Industrial relations in Spain – strong conflicts, weak actors and fragmented institutions

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct the development of industrial relations (IR) in Spain since the democratic transition and analyses the current dilemmas of its social and political actors in the context of the long-lasting economic downturn. Design/methodology/approach Combining a political economy, identifying Spain as a particular variety of modern capitalism, and actor-centred historical institutionalism approach, outlining the formation and strategies of the main social actors, the paper draws on the broad range of research on IR in Spain and its theoretical debates, including proper research in the field. Findings The legacies of the latecomer industrialisation and the semi-peripheral development model still shape the Spanish economy and IR. The impact of the current economic and political-institutional crisis affects the entire institutional IR system and its actors shifting power towards the individual employer thus weakening trade unions, labour rights and collective bargaining. Regarding the theoretical debate on corporatism, the Spanish case provides ambiguous results. The lack of a coherent institutional system and efficient political administration limits the effectiveness of corporatist arrangements and reduces them to contingent concertation strategies. Spain confirms that IR still largely depend on the specific national variety of capitalism that condition economic development and resources for political exchange. Originality/value The paper presents an original, theoretical-informed reconstruction of the Spanish IR and allows an understanding of the current institutional transformations and strategic dilemmas in the light of historical legacies. Additionally, the theoretical debates on neo-corporatism and semi-peripheral development are enriched through its application to the Spanish case.

Regulatory Paradigm Shift for Social Peace and Justice

“…Many economic structures in the world were influenced by European capitalism establishing structural weaknesses that cannot be rectified even with successive democratic governments (Köhler 2018). As Köhler (2018) points out, Spain depends on imports of foreign capital, know-how, and technology and lacks domestic industrial capital. It also depends on oil imports and has unsustainable energy-consuming equipment (Köhler 2018, 728).…”

“…This phenomenon is familiar to many Europeaninfluenced systems. They have become structurally weak; they are left with authoritarian development regimes with only partially modernized economic structures and dysfunctional political regulation leading to conflicts (Köhler 2018). According to Kumssa and Mbeche (2004), institutions in Africa have played a weaker role "because of poor enforcement of the rule of law, corruption, mismanagement, the absence of strong civil society and political interference" (Mbeche 2004, 840).…”

“…With the rupture of market-driven economies, for the resolution of accumulation crises (Köhler 2018;Jessop 1990), there was an increasing concern on "self-organisation and self-reproduction of complex systems in turbulent environments building up social mode of economic regulation" (Jessop 1995, 314). The need to coordinate actions of interdependent but autonomous organizations and the need to control essential resources are necessary "to produce a joint outcome which is deemed mutually beneficial" (Jessop 1995, 324).…”

Causal Analysis of the Spanish Industrial Sector Through Smarta

“…In the Spanish industrial context, Köhler tries to restore industrial relations from the end of the dictatorship to the present day. He also analyses the existing dilemmas of social and political actors in the period of the economic crisis [30].…”

Valoración pública y legitimidad social de los sindicatos en la crisis económica

“…La crisis económica iniciada en 2008 ha tenido efectos corrosivos para los recursos de poder de los sindicatos en España. Los efectos directos de la recesión sobre la actividad económica y el empleo, así como el modelo de gestión política de la crisis, definido por la austeridad presupuestaria y aplicación de medidas de devaluación de los derechos socio-laborales, han tenido como consecuencia la acentuación de algunas de las debilidades tradicionales de los sindicatos españoles, en particular su débil penetración en la estructura productiva, la falta de vigor organizativo y de autonomía financiera o la fuerte dependencia de unos recursos de poder institucional fuertemente adelgazados debido a la decisiones estratégicas de reforma de las relaciones laborales aplicadas por los gobiernos a partir de 2010 (Köhler 2018;Rigby y Calavia 2018).…”