Accounts of the shift to post-industrial modes of employment have tended to present an over-simplified view of networks as an assemblage of contacts used to gain individual advantage in the labour market. Creative industries represent a challenge to this as typically they rely on networks to foster collaboration, trust and co-operation. In this article we explore how a variety of networks are used to promote both individual competition and co-operation in an industry where re-regulation has resulted in the break up of bureaucratic organizations and widespread casualization of the labour market. We argue that there is a need to extend the debate on the role of networks in a casualized labour market to examine how individuals organize themselves via the plethora of networks that result from organizational break up.We use qualitative data from a series of interviews with freelance television production workers in the United Kingdom to suggest that workers use networks as a source of competitive advantage and, at the same time, support and co-operation. Overall our research suggests that network activity is more complex, and networks themselves more dynamic, than existing research and theory implies.
This paper examines the potential of web-based networks for representing the interests of freelance audio-visual workers. It suggests that while such networks provide fora for the expression and mobilisation of interests, their ability to represent workers is limited. Consequently, they provide an opportunity for trade unions to extend organisation.
This article examines Jarley's contention that trade union revitalization is conditional upon the generation of social capital through the systematic creation of networks. It draws on a qualitative study of freelance workers in the UK audio-visual industry to consider two propositions. The first, that 'social capital within networks is forged on "bonds" that are conducive to trade union identity' was not sustained by the data, which instead suggested that social capital is more likely to be generated by networks outside trade union structures. However, the data did support the second proposition that 'trade unions can harness social capital in order to achieve concrete industrial relations outcomes' by linking networks to reservoirs of expertise and influence.
The Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004 provides data that, for the first time, measure the extent to which workforce representation is part and parcel of grievance and disciplinary processes in British workplaces. This article explores the impact of the introduction of the statutory right to accompaniment at grievance and disciplinary hearings on rates of disciplinary sanctions, dismissals and employment tribunal applications. It concludes that there is little evidence to suggest that either the right to accompaniment or the operation of formal grievance and disciplinary procedures moderates disciplinary outcomes. Instead, it argues that trade union and employee representatives may be influential in facilitating the resolution of workplace disputes. Copyright (c) Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2009.
Many commentators have argued that a shift towards post‐industrial modes of production and employment has progressively undermined the conditions for collective labour organisation and regulation. The capacity of trade unions to respond to these changes and represent the interests of contingent workers has become a key issue in many industries in which employment has become increasingly fragmented. This article examines patterns of interest representation pursued by freelance workers in the UK audio‐visual sector. In particular, it examines three critical cases to explore the potential of networks of freelance workers for representing their interests and to consider the implications for trade unions as traditional collective actors. We conclude that networks can provide forums through which interests can be articulated, but their limitations in representing freelance workers offer trade unions a crucial opportunity to extend collective regulation.
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