On both sides of the Atlantic, there is much talk amongst academics and practitioners about the “new” industrial relations, based on flexibility, employee involvement, anti‐union strategies and Japanese employment practices. However, the “old” industrial relations lives on; it is...

Purpose Collective bargaining (CB) in China is perceived as inadequate, thanks to the lack of trade union independence and representation. However, there are interesting developments in some parts of the country, including Wenling, a massive manufacturing center examined here....

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and...

All member states of the European Union are facing the challenges of globalization and the pressures of meeting the convergence criteria for economic and monetary union. Germany faces an additional and unprecedented burden of integrating the former GDR politically, socially and economically....

The process of industrial relations which has developed in the offshore catering industry is not significantly different from that evident in conventional onshore‐based unionised industries. Data obtained as part of a survey of industrial relations in the Grampian region (1982) covering five...

Although it is widely held that multinational collective bargaining (MCB) may represent the most effective labour response to the multinational enterprise (MNE), its appearance is sporadic and ephemeral. Examples appear to be confined to situations where factors and conditions highly conducive...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the changing strike activity in the UK over the last 50 years. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a wide literature on UK strikes and an extensive trawl of newspaper sources. It is divided into four main sections....

Examines whether, in an increasingly fragmented labour market, British trade unions can have a beneficial effect on training, and thereby contribute towards a solution to Britain′s skills problem. Examines the background to unions′ policies on training, details the strategic aims of union...

Labour flexibility is a central theme of management’s rhetoric in Greece. At the same time the securing of greater flexibility has been identified by policy makers as a central component of industrial relations reform. In spite of this endowing of flexibility with major significance there is a...

Despite high unemployment, a collapse in manufacturing output and employment, a government‐engineered fall in international competitiveness that has resulted in an unprecedented deficit in non‐oil trade and zero net growth in the Gross Domestic Product between 1979 and 1983, the basic...