Bargaining for Skills: Trade Unions and Training at the Workplace

Abstract

Training and development have featured as key issues on the 'new bargaining agenda' outlined by the TUC. Although evidence suggests that union successes in achieving a role in training decisions at the workplace have thus far been limited, few studies have sought to examine the impact of union involvement on training outcomes. Drawing on a survey of members and representatives from the Manufacturing Science and Finance union, this paper demonstrates that union involvement in training decisions is associated with relatively superior training activities and outcomes at the workplace.

Organisational change and the management of training in Australian enterprises

“…Similarly, increasing technological sophistication may lead to the need for more formal training. The link between unionisation and more formal training practices has been commented on in the British context (Heyes and Stuart, 1998). As training becomes more closely linked to the business strategy of the enterprise, the findings suggest that the enterprise is able to articulate its training needs more clearly, leading to a higher level of formalisation of the training process.…”

Company-level Strategies for Raising Basic Skills: A Comparison of Corus Netherlands and UK

“…In addition, Smith and Hayton (1999) point out that management attitudes may be fragmented within the enterprise, with senior managers pledging commitment to training and middle and junior managers often preferring training that is short, sharp and focused on operational concerns. Green et al (1999) demonstrate the influence of union strength on training practices, and Heyes and Stuart (1998) show the importance of the active involvement of unions in training decisions. Industrial relations culture in a firm can range from adversarial to cooperative relationships (Smith and Dowling, 2001).…”

“…Company-level strategies of management and unions are known to be significant for training and learning in the workplace (Green et al, 1999;Heyes and Stuart, 1998). Institutional factors influence the conditions under which workers can make use of training arrangements, but we expect that other factors help determine whether unskilled workers participate in training and what sort of skills they develop.…”

Training hold up and social labour markets

“…However there is some empirical support for it. Using British data, Heyes and Stuart (1998) and Green et al (1999) find that unions promote training outcomes and thus have a positive role to play in boosting skill formation. But perhaps the most influential studies have taken a view of unionism based on an application of Hirschman's (1970) exit-voice approach to labour market analysis.…”