The Employee Mutual

"Employee-organization relationship" is an overarching term that describes the relationship between the employee and the organization. It encompasses psychological contracts, perceived organizational support, and the employment relationship. Remarkable progress has been made in the last 30 years in the study of EOR. This volume, by a stellar list of international contributors, offers perspectives on EOR that will be of interest to scholars, practitioners and graduate students in IO psychology, business and human resource management.

The 25 years leading up to the international financial crisis have been depicted as ‘capitalism unleashed’, containing deregulation, privatisation, demutualisation and financialisation. Yet remarkably, given this economic and political context, co-operatives and mutuals appear to have been gaining ground in many countries, albeit modestly, even before the international financial crisis and the resulting global recession, from which the global economy is still only slowly recovering. The 2007-2008 international financial crisis called into question how appropriate the shareholder-owned model is, certainly if it is allowed to dominate the financial services sector. However the International Co-operative Alliance is determined to make the mutual and co-operative sector of the economy a dynamic, sustainable and increasingly important sector of the global economy. This book looks at the contribution of co-operative, mutual and employee-owned firms to the Asia Pacific economy - both currently and prospectively – and the challenges the standard ‘Western’ model faces regarding employment and output. It also looks at the role of Governments, the nature of co-operatives in China and the role of the state, and the future prospects for cross-border growth of co-operative and mutual business within Asia Pacific, and more widely. This book was originally published as a Special Issue of Asia Pacific Business Review.

This report finds that efforts by the Cabinet Office to promote the development of employee owned cooperatives must be married more effectively to the work of DCLG to deliver localism reforms before mutual models of local service delivery can flourish. In its report, the CLG Committee concludes that a number of significant barriers must be removed. Advice - Government and local government itself should provide "off-the-shelf" models and guidance to reduce confusion and risks that deter local authorities currently from considering using mutual or co-operative models for service delivery. Leadership - co-ordination between the Government's Mutuals Support Programme, the DCLG and the Local Government Association must be improved to gather and disseminate evidence on the operation of mutuals and co-operatives in delivering local services. Financing - Government must do more to inform and educate financial institutions about lending to mutuals and co-operatives and it must examine tax support for mutuals and co-operatives. Accountability - all new organisations must remain accountable to the local Council (usually through a contract) and be transparent in their operations. Through commissioning and oversight processes authorities must prevent services from fragmenting and protect the operation and ownership of local public assets. Procurement - rules must be drafted to confer maximum flexibility in tendering for services so that mutuals and co-operatives can compete fairly with large companies and in-house providers.

This is a comprehensive textbook on Zimbabwean labour law. After detailing the history and purpose of the law, it offers a comprehensive review of contracts of employment, termination, the rights of organisation and association, and collective bargaining. Dispute settlement is discussed within the contexts of the right to strike, conciliation and arbitration, and the role of the courts in adjudication. State employment is treated separately, as it is governed by constitutional law as well as labour law. The book concludes with chapters covering aspects of social security in Zimbabwe, and a discussion on international labour law.