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Constraints on union organising in the United Kingdom
Author(s) -
Heery Edmund,
Simms Melanie
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
industrial relations journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.525
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 1468-2338
pISSN - 0019-8692
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2338.2007.00472.x
Subject(s) - function (biology) , work (physics) , task (project management) , investment (military) , trade union , point (geometry) , political science , public relations , business , management , economics , international trade , law , engineering , politics , mechanical engineering , geometry , mathematics , evolutionary biology , biology
Despite increased investment by unions in organising, across much of the developed world there is at best modest evidence of a recovery of union membership. This has led to a research interest in the barriers to successful union organising and it is with this critical issue that the following article is concerned. It uses survey and interview data from trainee organisers in Britain to identify the internal and external constraints they have encountered while working on organising campaigns. The findings point to a broad range of organising constraints both within and beyond trade unions. Experience of constraints varies and is shown partly to be a function of the characteristics of organisers, the nature of the organising task in which they are engaged and the systems in place to manage their work.