Denna uppsats syfte har varit att undersöka hur det flexibla arbetet upplevs och hanteras av fackförbund. Studiens huvudobjekt har varit tjänstemannaförbundet Unionen där fyra kvalitativa intervjuer gjorts och en rad officiella dokument granskats. Utöver Unionen så har två intervju gjorts med en deltagare var från Vision och Handelsanställdas förbund.Fackförbund möter idag nya typer av frågor. Det handlar om frågor som rör hur arbete idag organiseras och hur medlemmarnas inställning till fackens verksamhet förändrats. Det flexibla arbetet är en sådan fråga. Flexibelt arbetet som fenomen framstår som något komplext för fackförbund. Komplexiteten skapar en situation där problem befaras uppstå om inga förhindrande insatser görs samtidigt som det förekommer relativt få konkreta fall eller ärenden hos Unionen. Unionens arbete med flexibilitet analyseras utifrån ett legitimitetsperspektiv i förhållande till sin omgivning. Hur Unionen hanterar frågor kring det flexibla arbetet problematiseras också i förhållande till mer övergripande utmaningar som dagens fackförbund ställs inför såsom medlemsförluster, individualisering av samhället och nya former för att organisera arbete. / The aim with this paper has been to explore how flexible work is perceived and handled by trade unions. The study's main focus has been the white-collar union Unionen, where four qualitative interviews were conducted and a number of official documents were reviewed. In addition to the interviews with Unionen two interviews were held with participant from Vision and Handelsanställdas förbund. Trade unions today face new challenges. These challenges involve questions that relate to how work today is organized and how members' attitude towards unions and their activities have changed. Flexible work is one such challenge. Flexible work as a phenomenon appears to be somewhat complex for Unionen. This complexity creates a situation where problems are expected to present themselves if no preventive efforts are made, while in reality there are relatively few actual errands for Unionen. Unionens work with flexibility is analysed from a legitimacy perspective in relation to Unionens environment. How Unionen works in relation to flexible work is also problematized in relation to the challenges of today’s unions where they are faced with decreasing number of members, individualization of society and new forms for organizing work.

The existing British partnership literature is notoriously polarised. Two main streams of research have emerged. Early empirical work focused upon trade union representative capacity outcomes, in other words does partnership represent a threat or opportunity to the beleaguered trade union movement. Many of the conclusions have been negative, suggesting that partnership is a dangerous strategy for trade unions. More recent empirical work has focused upon the extent to which partnership offers mutual gains outcomes to employers, trade unions and employees. While much of the research has been pessimistic, various typologies of partnership have emerged, suggesting a variety of possible outcomes. However, despite the abundance of literature, three particular limitations are noteworthy. Firstly, few studies consider how partnership plays out in different contexts. Secondly, little attention has been given to understanding more about the process of partnership. Thirdly, there are limitations to the way outcomes have been assessed. Crude use of labour outcomes, such as job losses or pay levels may tell us nothing about the quality of employment relations. Accordingly, the study has five main objectives. Firstly, partnership is explored in a variety of organisational contexts. Secondly, particular attention is paid to what partnership means to organisational actors. Thirdly, the study focuses upon two indicators of partnership process: the nature of relationships between actors, and the way issues are handled and decisions are made. Indeed, it is argued that one cannot fully understand the outcomes without exploring both process and context. Fourthly, outcomes for management, unions and employees are explored, as well as wider societal goals. Finally, the study considers some of the main challenges to partnership in the UK. Given the nature of the research questions, qualitative methods were thought to be most appropriate. In particular, a case study research design was employed focusing on three organisations in the thriving financial service sector, thus offering a very different context to traditional IR - and partnership – research in manufacturing and public services. The study also offers insights into partnership in both union and non-union firms. The bulk of the data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with a range of managers, representatives and employees in each organisation, as well as interviews with trade union officials. This was supplemented by documentary analysis and non-participant observation. Thus, the thesis makes several important contributions. Firstly, it offers fresh empirical evidence into partnership working in the UK, drawn from a variety of contexts within the internationally important financial service sector. Since the outcomes of partnership are difficult to measure the study also considers issues of process which are overlooked in the existing research. Actor relationships and bargaining explored in relation to models of integrative and distributive bargaining as proposed by Walton and McKersie (1965). Decision making processes are also explored by developing the analytical framework proposed by Budd (2004), which has not been widely employed in British industrial relations research. The thesis therefore offers a different way of evaluating the outcomes of partnership for various stakeholders, and avoids conflating union attitudes with employee opinions. In this way, the research transcends the recent advocates/critics stalemate in the literature.

This study explores the importance of the minimum wage policy in West Java, Indonesia, within the overall framework of development and in the face of globalisation and decentralisation. A holistic approach to the minimum wage policy is applied. Generally, the study assesses the impact of decentralized minimum wage fixing processes on employment and participation of trade unions. In addition, it explores whether the minimum wage policy assists workers in coping with the negative effects of globalisation. It also explores the link between minimum wages and decent work. This study reveals that while there is some evidence of employment losses due to increases in wage levels in West Java, it did not find conclusive evidence that minimum wage levels were the main factor responsible for the employment decline. It is likely that a combination of factors such as a decrease in global demand for Indonesian manufacturing products and the current macro-economic conditions in the country, are also responsible for the employment decline. This study finds that the process of minimum wage fixing at local level has a positive impact on trade union participation in wage bargaining. The empowerment of trade unions through new legislation has enabled independent trade unions to flourish, which allows workers to join any trade unions. Consequently, minimum wage bargaining at district/city level is more dynamic than the centralized system of minimum wage bargaining in the past. Trade unions are able to express their views on what the minimum wage levels should be. Moreover, the minimum wage fixing processes at local level have the potential to promote decent work. The minimum wage fixing processes are an alternative to wage bargaining and can accommodate even sectors where trade unions are least active or non-existent. The minimum wage processes at district/city level are already established and they are in position to expand to a wider framework of providing welfare for workers. However, decent work objectives will not be achieved without the full cooperation of both central and local governments. Under the current decentralisation process, where central and local government views are still not in agreement, it is difficult to see how decent work can be applied nationally. Thus, the minimum wage policy and trade union development are important in the overall development paradigm. Both ensure the existence of a rights based approach to development where workers are given rights to organize as well as earn a basic living. Nevertheless, the development of trade unions in developing countries is under threat from flexibilisation of the workplace in which jobs have become less and less secure. The minimum wage policy, however, is still viable because it covers all types of workers. At the very least, minimum wages provide a safety net wage that can prevent real wages from falling. The writer suggests that more studies should be conducted on the extent and effectiveness of trade union participation in minimum wage bargaining. In addition, further studies should be conducted on the effect of minimum wages and trade unions on non-standard or flexible workers. Flexible workers, whether they are fixed-term contract and outsourced workers, are becoming an important part of the global labour market and increasingly pose a challenge to the increasingly important role of trade unions in developing countries.

From the early 1980s, Western governments, led mainly by those in the United Kingdom, have pursued public choice ideas in managing their public sectors, often targeting the monopoly position of public sectors in delivering public goods and services and also the influence and position of public sector trade unions. This policy approach also underpinned the reforms to local government in Victoria, Australia that occurred between 1992 and 1999. The Victorian State Government pursued an agenda of reform aimed at reducing costs in local government, reducing the size and scope of local government in delivering public goods and services and also seeking to reduce the perceived high level of influence of trade unions. On the basis of a literature review of the experiences of public sector reform in the United Kingdom during the 1980s, this study sought to test two propositions about public sector reform agendas and trade unions, using the Victorian local government reform as the primary research context. This was an important research gap since trade unions were a major target of the reform agenda and little research information existed as to how the reform agenda impacted on local government trade unions. Although the Victorian State Government did not possess direct legislative power over trade union behaviour, a reform agenda similar to that imposed by the governments in the United Kingdom, could inflict negative outcomes through the consequential changes resulting from competition in the delivery of local council services. The first proposition was that public sector reform agendas underpinned by public choice ideas sought to inculcate competitive practices in the provision of local government services and consequently reduce trade union influence and position in local government. The second proposition was that the level of success achieved by governments on these dual objectives was determined in part by the responses taken by trade unions to the reform agenda and on the extent to which local councils adopted a competitive culture.Five major research questions and a number of sub-questions were developed from the literature to test these two research propositions. In addition, models of effects on trade unions arising from public sector reform and on trade union responses were developed. The models were important for visually showing the areas of impact on trade unions and the level of impact caused by the reform and to identify the options available and responses undertaken by trade unions during this period. An analytical framework was also established and served as a template for organising and recording findings in this study. The analytical framework served to show the main causal links between the reform agenda and outcomes for trade unions. The study adopted features of both positivist and interpretive methodological approaches to address these research questions. A positivist approach was applied in the development of research protocols to ensure researcher independence. In addition, the information collected was matched to the models of union behaviour and to the relevant elements in the analytical framework. The study also adopted features of an interpretive approach in respect of using small samples and in gathering data through interviews with key informants from three case study organisations, one trade union and two local councils.The information collected on the research questions enabled conclusions to be reached on the two research propositions. The findings supported the first proposition and confirmed previous research studies in the United Kingdom that showed how governments are able to target trade unions in indirect ways through the consequences of the promotion of competition in the delivery of local government goods and services. The study identified the negative effects arising for Victorian local government trade unions in areas of access and influence on government policy decision making, membership levels, bargaining outcomes and relations within and between trade unions. The findings gathered in this study also supported the second research proposition. The level of success by the Victorian State Government in achieving local government reform objectives was in part limited by the responses taken by trade unions and also by the extent to which local councils adopted competitive practices. These findings have contributed important insights into local government reform and trade unions, which had not previously been addressed by researchers. The study has also contributed models of union behaviour and an analytical framework for addressing contemporary public policy issues and trade unions. The amalgamation of local councils planned by the Queensland State Government provides a similar research context in which to further test the usefulness of the models of union behaviour and the analytical framework. In addition, the return of the Australian Labor Party to Federal Government, and their aim of dismantling the previous Liberal-National Party’s WorkChoices industrial relations legislation, provides a context for testing these models and framework under conditions where more direct legislative changes affecting union rights to organise and bargain are pursued.

From the early 1980s, Western governments, led mainly by those in the United Kingdom, have pursued public choice ideas in managing their public sectors, often targeting the monopoly position of public sectors in delivering public goods and services and also the influence and position of public sector trade unions. This policy approach also underpinned the reforms to local government in Victoria, Australia that occurred between 1992 and 1999. The Victorian State Government pursued an agenda of reform aimed at reducing costs in local government, reducing the size and scope of local government in delivering public goods and services and also seeking to reduce the perceived high level of influence of trade unions. On the basis of a literature review of the experiences of public sector reform in the United Kingdom during the 1980s, this study sought to test two propositions about public sector reform agendas and trade unions, using the Victorian local government reform as the primary research context. This was an important research gap since trade unions were a major target of the reform agenda and little research information existed as to how the reform agenda impacted on local government trade unions. Although the Victorian State Government did not possess direct legislative power over trade union behaviour, a reform agenda similar to that imposed by the governments in the United Kingdom, could inflict negative outcomes through the consequential changes resulting from competition in the delivery of local council services. The first proposition was that public sector reform agendas underpinned by public choice ideas sought to inculcate competitive practices in the provision of local government services and consequently reduce trade union influence and position in local government. The second proposition was that the level of success achieved by governments on these dual objectives was determined in part by the responses taken by trade unions to the reform agenda and on the extent to which local councils adopted a competitive culture.Five major research questions and a number of sub-questions were developed from the literature to test these two research propositions. In addition, models of effects on trade unions arising from public sector reform and on trade union responses were developed. The models were important for visually showing the areas of impact on trade unions and the level of impact caused by the reform and to identify the options available and responses undertaken by trade unions during this period. An analytical framework was also established and served as a template for organising and recording findings in this study. The analytical framework served to show the main causal links between the reform agenda and outcomes for trade unions. The study adopted features of both positivist and interpretive methodological approaches to address these research questions. A positivist approach was applied in the development of research protocols to ensure researcher independence. In addition, the information collected was matched to the models of union behaviour and to the relevant elements in the analytical framework. The study also adopted features of an interpretive approach in respect of using small samples and in gathering data through interviews with key informants from three case study organisations, one trade union and two local councils.The information collected on the research questions enabled conclusions to be reached on the two research propositions. The findings supported the first proposition and confirmed previous research studies in the United Kingdom that showed how governments are able to target trade unions in indirect ways through the consequences of the promotion of competition in the delivery of local government goods and services. The study identified the negative effects arising for Victorian local government trade unions in areas of access and influence on government policy decision making, membership levels, bargaining outcomes and relations within and between trade unions. The findings gathered in this study also supported the second research proposition. The level of success by the Victorian State Government in achieving local government reform objectives was in part limited by the responses taken by trade unions and also by the extent to which local councils adopted competitive practices. These findings have contributed important insights into local government reform and trade unions, which had not previously been addressed by researchers. The study has also contributed models of union behaviour and an analytical framework for addressing contemporary public policy issues and trade unions. The amalgamation of local councils planned by the Queensland State Government provides a similar research context in which to further test the usefulness of the models of union behaviour and the analytical framework. In addition, the return of the Australian Labor Party to Federal Government, and their aim of dismantling the previous Liberal-National Party’s WorkChoices industrial relations legislation, provides a context for testing these models and framework under conditions where more direct legislative changes affecting union rights to organise and bargain are pursued.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Karlstad : Karlstads universitet, 2009. / S. 1-90: sammanfattning. Härtill 3 uppsatser.

Στην παρούσα εργασία διερευνάται η διαδικασία καθορισµού του ελάχιστου κατώτατου µισθού σε κλαδικό επίπεδο στην ελληνική οικονοµία. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό, λόγω της απουσίας διαθέσιµων στατιστικών στοιχείων κατασκευάστηκε µια βάση δεδοµένων για τον ελάχιστο κατώτατο µισθό για ζεύγη εργοδοτών-εργαζοµένων όπως αυτά προκύπτουν από τις συλλογικές διαπραγµατεύσεις. Η περίοδος αναφοράς είναι το χρονικό διάστηµα 2000-2009 και η βάση δεδοµένων περιλαµβάνει ποσοτικά και ποιοτικά στοιχεία. Τα ποσοτικά στοιχεία αφορούν στον ελάχιστο κατώτατο µισθό (ηµεροµίσθιο/µηνιαίος µισθός) και σε διαφορετικού τύπου επιδόµατα (γάµου, χρονοεπίδοµα, σπουδών, συνθηκών εργασίας, κ.λπ.). Τα ποιοτικά στοιχεία αφορούν στην ηµεροµηνία της διαπραγµάτευσης, τα σωµατεία των εργαζοµένων και τις εργοδοτικές οργανώσεις, το είδος της σύµβασης και διάφορα άλλα στοιχεία όπως το εάν η σύµβαση είναι αποτέλεσµα διαιτησίας, την κατά φύλο σύνθεση των ατόµων που συµµετέχουν στην διαπραγµάτευση κ.λπ. Για τους σκοπούς της ανάλυσης χρησιµοποιήθηκαν διάφορες στατιστικές µετρήσεις περιγραφικού χαρακτήρα καθώς επίσης και ανάλυση παλινδρόµησης σε στοιχεία διαστρωµατικών χρονοσειρών. Σύµφωνα µε τα αποτελέσµατα της εµπειρικής ανάλυσης το επίπεδο του κατώτατου µισθού φαίνεται να αυξάνεται συστηµατικά στην εξεταζόµενη περίοδο. Η εφαρµογή οικονοµετρικών υποδειγµάτων που σκοπεύει στον προσδιορισµό των παραγόντων που µπορούν να ερµηνεύσουν την παρατηρούµενη αυξητική τάση µας οδήγησε στο συµπέρασµα ότι κανένας από τους εξεταζόµενους παράγοντες δεν είναι δυνατόν να ερµηνεύσει αυτήν την τάση εκτός από την δέσµη των µεταβλητών που µετρούν τις χρονικές επιδράσεις. / --

A partir da Assinatura do Tratado de Assunção, em 1991, o Uruguai, juntamente com Argentina, Brasil e Paraguai, tornou-se um membro pleno do MERCOSUL. Durante alguns anos, os fluxos de comércio no interior do bloco aumentaram significativamente. Em 1999, ocorreu um revés e o bloco perdeu parte da sua importância comercial para o país. No ano de 2006, setores do governo se colocaram favoráveis ao estabelecimento de um Tratado de Livre Comércio com os Estados Unidos. Ao longo de todos esses anos, os partidos políticos tradicionais, ou seja, Partido Nacional e Partido Colorado, assim como a Frente Ampla, posicionaram-se frente ao tema da integração. O mesmo ocorreu com a Câmara das Indústrias do Uruguai e a Plenária Intersindical dos Trabalhadores. Essa pesquisa procurou identificar o posicionamento do governo uruguaio e desses atores em relação ao MERCOSUL em três momentos, durante o período da assinatura do Tratado de Assunção, após a crise econômica iniciada em 1999 e ao longo do ano de 2006. Os resultados demonstraram que apesar das críticas e da insatisfação uruguaia, tanto o governo, bem como esses atores domésticos, foram favoráveis à permanência do Uruguai no MERCOSUL durante todo o período analisado. / Since the signing of the Treaty of Asuncion, in 1991, Uruguay, in conjunction with Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay became a permanent member of Mercosur (Southern Cone Common Market). For some years, there was a significant increase in the intrabloc trade flows. In 1999, there was a setback and the bloc lost part of its importance for the country. In the year 2006, some Government sectors stood for the establishment of a Free Trade Treaty with the United States of America. Along all these years, the traditional political parties, that is, Partido Nacional (National Party) and Partido Colorado (Colorado Party), as well as Frente Ampla (Broad Front) have made a stand on the integration issue. So did the Chamber of Industries of Uruguay and the Inter-Union Plenary of Workers of Uruguay. This study aimed to identify the political position of the Government of Uruguay as well as the above mentioned actors’ toward MERCOSUR in three moments: during the period in which the Treaty of Asuncion was signed, after the economic crisis that started in 1999 and during the year 2006. Results show that despite the criticism and Uruguayan instatisfaction, both the Government and those domestic actors stood for the permanence of Uruguay in MERCOSUR throughout the analysed period.

Orientador: Paulo Cesar Gonçalves / Banca: Eduardo José Afonso / Banca: Marcos Tadeu Del Roio / Resumo: Nos anos que se seguiram a 1917 a Revolução Russa tornou-se referência para o movimento operário mundial. No Brasil, o entusiasmo e expectativa com a experiência russa tornou-se resposta para os problemas do movimento operário brasileiro e, com isso, o Partido Comunista do Brasil (PCB) foi fundado em 1922, objetivando construir nas terras brasileiras um partido que operasse segundo os princípios da III Internacional. Construir um Partido Comunista, sessão nacional da Internacional Comunista era uma tarefa que pressupunha a execução de uma determinada estratégia e tática, um determinado modo de ser e atuar que tinha como objetivo final a revolução do proletariado. O presente trabalho busca abordar o que era construir um Partido Comunista tomando como amostra a experiência dos comunistas brasileiros na cidade de São Paulo, analisando para isso as principais formas de atuação do PCB no momento: o partido e as frentes de massa, os sindicatos e a relação com outras forças políticas de oposição / Abstract: After 1917 on Russian Revolution became a reference for the world labor movement. In Brazil, the enthusiasm and expectation with the Russian experience became an answer to the problems of the Brazilian labor movement within, is context Communist Party of Brazil (PCB) was founded in 1922, aiming to build in the Brazilian lands a party that operated on behalf of the Third International principles. To build a Communist Party, the national session of the Communist International was a task that presupposed the execution of a certain strategy and tactics, a certain way of being and acting whose ultimate objective was the revolution of the proletariat. The present work seeks to address what it was to build a Communist Party, taking as a sample the experience of the Brazilian Communists in the city of São Paulo, analyzing for this the main forms of action of the PCB at the moment: the party and the fronts of mass, the trade-unions and relationship with other political opposition forces / Mestre

Este trabalho tem por objeto a substituição processual por sindicatos no processo trabalhista. A escolha do tema foi motivada pela experiência do autor na magistratura trabalhista e no magistério superior. Assim, propõe-se, com este estudo, refletir sobre a cooperação do instituto na celeridade do processo e na efetividade dos direitos no âmbito do processo especial do trabalho. Inicialmente, foi analisada a questão da morosidade do Judiciário e da falta de efetividade dos direitos na perspectiva de legitimação dos poderes constituídos e do desenvolvimento econômico do País, tendo sido a substituição processual por sindicatos vista sob esse prisma, para, em seqüência, ser examinada sua atuação no quadro do processo do trabalho. No âmbito do processo especial do trabalho, a análise do instituto foi levada a efeito considerando-se as normas em vigor e o novo paradigma estabelecido pela Constituição da República de 1988. Em seqüência, refletiu-se sobre as relações da substituição processual por sindicatos com a celeridade e a efetividade dos direitos. Para finalizar, este trabalho de pesquisa examina temas que dizem respeito à aplicação prática do instituto. Perquiriu-se, destarte, sobre as questões da intervenção do substituído no processo em que houve a substituição processual, quanto aos limites materiais da substituição por sindicatos e sobre a litispendência e a coisa julgada em torno desse instituto processual. As conclusões que podem ser extraídas deste estudo revelam a necessidade de difusão da substituição processual por sindicatos, na medida em que constitui relevante instrumento de despersonificação dos conflitos trabalhistas, além de permitir a concentração de demandas, com economia e segurança processuais, o acesso dos trabalhadores à Justiça, uma vez que estes não suportam ônus econômico-financeiro, e o incentivo ao associativismo, a partir da credibilidade dos sindicatos perante os trabalhadores / Sem resumo