Purpose – The purpose of this editorial is to introduce this special issue on “International trade union networks, European works' councils and international labour regimes”. Design/methodology/approach – The editorial provides an overview and introduces the papers which make up the...

Purpose – The article aims to report on research into managerial practices at the workplace level in Britain and Italy in the automobile and aerospace industries. These are examined with regard to their impact on employees' perceptions of skill, training and their relationship to...

Purpose – Drawing on literature that examines trade union representation of “non‐standard” workers, this paper aims to analyse the attempts of the Association of University Teachers (AUT) to integrate the interests of contract research staff (CRS) employed on fixed‐term contracts...

Purpose – Much is being claimed in terms of new forms of trade union networking and co‐ordination at the international level during the past two decades. However, there is a need to ground these views in terms of the reality and contexts of trade union activity. This article seeks to argue...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the capacity for trade unions to mobilise internationally by considering how stevedores in Australia successfully internationalised a major dispute. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports the findings of a single case study of the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the situation of workers' rights in the context of European Works Councils (EWCs) in the metalworking sector. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the preconditions, forms and patterns of trade union transnational coordination...

Purpose – This article aims to develop an original conceptual approach for the research and analysis of European works councils (EWCs) through a critical examination of the theoretical debate on the Europeanization of industrial relations and the main results of the huge body of quantitative...

The 1980s has been viewed as a period of considerable change in industrial relations. The transformation of the global market and new style management practices have raised important questions regarding the extent and character of continuities and discontinuities. Much emphasis has been placed...