This thesis focuses on the relationship between job satisfaction and union membership of long day care employees in Melbourne and Sydney, and uses the exit-voice/union-voice model as an analytical framework. The data includes surveys of child-care staff and students enrolled in child-care courses, interviews with child-care staff, union officials and employer representatives, and official documentation. While child-care workers report high levels of job satisfaction, it is argued that the considerable ‘exit voice’ of the survey respondents is a demonstration of job dissatisfaction. The reported levels of satisfaction are a manifestation of satisfaction with the intrinsic features of the work (child development outcomes) and the limited employment opportunities of females generally. The exit voice is a manifestation of dissatisfaction with the extrinsic features of the job (pay and career advancement). The thesis failed to detect evidence of a strong relationship between job (dis)satisfaction and union membership, due to the ‘caring profession syndrome’, a perceived lack of union instrumentality, and problems associated with the ability of unions to recruit and organise an industry consisting of over 4,000 small workplaces. The findings show that both staff and students are highly sympathetic towards unions, that working in child-care changes attitudes about work but not unions, and that there exists a strong union voice among child-care workers despite the relative low levels of union membership. The thesis discusses the implications for union organisation so that the supply of union membership might correspond with the demands for this membership, particularly in regard to employee motivations and commitments. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / Through South African labour legislation, bargaining councils are empowered to conclude collective agreements between employers and trade unions. While bargaining councils were created for virtually every sector within the South African private sector, only one bargaining council exists for the public sector. This public sector bargaining council is known as the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC). The PCSBC subsequently established four sectoral councils to further collectively bargain on matters pertaining to sectoral issues relevant to the sector it represents. However, the PSCBC remains the apex of these four public service sectoral bargaining councils. This thesis focuses on how the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) contributes to social dialogue within South African public service. This thesis seeks to fill a significant literature gap on collective bargaining as accomplished by the PSCBC. The thesis briefly examines the history of collective bargaining in the South African public service. The research methodology utilised includes information gleaned from annual reports published by the PSCBC. Interviews of selected stakeholders such as government officials and labour organisations involved in the PSCBC were conducted. The PSCBC objectives are identified and analysed against the performance of the PSCBC for the period 1997 to 2007. The relevant PSCBC role players are identified. The power realities between these role players are reflected. The criteria for remaining a party to these PSCBC will be explained. The thesis holds that historically an adversarial relationship existed between the state as employer and the recognised trade unions. The establishment of the PSCBC created the opportunity for the historical adversaries between an employer and trade union to be converted into social dialogue interactions, which are commonly believed to be a better approach in resolving their differences. / South Africa

Med huvudsakligt fokus på budföretaget Foodora och de otrygga arbetsförhållanden som växer fram i samband med gig-ekonomins utbredning har denna studie som syfte att bilda en djupare förståelse för hur det fackliga arbetet påverkas, samt vilka huvudsakliga utmaningar som finns med att höja den fackliga organisationsgraden inom företaget Foodora. Det teoretiska ramverk som använts genom studien utgörs av Guy Standings teori om prekariatet. Standing framhåller hur prekariatet är en klass i vardande som idag växer fram till följd av de otrygga förhållanden denna grupp tvingas förhålla sig till. För att besvara studiens syfte har en kvalitativ metod använts där semistrukturerade intervjuer med fackligt anställda på Svenska Transportarbetarförbundet utgjort vårt empiriska material. Vår slutsats visar hur det fackliga arbetet påverkas negativt av hur de potentiella medlemmarna befinner sig i otrygga arbetsförhållanden och därför upplever det som riskfyllt att engagera sig fackligt. Vi identifierade främst hur en avsaknad av anställning-, inkomst- och representationstrygghet hos buden orsakade svårigheter för Transport med att organisera gruppen. Vi kunde även identifiera att det främst är migranter som anställs inom Foodora, där både den typ av dubbla otrygghet individen befinner sig i, samt kulturella skillnader och språkliga barriärer var försvårande i arbetet med att organisera gruppen fackligt. / With the main focus on the company Foodora and the precarious working conditions that emerge in connection with the gig economy, this study aims to gain a deeper understanding of how union work is affected and which primary challenges there are in reaching a higher level of trade union organization within the company Foodora. The theoretical framework used in the study is based on Guy Standing’s theory concerning the precariat. Standing emphasizes how the precariat is a becoming class whose growth is caused by the precarious work conditions that this group is forced to adhere to. The basis for gathering our empirical material has been a qualitative method with semi structured interviews with employees organized within the Transport union. Our results show that there is a negative attitude towards engaging in organized unions among the potential members since they perceive it as a risk, which then has a negative effect on the work of the union. We identified that the lack of insecurity with employment, insecurity with salary and lack of representation caused problems when trying to organize members in the trade union. We could also identify that those who are mainly employed at Foodora are immigrants, who are affected by insecurity based on various interplaying factors. Caused by the lack of civil rights as well as the lack of work-related safety. The cultural and linguistic barriers, in combination with the insecurity within the group caused obstacles when trying to organize members in the trade union.