New Unions, New Workplaces: A Study of Union Resilience in the Restructured Workplace

Citation

Newsome, K. (2004), "New Unions, New Workplaces: A Study of Union Resilience in the Restructured Workplace", Employee Relations, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 106-107. https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450410506931

In recent years we appear to be witnessing a growth of publications focussing on the response of organised labour to a multitude of employer offensives and workplace restructurings. These accounts appear to be concerned with exploring the outcomes of new workplace regimes on labour rather than focussing on an exploration of employer intent. This book fits comfortably into this arena providing an in‐depth research based analysis of union resilience in restructured workplaces. Drawing on data from a major research project this account examines the possibilities for union resilience in a number of workplaces within the UK. In essence the central thesis of the book appears to be based upon a concern to explore the conditions and the possibilities for not only union resilience but additionally for also union renewal.

In terms of the structure of the book the opening two chapters provide comprehensive coverage of the crisis that trade unions are responding to as well the opportunities for “re‐collectivism” of the workplace. These opening chapters work effectively, providing a very competent analysis of the contextual issues relating to current labour‐management relations and the resulting opportunities union resilience. Chapter one, “Unions facing up to crisis” effectively explores the range of substantive and ideological factors that have reduced the ability of trade unions to manoeuvre within the current workplace. Indeed, while this chapter effectively unpacks the HRM agenda it does highlight the real changes that have taken place in product and labour markets that have in turn increased workers sense of insecurity and individualism. This restructuring the authors purport has facilitated and contributed to the construction of precarious employee compliance. The second chapter provides a analysis of union organising attempts in the new workplace. Exploring the dimensions of new labour‐management relations such a partnership agreement and high performance work systems this chapter effectively highlights the durability of independent workplace unionism.

The subsequent chapters provide research evidence of union resilience within a number of key sectors. Hence a number of chapters are dedicated to exploring union resilience in the aerospace industry, the manufacturing industry, the insurance industry, the public sector and the privatised public utilities. These individual chapters provide a welcome in‐depth analysis of union resilience within the context of particular sectoral constraints. Taken together, these chapters provide a powerful analysis of the contradictions and paradoxes inherent within current restructured workplaces, thereby highlighting not only the possibilities for union resilience but also subsequent union renewal. Indeed this evidence indicates the continued possibility for worker mobilisation around growing employee discontent. The ability of organised labour to continue to effectively respond to this discontent clearly remains the pertinent question. The response emanating from this account is that the conditions for workplace discontent are as prevalent as ever, and despite the onslaught trade unions have faced from a number of employer offensives the conditions for union resilience and a subsequent re‐collectivisation of the workplace remain intact. The closing chapter explores this tension further highlighting that the possibilities for further union renewal lies not necessarily within the discourse of partnership and the creation of the new model worker but in the ability of organised labour to mobilise around the employee discontent typically engendered by attempts to restructure the workplace.

In reviewing the contribution of this book to our understanding of contemporary employee relations this book has much to commend it. It adopts a critical social science approach to reviewing the opportunities and constraints for union resilience and renewal thereby placing the role of labour as an active agent at the centre of its agenda. As such it offers an understanding of employee relations change, which operates beyond an understanding of institutional change per se. As such the voice of labour as an active agent becomes central to the analysis of this account, thereby providing a welcome antidote to the unitarist agenda of many HRM accounts. For scholars of specialist classes in employee relations at both under‐graduate and post‐graduate levels this book provides invaluable research evidence and a corresponding analysis with which to critically evaluate workplace change. I would have no hesitation recommending this book to students, academics and policy‐makers alike.