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Do Unions Benefit from Working in Partnership with Employers? Evidence from Ireland
Author(s) -
GEARY JOHN
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
industrial relations: a journal of economy and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.61
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1468-232X
pISSN - 0019-8676
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-232x.2008.00534.x
Subject(s) - general partnership , irish , government (linguistics) , empirical evidence , social partnership , northern ireland , public administration , political science , industrial relations , public relations , sociology , law , philosophy , linguistics , ethnology , epistemology
Advocates and critics of voluntary workplace partnership have presented a series of theoretical arguments as to the potential consequences for unions working under partnership arrangements. A survey of Irish employees’ views is used to assess these competing claims. The study is timely on two counts: first, empirical investigations of the effects of partnership on union influence and members’ commitment to unions are rare; and, second, it is 11 years since employers, unions, and government in Ireland first signed a national framework agreement to promote the diffusion of partnership as a means for the handling of workplace change. The evidence provides support for the arguments as advanced by advocates.