IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/woemps/v23y2009i2p213-230.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Trade unions learning representatives: progressing partnership?

Author

Listed:
  • Catherine Cassell

    (Manchester Business School, catherine.cassell@mbs.ac.uk)

  • Bill Lee

    (Management School, University of Sheffield, w.j.lee@sheffield.ac.uk)

Abstract

The statutory rights given to trade union learning representatives (ULRs) to facilitate and organize learning in the workplace has led to the creation of a new specialized union lay official role. This article investigates how the ULR initiative is facilitating the development of learning partnerships in the workplace. Empirical data is provided from a qualitative study that draws on interviews with full-time trade union officials from a range of unions. It is argued that although the ULR initiative provides opportunities for unions to promote the ideal of learning partnerships within the workplace, rights to learning remain a contested terrain between many employers and unions.

Suggested Citation

  • Catherine Cassell & Bill Lee, 2009. "Trade unions learning representatives: progressing partnership?," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 23(2), pages 213-230, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:23:y:2009:i:2:p:213-230
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017009102855
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950017009102855
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0950017009102855?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 McIlroy, 2008. "Ten Years of New Labour: Workplace Learning, Social Partnership and Union Revitalization in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 46(2), pages 283-313, June.
    2. Anne Munro & Helen Rainbird, 2000. "The New Unionism and the New Bargaining Agenda: UNISON–Employer Partnerships on Workplace Learning in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 38(2), pages 223-240, June.
    3. Jeremy Waddington & Colin Whitston, 1997. "Why Do People Join Unions in a Period of Membership Decline?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 515-546, December.
    4. Nicholas Bacon & John Storey, 2000. "New Employee Relations Strategies in Britain: Towards Individualism or Partnership?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 38(3), pages 407-427, September.
    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. Damian Grimshaw & Jo Cartwright & Arjan Keizer & Jill Rubery, 2019. "Market Exposure and the Labour Process: The Contradictory Dynamics in Managing Subcontracted Services Work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 33(1), pages 76-95, February.
    2. Helen Rainbird & Mark Stuart, 2011. "The state and the union learning agenda in Britain," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 25(2), pages 202-217, June.

    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. Andy Hodder & Mark Williams & John Kelly & Nick McCarthy, 2017. "Does Strike Action Stimulate Trade Union Membership Growth?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 55(1), pages 165-186, March.
    2. Cedric Dawkins, 2010. "Beyond Wages and Working Conditions: A Conceptualization of Labor Union Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 129-143, August.
    3. Nicolas Bacon & Paul Blyton, 2004. "Trade union responses to workplace restructuring: exploring union orientations and actions," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 18(4), pages 749-773, December.
    4. Gregor Murray & Christian Lévesque & Christian Dufour & Adelheid Hege, 2013. "Special Issue. Edited by: Gregor Murray, Christian Lévesque, Christian Dufour and Adelheid Hege," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 340-354, July.
    5. Piotr Zientara & Joanna Adamska‐Mieruszewska & Monika Bąk, 2021. "Hotel employees' views on fairness, well‐being and collective representation in times of the coronavirus crisis: Evidence from Poland," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 458-475, September.
    6. William Brown & Simon Deakin & David Nash & Sarah Oxenbridge, 2000. "The Employment Contract: From Collective Procedures to Individual Rights," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 38(4), pages 611-629, December.
    7. Magali Jaoul-Grammare & Isabelle Terraz, 2013. "A Causality Analysis of Economic Growth and Union Density in European Countries," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 27(4), pages 421-442, December.
    8. Emma Wallis & Mark Stuart & Ian Greenwood, 2005. "‘Learners of the workplace unite!’," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 19(2), pages 283-304, June.
    9. Jeremy Waddington & Allan Kerr, 2015. "Joining UNISON: does the reform of a union organising strategy change how members perceive their recruitment?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 187-207, May.
    10. Francesconi, Marco & L. Booth, Alison, 2000. "Collectivism versus individualism: performance-related pay and union coverage for non-standard workers in Britain," ISER Working Paper Series 2000-35, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    11. Helen Rainbird & Mark Stuart, 2011. "The state and the union learning agenda in Britain," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 25(2), pages 202-217, June.
    12. Anastasia Gorodzeisky & Andrew Richards, 2020. "Do Immigrants Trust Trade Unions? A Study of 18 European Countries," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(1), pages 3-26, March.
    13. Philip James & Joanna Karmowska, 2016. "British union renewal: does salvation really lie beyond the workplace?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 102-116, March.
    14. Geraldine Healy & Gill Kirton, 2013. "The Early Mobilization of Women Union Leaders — A Comparative Perspective," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(4), pages 709-732, December.
    15. Sue Ledwith, 2012. "Gender politics in trade unions. The representation of women between exclusion and inclusion," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 18(2), pages 185-199, May.
    16. Getinet Astatike Haile, 2021. "Men, women and unions," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 201-217, May.
    17. Caroline Murphy & Thomas Turner, 2014. "Organising non-standard workers: union recruitment in the Irish care sector," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 373-388, September.
    18. Jon Erik Dølvik & Jeremy Waddington, 2002. "Private sector services: challenges to European trade unions," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 8(3), pages 356-376, August.
    19. Tim Fry & Kelly Jarvis & Joanne Loundes, 2003. "Industrial Relations Reform at the Enterprise and Workplace," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2003n07, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    20. Zagelmeyer, Stefan, 2003. "Die Entwicklung kollektiver Verhandlungen in Großbritannien: ein historischer Überblick," Discussion Papers 17, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.

    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:sae:woemps:v:23:y:2009:i:2:p:213-230. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/ .

    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.