Pub Date : 2023-12-08DOI: 10.1177/09596801231218673
Donato Di Carlo, C. Ibsen, Oscar Molina
This special issue (SI) brings the industrial relations scholarship on the public sector into dialogue with the comparative political economy (CPE) literature on growth models/regimes. While the former has paid great attention to the public sector, in CPE the public sector has been analysed less, and mostly as subaltern to the export-sector’s actors, interests and institutions. We posit that the public sector matters for CPE in its own right for three reasons. First, the state remains today the single largest employer in virtually every European economy, providing incomes to a large segment of the middle class. Second, public employers’ wage bill – one of the largest items of governments’ current expenditures – is funded by the taxpayers. Hence, public sector wage policy is fiscal policy, ultimately pursued by public/political employers. Third, public employers are simultaneously public managers and political sovereigns acting in the shadow of hierarchy. Case-study contributions to the SI detail how these insights matter within different European growth regimes: (1) the Mediterranean demand-led growth regime (France, Italy, Spain and Portugal), (2) the German export-led growth regime, (3) the Nordic balanced growth regime (Denmark and Sweden) and (4) the FDI-led Eastern European growth regime (Czechia and Slovakia).
{"title":"The new political economy of public sector wage-setting in Europe: Introduction to the special issue","authors":"Donato Di Carlo, C. Ibsen, Oscar Molina","doi":"10.1177/09596801231218673","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09596801231218673","url":null,"abstract":"This special issue (SI) brings the industrial relations scholarship on the public sector into dialogue with the comparative political economy (CPE) literature on growth models/regimes. While the former has paid great attention to the public sector, in CPE the public sector has been analysed less, and mostly as subaltern to the export-sector’s actors, interests and institutions. We posit that the public sector matters for CPE in its own right for three reasons. First, the state remains today the single largest employer in virtually every European economy, providing incomes to a large segment of the middle class. Second, public employers’ wage bill – one of the largest items of governments’ current expenditures – is funded by the taxpayers. Hence, public sector wage policy is fiscal policy, ultimately pursued by public/political employers. Third, public employers are simultaneously public managers and political sovereigns acting in the shadow of hierarchy. Case-study contributions to the SI detail how these insights matter within different European growth regimes: (1) the Mediterranean demand-led growth regime (France, Italy, Spain and Portugal), (2) the German export-led growth regime, (3) the Nordic balanced growth regime (Denmark and Sweden) and (4) the FDI-led Eastern European growth regime (Czechia and Slovakia).","PeriodicalId":47034,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Industrial Relations","volume":"57 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138588008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-06DOI: 10.1177/09596801231219583
G. Meardi, Donato Di Carlo, C. Ibsen, Oscar Molina
{"title":"Editorial: In memory of Lorenzo Bordogna","authors":"G. Meardi, Donato Di Carlo, C. Ibsen, Oscar Molina","doi":"10.1177/09596801231219583","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09596801231219583","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47034,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Industrial Relations","volume":"36 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138596577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-22DOI: 10.1177/09596801231215901
M. Kahancová, K. Staroňová
Studies on the drivers of public sector wage setting (PSWS) within the broader political and economic conditions in Central and Eastern Europe are scarce. To fill this gap, the paper questions to what extent the export-led growth model, based on foreign direct investment as driver of economic growth, influenced PSWS in Czechia and Slovakia after the 2008–2009 crisis. The paper provides new evidence of the appropriateness of the growth model literature, integrated by consideration of global production chains integration, for understanding PSWS in CEE conditions. The analysis shows that PSWS followed institutional traditions and established practices that only indirectly related to the countries’ export orientation and integration into global production chains. The indirect growth model impact on PSWS in CEE conditions is channeled through a strong role of the statutory minimum wage, which serves as a wage benchmark both for the export sector and PSWS.
{"title":"Arms-length influence: Public sector wage setting and export-led economic growth in Czechia and Slovakia","authors":"M. Kahancová, K. Staroňová","doi":"10.1177/09596801231215901","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09596801231215901","url":null,"abstract":"Studies on the drivers of public sector wage setting (PSWS) within the broader political and economic conditions in Central and Eastern Europe are scarce. To fill this gap, the paper questions to what extent the export-led growth model, based on foreign direct investment as driver of economic growth, influenced PSWS in Czechia and Slovakia after the 2008–2009 crisis. The paper provides new evidence of the appropriateness of the growth model literature, integrated by consideration of global production chains integration, for understanding PSWS in CEE conditions. The analysis shows that PSWS followed institutional traditions and established practices that only indirectly related to the countries’ export orientation and integration into global production chains. The indirect growth model impact on PSWS in CEE conditions is channeled through a strong role of the statutory minimum wage, which serves as a wage benchmark both for the export sector and PSWS.","PeriodicalId":47034,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Industrial Relations","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139249937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-15DOI: 10.1177/09596801231213809
Arianna Marcolin, S. Gasparri
This article investigates trade union responses to in-store digitalization in retail in Italy and Spain. It considers critical issues often associated with the digital transformation of work including excessive work flexibility, high levels of monitoring and skills mismatch. It goes on to discuss two alternative employment relations developments: a ‘low road’, along which digitalization enhances market regulation and employers’ ability to control the workforce unilaterally; or a ‘high road’, where digitalization allows for better working conditions as well as business productivity. Drawing on documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews with trade union leaders, and content analysis of collective agreements signed at the sector, territorial and company level, findings report how Italian and Spanish trade unions attempt to use in-store digitalization to increase their leverage and aim for the high road. Overall, this work confirms the challenges of deterring the retail sector from pursuing the low road while highlighting some institutional factors and trade union strategies that can make the difference.
{"title":"Digitalization and employment relations in the retail sector. Examining the role of trade unions in Italy and Spain","authors":"Arianna Marcolin, S. Gasparri","doi":"10.1177/09596801231213809","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09596801231213809","url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates trade union responses to in-store digitalization in retail in Italy and Spain. It considers critical issues often associated with the digital transformation of work including excessive work flexibility, high levels of monitoring and skills mismatch. It goes on to discuss two alternative employment relations developments: a ‘low road’, along which digitalization enhances market regulation and employers’ ability to control the workforce unilaterally; or a ‘high road’, where digitalization allows for better working conditions as well as business productivity. Drawing on documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews with trade union leaders, and content analysis of collective agreements signed at the sector, territorial and company level, findings report how Italian and Spanish trade unions attempt to use in-store digitalization to increase their leverage and aim for the high road. Overall, this work confirms the challenges of deterring the retail sector from pursuing the low road while highlighting some institutional factors and trade union strategies that can make the difference.","PeriodicalId":47034,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Industrial Relations","volume":"41 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139275354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-07DOI: 10.1177/09596801231206979
John T Addison, Paulino Teixeira
This paper investigates the relationship between union organization, workplace representation, the quality of industrial relations and strike incidence, as well as the implications of the matters at stake in localized disputes. Strike incidence is found to be higher in establishments where union density is higher, and where workers are covered by mixed-level collective agreements and in flexible employment. Further, distrust is associated with increased strike incidence, and conversely for employee-focused strategies and heightened employee motivation. These results are robust to controls for possible endogeneity of union density and country (cluster) heterogeneity. In terms of outcomes, higher union density, works councils, profit sharing, and a machine/computer-driven work pace are associated with worker wins, while collective bargaining, firm profitability, and more frequent meetings with management are linked with more balanced agreements.
{"title":"Strike incidence and outcomes: New evidence from the 2019 ECS","authors":"John T Addison, Paulino Teixeira","doi":"10.1177/09596801231206979","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09596801231206979","url":null,"abstract":"This paper investigates the relationship between union organization, workplace representation, the quality of industrial relations and strike incidence, as well as the implications of the matters at stake in localized disputes. Strike incidence is found to be higher in establishments where union density is higher, and where workers are covered by mixed-level collective agreements and in flexible employment. Further, distrust is associated with increased strike incidence, and conversely for employee-focused strategies and heightened employee motivation. These results are robust to controls for possible endogeneity of union density and country (cluster) heterogeneity. In terms of outcomes, higher union density, works councils, profit sharing, and a machine/computer-driven work pace are associated with worker wins, while collective bargaining, firm profitability, and more frequent meetings with management are linked with more balanced agreements.","PeriodicalId":47034,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Industrial Relations","volume":"57 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135539717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-03DOI: 10.1177/09596801231204978
Giorgio Cutuli, Alessio Tomelleri
This paper investigates the moderating role of institutional factors on returns to ICT skill usage among different groups of workers in eight European labour markets. Using PIAAC data, the paper leverages the segmentation of contractual status, allowing for heterogeneous wage effects among workers holding permanent and temporary contracts. Furthermore, this study considers how gaps in ICT wage premiums mirror the compositional differences in national-specific trade union densities among contractual groups, demonstrating that wage premiums associated with ICT usage are not univocally defined by task content or demand-supply dynamics for specific sectors and occupations. The results highlight different returns between labour market segments according to national-specific trade union densities of temporary and permanent workers, revealing how the consequences of technological change are shaped by institutional cleavages.
{"title":"Returns to digital skills use, temporary employment, and trade unions in European labour markets","authors":"Giorgio Cutuli, Alessio Tomelleri","doi":"10.1177/09596801231204978","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09596801231204978","url":null,"abstract":"This paper investigates the moderating role of institutional factors on returns to ICT skill usage among different groups of workers in eight European labour markets. Using PIAAC data, the paper leverages the segmentation of contractual status, allowing for heterogeneous wage effects among workers holding permanent and temporary contracts. Furthermore, this study considers how gaps in ICT wage premiums mirror the compositional differences in national-specific trade union densities among contractual groups, demonstrating that wage premiums associated with ICT usage are not univocally defined by task content or demand-supply dynamics for specific sectors and occupations. The results highlight different returns between labour market segments according to national-specific trade union densities of temporary and permanent workers, revealing how the consequences of technological change are shaped by institutional cleavages.","PeriodicalId":47034,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Industrial Relations","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135739465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.1177/09596801231197620
M. Sippola, Paul Jonker-Hoffrén, Satu Ojala
In the article, the regulatory trajectories of variable hours contracts (VHCs, denoting on-call contracts, and zero-hours contracts) are analysed in two countries, the Netherlands and Finland. The unity or disunity in social partners’ readiness for bringing the issue of VHCs to the agenda of collective bargaining has implications for the labour market regimes. From the institutional change perspective, the shared agenda in regulating the VHCs implies conversion of the labour market regime in the Netherlands. In Finland, layering was seen in the development of labour legislation, whereas the disregard of VHCs in collective bargaining implies drift. In Finland, the ‘legislative route’ of regulating conditions of labour may strengthen, undermining the negotiatory autonomy of social partners, earlier embedded in the structure of the Nordic labour market regime.
{"title":"The varying national agenda in variable hours contract regulation: Implications for the labour market regimes in the Netherlands and Finland","authors":"M. Sippola, Paul Jonker-Hoffrén, Satu Ojala","doi":"10.1177/09596801231197620","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09596801231197620","url":null,"abstract":"In the article, the regulatory trajectories of variable hours contracts (VHCs, denoting on-call contracts, and zero-hours contracts) are analysed in two countries, the Netherlands and Finland. The unity or disunity in social partners’ readiness for bringing the issue of VHCs to the agenda of collective bargaining has implications for the labour market regimes. From the institutional change perspective, the shared agenda in regulating the VHCs implies conversion of the labour market regime in the Netherlands. In Finland, layering was seen in the development of labour legislation, whereas the disregard of VHCs in collective bargaining implies drift. In Finland, the ‘legislative route’ of regulating conditions of labour may strengthen, undermining the negotiatory autonomy of social partners, earlier embedded in the structure of the Nordic labour market regime.","PeriodicalId":47034,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Industrial Relations","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45368917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-27DOI: 10.1177/09596801231185753
B. Keller
The paper asks for the contribution of growth models for the explanation of public sector employment relations in Germany. The paper is subdivided into three parts. The first elaborates on long-term developments as well as forms of employment. The second part analyzes wage setting systems, that is, bilateral collective bargaining for employees and unilateral decision-making for civil servants. The third part compares the empirical outcomes of both sub-systems with the assumptions of growth models and distinguished explicitly various concepts of the state as corporate actor.
{"title":"Public sector employment relations: Germany in comparative perspective","authors":"B. Keller","doi":"10.1177/09596801231185753","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09596801231185753","url":null,"abstract":"The paper asks for the contribution of growth models for the explanation of public sector employment relations in Germany. The paper is subdivided into three parts. The first elaborates on long-term developments as well as forms of employment. The second part analyzes wage setting systems, that is, bilateral collective bargaining for employees and unilateral decision-making for civil servants. The third part compares the empirical outcomes of both sub-systems with the assumptions of growth models and distinguished explicitly various concepts of the state as corporate actor.","PeriodicalId":47034,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Industrial Relations","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45492992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-24DOI: 10.1177/09596801231188003
C. Lloyd, Jonathan Payne
The resurgence of debate around digitalisation and work has seen the role of unions in the ‘social shaping of technology’ attracting renewed interest. A key question concerns how far national institutions influence unions’ ability to shape digitalisation in particular sectors and workplaces. Using a multi-level analysis that emphasises the inter-relationships between institutions, union power, resources and agency, this article compares the role of two unions in the banking sector in Norway and the UK. Drawing on interviews with national officers and workplace representatives, it addresses their involvement in decision-making processes and ability to influence outcomes in relation to digital monitoring and surveillance. The research findings highlight the continued salience of ‘country effect’ as evidenced by the Norwegian union’s more prominent role in shaping better worker outcomes.
{"title":"Trade unions, digitalisation and country effects: A comparative study of banking in Norway and the UK","authors":"C. Lloyd, Jonathan Payne","doi":"10.1177/09596801231188003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09596801231188003","url":null,"abstract":"The resurgence of debate around digitalisation and work has seen the role of unions in the ‘social shaping of technology’ attracting renewed interest. A key question concerns how far national institutions influence unions’ ability to shape digitalisation in particular sectors and workplaces. Using a multi-level analysis that emphasises the inter-relationships between institutions, union power, resources and agency, this article compares the role of two unions in the banking sector in Norway and the UK. Drawing on interviews with national officers and workplace representatives, it addresses their involvement in decision-making processes and ability to influence outcomes in relation to digital monitoring and surveillance. The research findings highlight the continued salience of ‘country effect’ as evidenced by the Norwegian union’s more prominent role in shaping better worker outcomes.","PeriodicalId":47034,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Industrial Relations","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49059148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-14DOI: 10.1177/09596801231188511
Laust Høgedahl, C. Ibsen, Flemming Ibsen
Denmark and Sweden are small open economies that rely on exports for economic growth. At the same time, these countries have some of the largest public sectors in the world and a high wage equality. With extensive collective bargaining and strong unions in both private and public sectors, coordination of wage setting is crucial for balancing competitiveness and real wage increases. This paper investigates how coordination between public sector and private sector wage setting in the two countries is achieved. Like other studies, we find that agreements in the manufacturing export sector set the pattern for public sector wage bargaining. However, we also find that institutional differences have significant distributive implications for public sector employees. In Denmark, wage increase disparities between the public and private sectors are automatically adjusted according to formalized procedures. In Sweden, no automatic adjustment exists, and coordination is instead based on tightly coordinated bargaining practices by unions and public sector employers. Surprisingly, we find most public sub-sector variation of wage increases in Denmark, whereas wage structures in Sweden have been very stable. We argue that timing of bargaining, level of private sector wage flexibility and politicization of public sector bargaining are key drivers for these distributional differences.
{"title":"Public sector wage bargaining and the balanced growth model: Denmark and Sweden compared","authors":"Laust Høgedahl, C. Ibsen, Flemming Ibsen","doi":"10.1177/09596801231188511","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09596801231188511","url":null,"abstract":"Denmark and Sweden are small open economies that rely on exports for economic growth. At the same time, these countries have some of the largest public sectors in the world and a high wage equality. With extensive collective bargaining and strong unions in both private and public sectors, coordination of wage setting is crucial for balancing competitiveness and real wage increases. This paper investigates how coordination between public sector and private sector wage setting in the two countries is achieved. Like other studies, we find that agreements in the manufacturing export sector set the pattern for public sector wage bargaining. However, we also find that institutional differences have significant distributive implications for public sector employees. In Denmark, wage increase disparities between the public and private sectors are automatically adjusted according to formalized procedures. In Sweden, no automatic adjustment exists, and coordination is instead based on tightly coordinated bargaining practices by unions and public sector employers. Surprisingly, we find most public sub-sector variation of wage increases in Denmark, whereas wage structures in Sweden have been very stable. We argue that timing of bargaining, level of private sector wage flexibility and politicization of public sector bargaining are key drivers for these distributional differences.","PeriodicalId":47034,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Industrial Relations","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45905156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}