately affected women in the context of austerity. The paper concludes that personal financial insecurity is a key missing factor behind rising time-related underemployment in Greece since 2008.
{"title":"Financialisation, Underemployment and the Disconnected Greek Capitalism","authors":"Giorgos Gouzoulis, Panagiotis (Takis) Iliopoulos, Giorgos Galanis","doi":"10.1111/irj.12455","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12455","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Recent contributions within the disconnected capitalism literature argue that personal financial insecurity related to household indebtedness and pension fund financialisation is positively associated with time-related underemployment. This is because financially insecure workers are more likely to accept worsening working conditions on the fear of losing their job and defaulting on their debts. Using quarterly data from the Eurostat for the period 2008Q3–2020Q4, this paper shows that the persistent rise of time-related underemployment rates in postcrisis Greece is robustly associated with the household debt ratio and pension fund investments in financial derivatives. We also demonstrate that while the effects of financialisation are similar for men and women, the employment-tied and gendered nature of social benefits in the country has disproportionately affected women in the context of austerity. The paper concludes that personal financial insecurity is a key missing factor behind rising time-related underemployment in Greece since 2008.</p>","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"56 2","pages":"158-172"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irj.12455","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143533426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}