A range of literature has attempted to reconceptualize union agendas for firm-level restructuring by identifying variety in local union strategic responses. This article explores the conditions under which local unions respond strategically to company restructuring in the Netherlands, Italy and...

New management techniques (NMTs) associated with `lean production' - teamworking; just-in-time (JIT) systems; continuous improvement (kaizen); zero defects and so on - have become increasingly influential, particularly in the car industry. This paper reports on case studies and a questionnaire...

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...