Conference on Organized labour
TRADE UNION RESPONSES TO GLOBALIZATION
OUTLINE FOR THE CASE STUDIES
I. INTRODUCTION.
1. The role of trade unions.
Trade unions have traditionally performed three principal roles in their relations with individual employers; employer and business associations; the State and the public at large:
i. The economic role of facilitating production and distribution in society.
a. Promoting cooperation between capital and labour in production and in enterprise restructuring, to secure sustainable growth consistent with social equity, employment, and improved living and working conditions.
b. To ensure an equitable distribution of the value-added by the production process.
ii. The democratic and representative role of providing voice and identity to labour at the workplace, and in society at large. This includes:
a. Collective bargaining, tripartite negotiations and social dialogue at all levels of the economy.
b To voice labour’s views on macro-economic policies, particularly fiscal and monetary policies.
c. Consolidating solidarity among labour in different sectors and occupational groups.
d. Providing an anchor for broad-based social movements through alliances with other social actors with shared values and goals.
e. Providing services to members of unions, including the provision of legal and educational facilities.
f. Representation of workers in individual grievance procedures.
iii. The social integration role of minimising the risk of social exclusion or marginalisation of vulnerable or minority groups, including migrant workers and ethnic communities.
2. The changing environment. In the last decade, there have been pronounced changes in the political and economic environment which have impacted - sometimes negatively - on the position and influence of trade unions. These changes have eroded stable employment relationships, the traditional basis for union strength. They have also led to demands to deregulate labour markets, and to change the balance and content of industrial relations systems in many countries.
Several factors are involved:
a. Globalization has led to intensified competitive pressures in product markets; accelerated mobility of capital; and increased segmentation in labour markets.
b. Technological changes make it possible to reshape production through new forms of industrial organization, including sub-contracting and the spatial reorganization of production systems. At the same time, the new technologies have enhanced the capacity of unions to reach wider constituencies and to organize global campaigns.
c. Supply side pressure from the new entrants into labour markets, chiefly youth and women workers.
d. Changing public and political attitudes towards trade unions. Examples include: gender and trade unions; a weakening commitment to trade unions owing to rising individualism, and an increasingly differentiated labour force; and public perceptions of union membership and union leadership.
The impact on unions may be assessed in terms of the following indicators:
a. Union density. Whether the membership figures of trade unions, (i.e., workers’ organizations in accordance with ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association, dis-aggregated into gender groups) show any discernible trends.
b. The capacity to mobilize. Whether the unions, irrespective of numerical strength of their membership, have the capacity to deliver successful outcomes for labour. (The success or failure of unions, in France or Spain for example, is clearly influenced by factors other than union density).
c. Labour institutions. Whether the results of union action have been institutionalized in countries through labour legislation, collective agreements, and union participation in the administration of welfare benefits.
d. Changes in structures. Whether unions have adapted themselves to structures like Works Councils in enterprises at the local, regional or global levels. Whether structures have emerged to deal with sectoral and multi-sectoral labour issues arising at the local, regional and global levels.
e. Alternative policies. Whether unions have effectively responded to policies such as Human Resources Management as alternative to unions, promoted by certain employers. II THE OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDIES.
A survey of union responses.
The research programme will survey union strategies in response to this changing environment. The focus will be on representational strategies which unions adopt to meet new requirements. Constituent concerns may be categorized under three broad groups.
i. Traditional demands, centred on wages, working conditions, non-wage benefits, employment security and social security met mainly through organization and collective representation.
ii. Less traditional demands, created by the evolution of labour markets such as: human resources development, gender equality in employment and in access to jobs, housing, health and recreation, legal assistance and credit support.
iii. The need to mobilize new members from the labour force, especially contingent workers and workers in service industries. Particular attention will be given in the survey to assess the union response to the requirements of women in workers’ organizations and in the labour market as a whole.
The survey would illustrate how far unions have maintained their position with respect to traditional constituent demands; and are adapting themselves to a changing environment by organizing new constituents; addressing new concerns; developing new perspectives on civil society; and enhancing their image as major social actors.
When completed, the studies will generate a profile of union strategies as they emerge in different economic and geographical settings. Such an overview can serve as the basis for a comparative analysis of union responses, and for policy debates based on such analysis.
III. THE CONTENT OF THE STUDIES.
Union responses to the changing environment will be studied in selected countries in terms of the following issues:
1. Membership campaigns.
i Traditional constituents. In recent years, the position of unions in traditional strongholds such as the public sector and in labour intensive industries, has been severely affected. Unions have therefore been called upon to meet the pressing concerns of their traditional constituents, while anticipating those of their potential membership. The progress of unions may be reviewed in relation to the following initiatives:
a. Employment, conditions of work and social security.
b. Training, human resource development and career mobility of constituents.
c. Provision of services, credit support, legal assistance and advisory services.
ii. Organizing new members. The new entrants to labour markets include the following categories: highly skilled professional workers; white collar workers; and contingent workers. Union organizational strategies may be explored in relation to the following indicators:
a. Strategies to address the concerns of workers at the higher end of the skill spectrum, in particular, the specific interests of managerial workers.
b. Measures addressed to the special concerns of women, including care for children and dependents; parental leave for working parents; working time arrangements; training facilities; and representation of women in leadership positions of unions.
c. Strategies addressing the concerns of contingent workers such as: job security; access to training; and portability of benefits including health care and social security.
d. Progress in representing workers of the informal sector and in rural areas, including home-based workers; and steps taken to work in collaboration with associations active among such workers.
e. Progress in organizing new constituents on the basis of their occupational and/or locational identities.
2. Structures and finances of unions.
The new economic environment has necessitated the adaptation and reorganization of trade union structures and finances. These developments may be assessed in relation to the following indicators:
i. The trade-offs involved for trade unions between organizing new workers (especially women) and the provision of new services to the membership, given limited human and financial resources.
ii. Trends towards centralization through union mergers at the national or sectoral levels; and the existence of international, regional or sub-regional structures through alliances among national level unions.
iii. Decentralization and adaptation of union organization to emerging global production chains and to new forms of industrial organization. The emergence of modalities for networking among small and medium enterprises which may be spatially concentrated or dispersed.
iv. Measures to ensure the financial viability of unions. The costs and benefits of mergers, restructuring and provision of new services to members.
3. Regional and global action.
The trend towards consolidation of product markets and labour markets at the regional level has created a need for unions to combine and function at supra-national levels. In this regard, there could be at least three sets of indicators:
i. Whether unions have developed and empowered themselves as the guarantors of labour standards within the region as a whole.
ii. Whether unions have begun to coordinate their actions on a regional basis.
iii. Whether there is common ground for unions to coordinate their actions at the global level.
4. Collective action and institutional benefits.
The institutions governing labour relations - such as legislation and collective agreements, social security systems, and minimum wage systems - show the strength and influence of trade unions. Such institutions often reflect union capacity to influence public opinion and mobilize action in support of the rights and interests of their constituents. The following may be examined:
i. Multi-employer agreements on employment, wages, working conditions, hours of work, and non-wage benefits of workers.
ii. Inter-sectoral coordination of collective bargaining.
iii. Legislative provisions guaranteeing employment security, unemployment insurance, and special benefits on termination of employment; and social security systems providing health care and pension schemes.
iv. Union involvement in the design and administration of active labour market policies; and union ability to influence economic and social policies through consultation and dialogue with employers and public authorities.
5. Collective action and social alliances.
The value of collective action, pioneered by unions, as a means of attaining common objectives, has been widely recognized by a broad spectrum of interest groups. At the same time, unions themselves are entering into partnerships or strategic alliances with other actors in civil society including: gender groups; co-operatives; community associations; and human rights bodies, consumers and environmental groups. These alliances are primarily aimed at strengthening capacity for collective action in pursuit of common interests and shared values. Often they require trade unions to transcend the boundaries of the work place and to address concerns embedded in communities, ethnic groups, religious organizations and neighbourhood associations. Issues for further consideration include:
i. The characteristics and objectives of organizations with which the unions have successfully built alliances.
ii. The issues projected; collective action launched; and the results achieved.
iii. The modalities and sustainability of such alliances.
6. Unions and public opinion.
The public image of unions is a powerful force in determining attitude of workers in general to trade unions and in the degree of influence unions have in social and political processes. Three major issues to be explored are:
i. Women and unions.
ii. Young workers and unions.
iii. The changing styles and qualities for union leadership.
7. A broader agenda for union action.
Two major areas for union action are: (i) Promotion of human rights and (ii) Partnership in development programmes.
i. Trade unions and human rights. Human rights are a major contemporary concern everywhere. Trade unions, in their capacity as representatives of a very organized and articulate group in society, are called upon to play a leading role in the defence and promotion of human rights. This may imply the need to move beyond their customary role of defending civil and political rights as the basis of labour rights, into the broader terrain of defending economic and social rights. Union priorities in this field include the need to:
a. Develop public opinion on the role of labour and trade union rights as the critical catalyst for the promotion of human rights and democratic institution building in general.
b. Define the role of unions in the promotion and monitoring of human rights.
c. Explore appropriate action programmes, in collaboration with other civil society actors, on human right issues, particularly, those related to gender equality, child labour and environmental standards.
ii. Partnership in development programmes. The labour movement has a major role to play in sustainable development and participatory democracy. Trade unions as a large organized group in civil society, can bring a unique contribution to the development community. They are directly involved with economic systems of production and distribution; they can influence the course and content of employment, social and economic policies; they are representative and accountable; they have considerable experience in organizing the more vulnerable sections of society; and they have the experience and standing required to access national legal systems and public facilities. They can contribute through their long standing relationships with such development institutions as: consumer cooperatives, housing societies, health funds and social security organizations. Research can serve the following objectives:
a. Highlight the potential role of trade unions as development partners to change misperceptions of unions by the development community as part of the problem rather than as part of the solution.
b. Make a case with donor agencies and global financial institutions for greater collaboration with trade unions in development programmes.
IV. METHODOLOGY.
1. Comparative analysis.
The studies will analyse the response of trade unions to economic and social change in individual countries. They might be extended to cover specific sectors and occupational categories of labour. This in turn will facilitate the comparative analysis of union responses at the regional and global levels.
2. Country case studies.
A total of sixteen case studies of unions will be organized in the following countries, both developed and developing, where trade unions have successfully responded to challenges facing them: Japan, Korea, India, Israel, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Niger, Tunisia, USA, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Sweden, Germany, Spain and Lithuania.
10 July 1998
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