Oscar Molina

Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

Coffee, cigarettes and coordination

Networks and the relational approach to wage-setting

Oscar Molina, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

The network as a theoretical framework or as a metaphor has also been referred in industrial relations studies (Saundry et al 2011, Fichter and Sydow 2016), but few of them have applied the methodology in a rigorous way. Networks have been used in industrial relations first of all in relation to actors, and more specifically, trade unions. However, when it comes to analysing the network relations underpinning collective bargaining, we find several references to the network idea in transnational or cross-border collective bargaining (Gollbach and Schulten 2000, Schulten 2003) but hardly anything when it comes collective bargaining at national level. One possible explanation for this lack of scholarly attention is the view that collective bargaining at national level does not conform to the idea of a network. In this view, collective bargaining would be better depicted in terms of a small number of actors who meet regularly and take decisions based on routine negotiations and with little scope for innovation.

The analysis of collective bargaining coordination has attracted the attention of scholars and policy-makers since the early 1990s, but has witnessed a renaissance more recently in the context of generalised de-centralization and the new constraints imposed by the EMU. Originally, coordination was presented as a dimension of collective bargaining considered alternative to centralization, as it focused on processes rather than structures. However, the reality was that all coordination indexes and scores made so far have tended to reflect structural characteristics of collective bargaining, and have provided very little insights on the processes and relational aspects underpinning coordination.

In this way, most studies have paid attention to the level where coordination occurs, assuming a correspondence between formal roles across levels and actors. A too strong focus on structures has resulted in limited knowledge about the actual mechanisms that industrial relations actors deploy in order to solve coordination problems. Despite growing research on the comparative analysis of collective bargaining coordination and its impact, we still lack profound knowledge about: the mechanisms sustaining coordination; how information flows between actors in the collective bargaining structure; the exact role played by different organisations / actors or the way in which actors and the different levels of the collective bargaining structure are articulated, including the national and trans-national levels.

The objective of the paper is to provide an alternative assessment of how coordination takes places in different collective bargaining systems and sectors. In order to do so, the paper adopts a behavioural and relational view based on the methodological and analytical tools of Social Network Analysis (SNA). By doing so, it will provide very valuable complementary evidence on collective bargaining coordination to the institutional information already available.

The relational view on coordination pays attention to the actual roles and interactions of actors, not their formal attributions in the collective bargaining structure. Social network methods are particularly well suited for dealing with multiple levels of analysis and multi-modal data structures, as is the case of collective bargaining systems in most EU countries. In particular, two-mode networks provide a specific type of network where individual actors are embedded in networks (organisations) that are embedded in networks (collective bargaining).

Workshop: Industrial relations towards 2030

Discussion with:
Christian Welz, Eurofound
Agnes Akkermann, University of Groningen and Radboud University
Guy Van Gyes, KU Leuven
Maria da Paz Campos Lima, University Institute of Lisbon, DINÂMIA’CET – IUL
Oscar Molina, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

Objective

The objective of the meeting is to present and debate recent Eurofound research on industrial relations (in particular, quantitative analysis of industrial relations to compare national IR systems and explore national clusters); and to explore the prospects for collective industrial relations in Europe in the next decade with academic and other experts. The context for the proposal is the commitment in Eurofound’s work programme to publish a “Flagship” report in 2020, highlighting the work conducted in the field of industrial relations in the four-year programme 2017-20. The workshop would provide feedback on the work in progress.

Contents

The workshop would have two main parts. Following introductions, the first part would focus on Eurofound’s research to map, compare and cluster industrial relations systems. This work has identified four “key dimensions” of industrial relations (industrial democracy, competitiveness, social justice and the quality of work and employment) established a set of indicators and identified data sources to measure national systems using this framework and to develop a typology of industrial relations systems as a basis for comparison across countries and over time. Findings will be presented, commented and discussed .

The second part of the workshop would address possible future developments in collective industrial relations. Following a brief presentation of preparations for Eurofound’s Flagship report on IR, an expert panel would discuss scenarios for the next ten years (erosion/managed decline; collapse; rejuvenation). The panel would be structured around topics such as the representativeness of IR actors and the role of new actors, innovation in collective bargaining, the role of public authorities, and whether we will see convergence or divergence in Europe. This would be followed by open discussion.

 

Crossing sectoral boundaries

Employment relations in the facility management business

Alejandro Godino, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
Maarten Keune, University of Amsterdam
Oscar Molina, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
Nöelle Payton, University of Amsterdam

This paper examines the implications that the expansion of Facility Management business has on the coverage of collective bargaining and the transformation of employment relations. For this purpose, the paper investigates the regulatory framework and the social actors’ strategies in relation to the expansion of this business in six European countries that are representative of different models of industrial relations, but also illustrative of different development stages of the Facility Management business: France, Italy, Netherland, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Institutional and organisational dynamics in the configuration of the outsourced employment in six European countries

Oscar Molina, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
Alejandro Godino, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

In this paper, we combine sources to approach the tendency and the format of outsourcing regarding industrial relations system (ICTWSS - Database on Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts), flexibility in labor regulation (OECD indicators of employment protection legislation) and sectoral and company characteristics, comparing as well data from 2004, 2009 and 2013. This analysis is complemented with an in-depth study of regulatory frameworks and labor market trends in relation to outsourcing practices in six European countries representatives of different models of industrial relations: France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Poland and United Kingdom.

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