IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/brjirl/v47y2009i1p122-146.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Trade Unions and Work‐life Balance: Changing Times in France and the UK?

Author

Listed:
  • Abigail Gregory
  • Susan Milner

Abstract

The mixed empirical findings to date have indicated that some, but not all, unions in industrialized countries are actively involved in campaigning and bargaining around work–life balance (WLB) issues, as part of a modernization agenda linked to feminization and to ‘positive flexibility’. This article seeks to identify factors that might encourage or inhibit trade unions from involvement in WLB issues, within a cross‐national comparative perspective focusing on two countries (France and the UK) that have contrasting working time regimes and approaches to WLB. It draws on original research carried out in two sectors — insurance and social work — in these two countries. The article links the emergence of union WLB programmes and bargaining agendas to gender‐equality concerns within the union and to the gender composition of the sector, as well as to the working time regime, including the mode of action, partnership being a significant corollary of WLB campaigning in the UK. We find support for the modernization thesis in the UK, particularly in the public sector, but within severe constraints defined by employer initiative.

Suggested Citation

  • Abigail Gregory & Susan Milner, 2009. "Trade Unions and Work‐life Balance: Changing Times in France and the UK?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 47(1), pages 122-146, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:47:y:2009:i:1:p:122-146
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2008.00710.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2008.00710.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2008.00710.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John W. Budd & Karen Mumford, 2004. "Trade Unions and Family-Friendly Policies in Britain," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 57(2), pages 204-222, January.
    2. Hastings, S. & Coleman M., 1993. "Femmes et les syndicats en Europe," ILO Working Papers 992956263402676, International Labour Organization.
    3. Jacqueline Laufer, 1998. "Equal Opportunity between Men and Women: The Case of France," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 53-69.
    4. Jill Rubery & Mark Smith & Colette Fagan, 1998. "National Working-Time Regimes and Equal Opportunities," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 71-101.
    5. Stephen Jefferys, 2000. "A ‘Copernican Revolution’ in French Industrial Relations: Are the Times a’ Changing?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 38(2), pages 241-260, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Surhan Cam, 2014. "The Underemployed: Evidence From the UK Labour Force Survey for a Conditionally Gendered Top-down Model," Journal of Social Science Studies, Macrothink Institute, vol. 1(2), pages 47-65, July.
    2. Veronika Lemeire & Patrizia Zanoni, 2022. "Beyond methodological nationalism in explanations of gender equality: The impact of EU policies on gender provisions in national collective agreements in Belgium (1957–2020)," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 28(1), pages 47-64, March.
    3. Leigh Clark & Sherry Roberts, 2010. "Employer’s Use of Social Networking Sites: A Socially Irresponsible Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(4), pages 507-525, September.
    4. Pierre-Jean Messe & Jeremy Tanguy, 2022. "Does gender equality bargaining reduce child penalty? Evidence from France," TEPP Working Paper 2022-19, TEPP.
    5. Jon C. Messenger & Nikhil Ray, 2015. "The ‘deconstruction’ of part-time work," Chapters, in: Janine Berg (ed.), Labour Markets, Institutions and Inequality, chapter 7, pages 184-208, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Janet Sayers & Jane Parker & Julie Douglas & Katherine Ravenswood & Rae Cooper, 2015. "Introduction to Special Collection: Women’s agency at work," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(3), pages 384-392, September.
    7. Anne‐Sophie Bruno & Nathalie Greenan & Jeremy Tanguy, 2021. "Does the Gender Mix Influence Collective Bargaining on Gender Equality? Evidence from France," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 479-520, October.
    8. Sangheon Lee & Deirdre McCann, 2011. "Negotiating Working Time in Fragmented Labour Markets: Realizing the Promise of ‘Regulated Flexibility’," Chapters, in: Susan Hayter (ed.), The Role of Collective Bargaining in the Global Economy, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Mike Rigby & Fiona O'Brien-Smith, 2010. "Trade union interventions in work-life balance," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 24(2), pages 203-220, June.
    10. Josefina Erikson, 2021. "A special fund for gender equality? Institutional constraints and gendered consequences in Swedish collective bargaining," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 1379-1397, July.
    11. Nicolas Bacon & Kim Hoque, 2012. "The Role and Impact of Trade Union Equality Representatives in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(2), pages 239-262, June.
    12. Ryan Lorraine & Wallace Joseph, 2019. "Mutual Gains Success and Failure: Two Case Studies of Annual Hours in Ireland," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 38(1), pages 26-37, December.
    13. Sue Williamson, 2015. "A case study of regulatory confusion: Paid parental leave and public servants," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(3), pages 430-447, September.
    14. Berg, Peter & Kossek, Ellen Ernst & Baird, Marian & Block, Richard N., 2013. "Collective bargaining and public policy: Pathways to work-family policy adoption in Australia and the United States," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 495-504.
    15. Artz, Benjamin & Heywood, John S., 2020. "Unions, Worker Participation and Worker Well-Being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 705, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kato, Takao & Kodama, Naomi, 2015. "Work-Life Balance Practices, Performance-Related Pay, and Gender Equality in the Workplace: Evidence from Japan," IZA Discussion Papers 9379, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Alex Bryson & P Willman, 2007. "Union Organization in Great Britain," CEP Discussion Papers dp0774, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    3. Berg, Peter & Kossek, Ellen Ernst & Baird, Marian & Block, Richard N., 2013. "Collective bargaining and public policy: Pathways to work-family policy adoption in Australia and the United States," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 495-504.
    4. Joan Esteban & Laurence Kranich, 2003. "The Social Contracts with Endogenous Sentiments," Working Papers 71, Barcelona School of Economics.
    5. Fagan, Colette. & Norman, Helen. & Smith, Mark. & Gonzalez Menendez, María C., 2014. "In search of good quality part-time employment," ILO Working Papers 994839683402676, International Labour Organization.
    6. Sue Williamson & Rae Cooper & Marian Baird, 2015. "Job-sharing among teachers: Positive, negative (and unintended) consequences," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(3), pages 448-464, September.
    7. KATO Takao & KODAMA Naomi, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Diversity in the Workplace: Evidence from Japan," Discussion papers 16063, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    8. Parera-Nicolau, Antonia & Mumford, Karen A., 2005. "Labour Supply and Childcare for British Mothers in Two-Parent Families: A Structural Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 1908, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Mike Rigby & Fiona O'Brien-Smith, 2010. "Trade union interventions in work-life balance," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 24(2), pages 203-220, June.
    10. Uwe Jirjahn & Jens Mohrenweiser, 2021. "Works councils and organizational gender policies in Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(4), pages 1020-1048, December.
    11. Mahmoud Abubaker & Mousa Luobbad & Ismael Qasem & Chris Adam-Bagley, 2022. "Work–Life-Balance Policies for Women and Men in an Islamic Culture: A Culture-Centred and Religious Research Perspective," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-20, August.
    12. Filipe Almeida‐Santos & Karen A. Mumford, 2004. "Employee Training in Australia: Evidence from AWIRS," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 80(s1), pages 53-64, September.
    13. Veliziotis, Michail, 2010. "Unionization and sickness absence from work in the UK," ISER Working Paper Series 2010-15, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    14. Linda Dickens, 2007. "The Road is Long: Thirty Years of Equality Legislation in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 45(3), pages 463-494, September.
    15. John W. Budd, 2010. "Does Employee Ignorance Undermine Shared Capitalism?," NBER Chapters, in: Shared Capitalism at Work: Employee Ownership, Profit and Gain Sharing, and Broad-based Stock Options, pages 291-316, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Fang, Tony & Lee, Byron & Timming, Andrew R. & Fan, Di, 2019. "The Effects of Work-Life Benefits on Employment Outcomes in Canada: A Multivariate Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 12322, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Haile, Getinet & Bryson, Alex & White, Michael, 2015. "Spillover effects of unionisation on non-members' wellbeing," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 108-122.
    18. Louis Chauvel & Eyal Bar-Haim, 2016. "Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) and Varieties of Distributions (VoD): How Welfare Regimes Affect the Pre- and Post-Transfer Shapes of Inequalities?," LIS Working papers 677, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    19. Ameri, Mason & Ali, Mohammad & Schur, Lisa & Kruse, Douglas L., 2019. "Disability and the Unionized Workplace," IZA Discussion Papers 12258, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Filipe Almeida‐Santos & Karen Mumford, 2005. "Employee Training And Wage Compression In Britain," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 73(3), pages 321-342, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:47:y:2009:i:1:p:122-146. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.