Job Security And Industrial Relations

There is a general consensus that deep-seated changes are reshaping the way production and work are organized, the way employees, employers and their representatives deal with each other, and the way governments seek to shape society. In this work a group of leading scholars take stock of the evidence and implications of the new workplace. Drawing on examples from a variety of national contexts, they seek to characterize the nature of contemporary workplace change, and assess its implications for the organization of work for workers, for employment relations and for public policy.

This working paper deals with the effects of collective bargaining and other forms of collective employee representation (such as works councils) on employment and unemployment. Collective bargaining is concerned with both substantive issues, such as rates of pay or weeks of notice to be given before lay-off, and procedural matters in which management and employee representatives jointly manage important areas of employee relations thereby contributing to workplace co-operation. Whereas many substantive rules can be said to cause lower levels of employment and enterprise efficiency, procedural rules by reducing transaction costs, improve co-operation and thus, indirectly, help jobs. The paper starts by examining some substantive rules and the evidence for their effects on employment in OECD countries. It then looks at some of the compensating flexibilities which are introduced by procedural rules. These may be dependent on substantive rules: for example, employment security may be a ...

This unique, cross-disciplinary collection of essays explores claims that an insecure workforce imposes wide economic and social costs through lower rates of skill formation, reduced consumer confidence and family instability.

Table of Contents List of illustrations List of contributors Acknowledgements Introduction 1 1 More pressure, less protection 8 2 Flexibility and the reorganisation of work 39 3 The prevalence and redistribution of job insecurity and work intensification 61 4 Disappearing pathways and the struggle for a fair day's pay 77 5 Job insecurity and work intensification: the effects on health and well-being 92 6 The intensification of everyday life 112 7 The organisational costs of job insecurity and work intensification 137 8 Stress intervention: what can managers do? 154 9 What can governments do? 172 Appendices 185 Notes 189 References 206 Index 222.

Considers the effects of employment security on labour market dynamics and productivity.

Comprises 16 chapters subsumed under four major subject areas: unions, collective bargaining and dispute resolution; human resources management; labour market research; and the regulation of labour- management relations

Covers the period from 1974 to 1986. Includes as an appendix: Summary of work force reduction policies.