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The Management of Pay as the Influence of Collective Bargaining Diminishes

Author

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  • W Brown
  • P Marginson
  • J Welsh

Abstract

The management of pay in Britain has changed substantially in recent years. The paper starts with a theoretical discussion of the extent to which individual employers can exercise discretion in the management of their employees' pay. It then examines the ways in which pay is used to secure productive effort. An analysis of the influence of trade unions leads on to an examination of the diminishing influence of collective bargaining in British pay determination. The implications of this are discussed for employer pay strategies, within and between firms, and internationally. It concludes with the consequences of diminishing trade union influence for the distribution of pay.

Suggested Citation

  • W Brown & P Marginson & J Welsh, 2001. "The Management of Pay as the Influence of Collective Bargaining Diminishes," Working Papers wp213, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:cbr:cbrwps:wp213
    Note: PRO-2
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    File URL: https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/cbrwp213/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. William Brown & Paul Ryan, 2003. "The Irrelevance of Trade Union Recognition? A Comparison of Two Matched Companies," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 6(3), pages 383-408, September.
    2. Damian Grimshaw, 2010. "United Kingdom: Developing a Progressive Minimum Wage in a Liberal Market Economy," Chapters, in: Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead (ed.), The Minimum Wage Revisited in the Enlarged EU, chapter 14, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    wage determination; collective bargaining; remuneration management; bargaining structure; income distribution; trade union effects; employer pay strategy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J5 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining

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