<p>The purpose of this study is to investigate differences of how the Swedishemployees union “Unionen” communicates with its members, on one hand thosewho are members of local union clubs and on the other non-club members. Thenumber of non-club members has increased due to labour market changes implyingthat workplaces have been fragmented and hence affect the possibility to form localunion clubs.The questions posed in the study are: How does Unionen communicate with itsmembers? How does the communication differ between club members and non-clubmembers? What are the preferences of Unionen´s members as far as communicationwith the central organization? What kind of information do the members seek andhow do they find it? What values does Unionen represent? Are there differencesbetween the messages that Unionen is sends out and how members and non-clubmembers, respectively, perceive them?A case study method has been used applying both quantitative and qualitativeanalyses. Quantitative methods have been used in illustrating the number ofdiscussion subjects at Unionen´s website, the members needs for receivingcommunication and channel usage while qualitative methodologies have been usedin interviews with Unionen´s members, club chairmen and union representatives aswell as semiotic picture analyses and analyses based on methods of Uses andgratifications theory.One conclusion of the study is that two significant differences of communicationhave been found between members and non-club members. The club chairmen saythat they have less communication with non-club members and the non-clubmembers’ claim that Unionen´s messages are more biased. A second conclusion isthat there is a difference in the preferred choice of communication channels. Themembers suggest that e-mail, the member magazine and verbal communication workbest while “Unionen” put a lot of its faith in electronic channels, such as web-sites.A third conclusion is that members request more locally relevant information andthat they see the Unionen´s communication as too general, creating muchuncertainty of the objectives of “Unionen´s” communication</p>

The purpose of this study is to investigate differences of how the Swedishemployees union “Unionen” communicates with its members, on one hand thosewho are members of local union clubs and on the other non-club members. Thenumber of non-club members has increased due to labour market changes implyingthat workplaces have been fragmented and hence affect the possibility to form localunion clubs.The questions posed in the study are: How does Unionen communicate with itsmembers? How does the communication differ between club members and non-clubmembers? What are the preferences of Unionen´s members as far as communicationwith the central organization? What kind of information do the members seek andhow do they find it? What values does Unionen represent? Are there differencesbetween the messages that Unionen is sends out and how members and non-clubmembers, respectively, perceive them?A case study method has been used applying both quantitative and qualitativeanalyses. Quantitative methods have been used in illustrating the number ofdiscussion subjects at Unionen´s website, the members needs for receivingcommunication and channel usage while qualitative methodologies have been usedin interviews with Unionen´s members, club chairmen and union representatives aswell as semiotic picture analyses and analyses based on methods of Uses andgratifications theory.One conclusion of the study is that two significant differences of communicationhave been found between members and non-club members. The club chairmen saythat they have less communication with non-club members and the non-clubmembers’ claim that Unionen´s messages are more biased. A second conclusion isthat there is a difference in the preferred choice of communication channels. Themembers suggest that e-mail, the member magazine and verbal communication workbest while “Unionen” put a lot of its faith in electronic channels, such as web-sites.A third conclusion is that members request more locally relevant information andthat they see the Unionen´s communication as too general, creating muchuncertainty of the objectives of “Unionen´s” communication

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:15:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5486.pdf: 5511988 bytes, checksum: 5a272535a306378275685ae205dd2234 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-07 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / The goal of this dissertation is to analyze the performance of the Department of Inter Parliamentary Advisory (Departamento Intersindical de Assessoria Parlamentar) (DIAP) in the constituent process of 1987-88. The organization was able to unify the consensual demands of the working class, uniting in a single project for the Constituent Assembly, the unions of the period, that were divided politically. With this, the DIAP changed the trade union agenda at that time, one of the reasons that explain the success of the "lobby" of working class in the National Constituent Assembly (NCA). In research, we divide the dissertation into two phases of the organization, before and during the Constituent Assembly. Previously, since 1983, when it was created, we analyze the formation process of consensual project, which involved the preparation of technical studies and negotiations with union leaders. When working in the NCA, we analyze the influential "lobby" practiced by DIAP, showing political conflicts faced by the organization at every stage of this process. We understand that DIAP was a central actor in defending the interests of workers, managing to convince the unions of workers, leftist political parties and progressive constituents to act according its design. It was a delicate pact, which was only possible by the peculiarities of the constituent process. The Constituent Assembly has provided the opportunity of "lobbies" to seek important achievements, in approving their interests in constitutional standarts. The DIAP is one of the most important products of this political reality. The support given to the organization to act on behalf of a class is explained by its institutional design, which has adapted to the lack of organization and preparation ahead of the unions of the importance of the constitutional process. / O objetivo desta dissertação é analisar a atuação do Departamento Intersindical de Assessoria Parlamentar (DIAP) no processo constituinte de 1987-88. A organização foi capaz de unificar as demandas consensuais da classe trabalhadora, unindo em um projeto único para a Constituinte, as entidades sindicais do período, que estavam divididas politicamente. Com isso, o DIAP mudou a agenda sindical da época, um dos motivos que explicam o sucesso do lobby dos trabalhadores na Assembleia Nacional Constituinte (ANC). Na pesquisa, dividimos em dois momentos a atuação da organização, antes e durante a Constituinte. Antes, desde 1983, quando foi criada, analisamos o processo de formação do projeto consensual, que envolveu a elaboração de estudos técnicos e negociações com lideranças sindicais. Durante os trabalhos na ANC, analisamos o influente lobby praticado pelo DIAP, mostrando os conflitos políticos enfrentados pela organização em cada fase do processo. Entendemos que o DIAP foi ator central na defesa dos interesses dos trabalhadores, conseguindo convencer as entidades sindicais de trabalhadores, partidos políticos de esquerda e constituintes progressistas a atuarem de acordo com seu projeto. Trata-se de um pacto delicado, que só foi possível pelas particularidades do processo constituinte. A Constituinte forneceu a oportunidade dos lobbies buscarem conquistas importantes, aprovando seus interesses em normas constitucionais. O DIAP é um dos mais importantes produtos desta realidade política. O respaldo dado à organização para atuar em nome de uma classe, se explica pelo seu desenho institucional, que se adaptou a falta de organização e preparo das entidades sindicais frente a importância do processo constituinte.

Several interesting findings emerged from this study. First, strong labour movements still failed to successfully bargain for employment protections due to resistance from employers to encroachments on their institutionalized managerial prerogatives. Second, governments favoured a policy of abstentionism and acquiescence to the collective-laissez-faire tradition until the critical juncture of the 1960s and 1970s. Third, the increasing power resources of trade unions and a deteriorating socio-economic climate created a window of opportunity for bold government action to improve industrial relations, albeit without the consent of employers, and at first, unions. Fourth, contrary to the liberalizing pressures one would expect to find in an archetypical free market economy, the UK has implemented far more statutory protections than deregulatory reforms. Fifth, in contrast to its traditional non-intervention in industrial relations and reputation for worker-protective regulations, Swedish governments have enacted numerous statutes, both restricting and freeing managerial prerogatives in the hiring and firing process. Sixth, statutory employment protections became an independent set of institutional power resources for unions in the long run, serving their organizational and representational interests in important ways. Seventh, unions and left parties consistently defended and advanced the policy preferences of their core constituencies in secure employment by privileging the job security of regular contracts. Eighth, employers and parties on the right of the political spectrum consistently opposed restrictions on the managerial capacity to hire and fire at will, especially for small businesses. Nineth, to increase flexibility without threatening the stability of regular contracts, reforms over the years had to foster atypical forms of work, creating a regulatory gap between permanent and temporary employment, particularly in Sweden. Tenth, differences exist between job security in the statute books and job security in action, particularly in the UK where this gap pervades all aspects of the unfair dismissal system. These findings suggest employment protection legislation has developed in ways far more complex, dynamic and contradictory than is commonly assumed by prominent theories of comparative political economy. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis examines how and why employment protection legislation developed in the United Kingdom and Sweden in the ways that it did from its early beginnings to the present period. It hopes to offer answers to questions about the initial impetus for statutory regulation, the number, content and impact of significant legislative changes and the preferences of key stakeholders with material interests in the policymaking process. It does this by drawing on a variety of both primary and secondary source materials, including employment protection databases, parliamentary records and research publications. At the same time, it assesses the explanatory merit of dominant theories in the political economy literature by testing them against voluminous empirical evidence and provides a multi-factorial account to fill the gaps in the existing body of knowledge.