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Worker voice in the context of the re-regulation of employment: employer tactics and statutory union recognition in the UK

University of Bradford, r.perrett{at}bradford.ac.uk

Since the introduction of the statutory recognition procedure the vast majority of new agreements have been voluntary in nature, yet increasingly employers are using this ambiguous state regulation as a means of avoiding recognition.The legislation allows for the game of voluntarism to be enshrined within the micro level politics and social relationships of work and employment: it crystallizes the culture and history of voluntarism in the regulation itself. It is, in effect, ironic in how it balances change with tradition. It makes the new regulation pliable and difficult to see as a step to a state-led approach.There is a resistant trend to unions generally even if recognition cases may vary in terms of employer orientations.This article focuses on such issues by addressing a broader understanding of regulation through an ethnographic case study analysis.

Key Words: ethnographic • recognition • regulation • union avoidance • voice • voluntarism

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Work, Employment & Society, Vol. 21, No. 4, 617-634 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0950017007082873


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Perrett, R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?