Labour Relations
Labour (or industrial) relations are closely connected with the emergence in the late nineteenth century of the socialist movement and lawful employee representation, following the spread of the industrial revolution across Europe and North America. Modern trade (or labour) unions first became established in Europe and union rights gradually became enshrined in international conventions and individual country laws.
The balance of power between the trade union movement and employers has fluctuated significantly over time and it was not until the last decades of the twentieth century that such issues as closed shops, criteria for union representation, trade union recognition, collective bargaining rights and mandatory mediation became widely regulated across Europe.
Although unionisation has been on a steady decline in most European countries it would be a mistake to confuse union density with influence. In France for instance, the highly militant unions have maintained a strong presence at a political and industrial level in spite of representing less than 8% of the national workforce. Nevertheless, the decline in union membership and the weakening of sectoral collective agreements has meant that many companies now operate in a completely union-free environment. New structures have also emerged to rival conventional trade union representation. Individual workers may now take out insurance to give them access to legal advice in case of workplace problems or against the loss of their job. Larger employers are also required to set up works councils and consult them about a wide range of employment-related matters. Furthermore, in many continental countries companies operate through Supervisory and Management Boards, with mandatory employee representation on the Supervisory Board.
The future of labour relations is closely bound up with political, educational and economic changes in society as a whole. Europe faces a tougher economic future and one less dominated by socialist dogma and traditional concepts of representation. A better educated workforce will increasingly demand an individual say in the issues that affect them. Employers will not be able to assume a natural consensus when seeking to introduce organisational changes. Labour relations will therefore have to refocus onto the identification of opinion formers in staff populations, to use commercial techniques such as branding to get across corporate messages and use employee surveys to test opinions.