Employee turnover is a topic of concern for a multitude of organizations. A variety of work-related factors play into why an individual chooses to change jobs, but these are often symptoms of underlying issues, such as conflict. This study set out to determine if conflict between employees and their superiors has an impact on the level of turnover in an organization, and if manufacturing versus non-manufacturing industry type makes a difference. The generated data were based on 141 selected cases from the ethnographic cases in the Workplace Ethnography Project. Linear and logistic regressions were performed, finding that there is a significant relationship between conflict with superiors and the level of turnover.

M.A. / This research examines bargaining councils, the industrial level collective bargaining agents created by the new Labour Relations Act. This study contributes towards filling a gap not only in information that is lacking on bargaining councils, but also attempts to understand their dispute settlement role more fully. Two surveys were conducted, one, the content analysis of the constitutions of councils, and, the second, a questionnaire administered to bargaining councils, which particularly looked at their dispute work. Initial survey findings were qualified and extended through an investigation of a single council, the Clothing Industry Bargaining Council (Northern Areas). Bargaining councils place more emphasis on dispute settlement than industrial councils, and a particular difference between the two types of councils, relates to the potential role of bargaining councils to conduct arbitration. The level of accreditation may be linked to the union that is party to it. Further, a bargaining council’s ability to successfully resolve cases is dependent on clearly delineated procedures for settlement, the establishment of key relationships within the council, and, the accumulation of financial reserves. Importantly, the age of a bargaining council allows for these features to develop over time. The success of individual councils has overall benefits for labour relations in South Africa. Therefore, the formation of bargaining councils needs to be encouraged in sectors where, at present, they do not exist. Moreover, established councils should increasingly apply for accreditation for conciliation, and especially arbitration, where they are not accredited. This research modifies our understanding of councils by providing an indication of their importance in the current industrial relations dispensation, through an appreciation of the role of bargaining councils in dispute settlement. / Prof. P. Alexander

M.A. (Industrial Relations) / This study investigates the impact of and the necessity for the Corporate Social Responsibility program of the South African Breweries. The State President's announcements on 2 February 1990 have not only affected the whole of the Republic of South Africa, but also the essence and structure of the SAB. The necessity for sound corporate identity and investment programs, especially as directed towards the creation of better living conditions and a higher qualify of life for all people, is discussed against the background of transformational policy changes as well as contributions by and demands from groupings such as the ANC-COSATU-SACP alliance. The concepts of social co-responsibility and organisational involvement are emphasised and recommendations are made and policy guidelines suggested which would enable SAB to become more dynamic and to function more effectively interculturally in a changed South Africa. Attention is drawn to the value of the social contract between employers and trade unions which can benefit both parties as well as the broader community.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements of degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Sociology) Johannesburg, 2015 / This dissertation explores the shifting patterns of institutionalisation of industrial relations and violence in strikes over a period of thirty years, shaped by the transition from apartheid to democracy. It draws from an ethnographic study of Impala Platinum mine between 1982 and 2012 and some analysis of the Lonmin Platinum strike in 2012. It traces the trajectory of institutionalisation from the period of apartheid despotism, the transition to inclusive and participatory industrial relations system, through to the second decade after the democratic transition. The overriding aim of this study which is informed by theories of institutionalisation of industrial relations is to understand how workplace order is attained, sustained, challenged and change overtime. This dissertation argues that the institutionalisation of industrial relations is highly unstable, precarious and generates new forms of conflict and worker solidarity. It is continuously being (re)configured, and violence is part of this making, remaking and unmaking of order. This cycle informs the nature and repertoires of strike violence. This thesis shows the ambiguity of institutionalisation of industrial relations as a source of power. It simultaneously empowers and dis-empowers. It confers rights and at the same time constrains how the rights may be exercised. The broader context shaping the South African labour relations before the democratic transition was informed by apartheid which produced a despotic labour regime and an insurgent trade unionism characterised by various forms of violence. This resulted in institutionalisation of negotiations and recognition of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at Impala Platinum in Rustenburg. This process of institutionalising industrial relations and bureaucratisation of the union happened in the context of broader national democratic transition and shift to an industrial democracy. The NUM evolved into a dominant and highly institutionalised union at Impala Platinum and nationally. The industrial relations shifted from non-hegemonic to a hegemonic system in which class relations were sustained through consent. Consequently, insurgent trade unionism was institutionalised but ironically crystallised into a class compromise which undermined the attainment of union goals. This simultaneously generated some elements of insurgent trade unionism from below by 2009. The study observed that insurgent trade unionism characterised by informal structures and networks challenging the institutionalisation of industrial relations was renewed or reinvigorated reasserting resistance to the co-option of the union by 2012. The primary contribution of this thesis is that it develops a typology explicating the variations of institutionalisation of industrial relations and violence in strikes over time, capturing different and complex power relations: ‘ideal institutionalisation’, ‘de-institutionalisation’ and ‘re-institutionalisation’. Ideal institutionalisation of industrial relations crystallizes a particular balance of organisational and institutional power and when this is disturbed it may be (re)configured. Ideal institutionalisation is attained and sustained where organisational power commensurate with institutional power. Moreover, if the balance dissipates and or is not sustained, there is bound to be a shift/backlash towards de-institutionalisation or unmaking of institutionalisation of industrial relations. The transition of institutionalisation of industrial relations is a function of power play between capital and labour mediated by the state and tied to worker agency. This thesis sheds light on how worker agency continually changes shaping the industrial relations and how a diverse workforce attempts to overcome divisions and fragmentation through forging solidarity including utilising coercive means, conceptualised as a ‘violent solidarity’. Key words: institutionalisation, strike violence, industrial relations, trade union, insurgent unionism, violence.

The aim of this study is to explore what the relevant factors of nurses' attitudes to and at work are. These include the separate but related hypotheses - the nature of the profession and changes in terms of management and training; the nature of the work situation including contracts and pay determination; and the nature of work relations as they impinge on nurse status including relations with co-workers and patients. All of which can be understood and compared with other workers in terms of both labour process and industrial relations as Goldthorpe (1968) did in the study of car workers. In the context of the contemporary Chinese social and political economy, the research also evaluates the roles of the government and how it affects nurses' attitudes to the profession. It is grounded in a case study of 330 nurses in a Chinese public sector hospital, using questionnaires, interviews, and documentary evidence on government policies and hospital practices. The findings suggest that nurses at the case study hospital are frequently put under pressure due to the high number of patients they are expected to care for. This was caused by insufficient government funding for public sector hospitals, and the pressure to improve overall efficiency within the health service. The use of different types of employment contracts for nurses has caused strong resentment among nurses because it fails to award 'equal pay for equal work'. In addition, the current system used in many Chinese hospitals for nurse education, recruitment, training and development, and pay have not helped establish realistic expectations of nursing or rewarded nurses for the work they do effectively.

In order to help develop a coherent PCT model for this dissertation, the focus was set mainly on three major tasks. The first one is identifying the basic psychological contract components, including the perceived psychological contract obligations of employees and employers alike. The second involves the identification of necessary assumptions which can deduce the mechanism concerning the effects of psychological contract components on employee outcomes. In this dissertation, the norm of reciprocity and indebtedness have been identified as the two necessary human nature assumptions in PCT building. Lastly, the third task is to deduce the relationship between employer and employee obligations in predicting employee outcomes. After the shortcomings of two existing approaches that investigate the joint effects of employer and employee obligations were reviewed in the literature and two assumptions identified in the second task, an interactive approach was proposed to examine the combined effects of the aforementioned obligations. / Since the nature of employment relationships are changing worldwide, research on psychological contract concerning reciprocal obligations between employer and employees has gained increased attention. However, extant literature falls short in establishing a coherent psychological contract theory. For instance, although its core contents include employer and employee obligations, the latter is relatively neglected in most studies. In addition, there is relatively little discussion about the basic elements of the psychological contract. Some of these elements are the relationship between/among components of psychological contract and the possible combined effects of these components on both employer and employee outcomes. Hence, these hinder the development of a coherent psychological contract theory (PCT). / This dissertation contributes to the psychological contract literature in five ways. Initially, the proposed PCT model provides a coherent framework for psychological contract research. Second, the interactive approach shapes future research direction by examining the joint effects of employer and employee obligations. Third, it contributes to the literature regarding reciprocity by investigating the interplay between these obligations. Fourth, the notion of personalization of employer by the employee is verified using two human nature assumptions (i.e., norm of reciprocity and indebtedness). Finally, the current study may have implications in conceptualizing the relational social contract in different social relationships in addition to the employer-employee relationship. In short, this dissertation develops a more comprehensive PCT. Moreover, some managerial implications are derived for practitioners according to the theoretical development. / Peng, Zhengmin. / Adviser: Chi-sum Wong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: 2137. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-130). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

No description available.

No description available.

My PhD thesis concerns trade union responses to austerity in Belgium, Greece and Ireland (2008-2016). It explores the power resources trade unions in Europe have drawn on during these crisis years, and seeks to establish if unions are cultivating new sources of power and influence, as traditional sources wane. My research points to unions being under sustained pressure, but it also presents evidence of effective union revitalisation, including through the formation of new coalitions with civil society actors, through the use of innovative legal approaches to problem-solving, and with unions reaching out to new, often atypically-employed, groups of workers. Notably however, the national level remains the primary concern for unions, and the European Union (EU) level of action remains adjunct to what unions do.

This research investigated the perceptions on industrial democracy of selected stakeholder groups in the Thai industrial relations system. Three research questions were posed. How do the selected stakeholders express their knowledge of industrial democracy? What are the similarities and differences in perceptions of the ‘industrial democracy in practice’ concept held by members of the selected stakeholder groups? What are emergent best practices in industrial democracy? In order to provide some answers to these questions a number of research objectives were developed: To identify knowledge of industrial democracy in Thailand as perceived by selected stakeholders; To investigate the similarities and differences in stakeholder perceptions of industrial democracy; To compare the similarities and differences in stakeholder perceptions of industrial democracy; To identify problems and difficulties encountered from the practicing of industrial democracy within Thai business organizations; To reveal best practice in industrial democracy as expressed by the stakeholders. This research studied employee participation at five levels: board level: employee representation at board level; plant level: employee representation at plant level; shop floor level: employee participation at shop floor level; financial level: employee participation at the financial level; disclosure of information level: employee participation in disclosure of information. / This research collected data from the following ten stakeholder groups of the Thai industrial relations system: employees of non-unionized companies: shop floor level; employees of non-unionized companies: supervisory level; trade union leaders: national level; trade union leaders: company level; employers of non-unionized companies; employers organization leader group; government officials; members of tripartite bodies; human resource managers; labour academics. This research focuses on the knowledge and perceptions of stakeholders of the Thai industrial relations system relating to industrial democracy in practices in Thailand. The ontological assumption rests on the basis that realities being constructed by the stakeholders being investigated. These realities are not objective but subjective and that multiple realities exist. This research required the researcher to interact with the stakeholders in the Thai industrial relations system in relation to their knowledge and perception of industrial democracy in practice in Thailand. The epistemology of this research was subjectivist, the knower and respondent co-creating understanding. A grounded theory approach was taken. The centrepiece is the development or generation of a theory closely related to the context of the phenomena being studied. The idea is to discover theory in a systematic yet emergent way. Grounded theory is closely associated with two research traditions, produced in outline below. / These are phenomenology and symbolic interactionism. The findings are presented in a model identifying nine common characteristics enhancing the best practice of industrial democracy. The model is proposed as a tentative Thai industrial democracy model. The nine components of the model include: constructive employer and employee or trade union relationships; determination of forms and process of participation; forms and practices of participation; upholding common goals and sharing both success and failures; implementation and change management; pro-active and promotional government roles; Thai cultures and Buddhist philosophy and principles; laws as a frame of reference; learning and practicing together continually. Eight sets of Buddhist philosophy and principles are integrated into the Thai industrial democracy model. They are: the six directions; the divine abiding; the principles for helpful integration; the principles of success; the ten regal qualities; the qualities of a good or genuine person; the principles of collective responsibility; and the principles for conducting oneself as a good citizen. Seven concepts of Thai culture are also integrated in the Thai industrial democracy model. They are: the concept of helping each other; the concept of Bunkhun; the concept of Kreng Jai; the concept of face saving; the concept of criticism avoidance; the concept of sympathy; and the concept of compromising.