Employee Relations: An International Journal

Stewart Johnstone; Adrian Wilkinson; Peter Ackers

2004 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450410544470

This paper presents the findings of a case study undertaken in a UK utility company, referred to as Energy Co. The main aim of the study was to assess how the agreement of a partnership arrangement in 1995 had affected the conduct of employment relations. The study found that partnership was born out of a poor industrial relations climate, and driven primarily by management. They hoped that it might improve industrial relations, raise employee commitment, inform and educate the workforce, and increase employee contribution. Partnership was not intended to encourage joint governance or power sharing. In practice, partnership combined direct employment involvement (EI) such as team briefing and problem solving groups, with representative participation through a formal partnership council system. Management suggested that, on balance, partnership had been successful, with benefits including improved industrial relations, quicker pay negotiations and increased legitimacy of decision making. It was also suggested that there was a positive link – albeit indirect and intangible – with organisational performance. Union representatives also proposed that partnership was a success, citing benefits including greater access to information, greater influence, inter‐union co‐operation, and more local decision making. Employee views were more mixed. There was also clear evidence of several tensions. Four were particularly noteworthy: employee apathy, management‐representative relations, employee‐representative relations, and the role of full‐time union officials (FTOs). Despite espoused partnership, management hostility to unions was evident, and a preference for non‐union employment relations clear. Consequently, the future of the partnership in its current form is uncertain.

Charles Nolda

2004 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450410544489

Argues that although 2002 was undoubtedly the most challenging year for a long time for local government employers it does not herald a return to the climate of the 1970s and the “Winter of Discontent”, as too many things have changed socially and economically for this to occur. For example, Parliament changed the legal framework for industrial action to the employers’ advantage, employers and governments learned how to win disputes, inflation fell and has stabilised at low levels, employees have become tied to expensive mortgage repayments, inherited concepts of job security no longer apply as a general rule, and the pensions promise has been severely eroded in much of the private sector, for new starters at least. Within this context describes the background and the outcomes of the local government and fire disputes of 2002.

Kay Gilbert

2004 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450410544498

The paper seeks to draw attention to the complexity involved in developing fair procedures for assessing equal value in employment. It first highlights different aspects of fairness in relation to employment procedures and some of the problems associated with the use of procedures in relation to job evaluation and sex bias. The paper then explores the nature of the conflicts that are part of equal pay for work of equal value procedures within the UK before examining the nature of power that some have who are involved in procedures both within the workplace and in Employment Tribunal.

Frank Burchill

2004 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450410544506

Brings together a sequence of negotiating events in the 2002‐2003 fire services dispute from the point of view of a participant. The author was appointed to the position of Independent Chair of the National Council for Local Authorities’ Fire Brigades in February 2001. Attempts to apply some theoretical analysis to the perceptions and observations expressed in the article.

Margaret Patrickson; Rob Ranzijn

2004 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450410544515

Australia, together with most other developed and developing countries, faces a difficult demographic pattern in the first half of the twenty‐first century, due to a low and declining birth rate and an ageing population. This has led to an ageing workforce, with a relative shortage of younger entrants. One issue for government is what further steps they could initiate to persuade more people to remain in the labour force beyond the currently median retiring age of around 55 years. Employers will need to consider the degree to which they are prepared to reverse present negative attitudes towards employment of older staff, and workers need to resolve whether they need or desire to keep working and under what conditions. Boundaries constructed by government policy and employer actions, and their resolution by older individuals, form the content of this paper. The paper concludes that employers now face the management of up to four generational groups and resolving their intergenerational differences will present as a major future challenge. Revisiting practices for managing older workers will be essential and the paper offers suggestions for employers towards more effective utilisation of their older staff and more effective integration of workers of all age groups.

Liz Doherty

2004 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450410544524

This article uses evidence from a piece of action research conducted in the UK hospitality industry to explore the effectiveness of work‐life balance initiatives in helping women progress to senior management. It explores the main barriers to women's progression and highlights the long hours associated with managerial roles as a major problem. The article shows that the business case which underpins diversity management and a voluntary approach to work‐life balance may only deliver positive benefits to women when the labour market is tight, and, even then, the benefits for women in management are far from demonstrated. A stronger equal opportunities approach is also shown to be problematic as it draws attention to women's “difference” to men and their need for special treatment. Given the contingent nature of the business case, it is argued that a strong floor of rights is still needed to protect the most vulnerable employees, especially in an industry where trade unions have virtually no “voice”. It is further argued that more work needs to be done with male managers in order to humanise the workplace for men and women who wish to lead rounded lives.