{"id":2712,"date":"2019-08-01T12:31:18","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T12:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/?p=2712"},"modified":"2019-08-01T12:31:19","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T12:31:19","slug":"making-the-case-for-collective-voice-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/?p=2712","title":{"rendered":"Making the case for collective voice at work"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"cb-itemprop\" itemprop=\"reviewBody\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What do\nemployers and employees gain when they participate in mechanisms of collective\nvoice? This question matters because work is changing and there are likely to\nbe serious social and economic problems if those changes are decided with only\nemployers\u2019 interests at heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\nis collective voice at work? <strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In\nshort, collective voice refers to mechanisms that allow workers to contribute\ncollectively to decisions that affect their working lives. The collective focus\nis important. Any worker with a sensible manager can express their views as an\nindividual. Collective voice requires workers and organisations to have\nstructures that facilitate expression of a broader perspective and allow\ninsight into the extent to which workers as a group agree or disagree with each\nother about a particular issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is\na complex process and requires effort to facilitate soliciting different views,\ndeciding which issues are most important, coalescing around a perspective, and\nthen putting forward that view to managers. Trade unions are often, but not\nalways, central to those processes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recently,\nI sat on the Commission for Collective Voice at Work run by the thinktank\nUnions21, where we reviewed a wide range of evidence from the UK and beyond\nthat organisations that have structures of <a href=\"http:\/\/unions21.org.uk\/files1\/Policies-for-Decent-Labour-Standards-in-Britain.pdf\">collective\nvoice<\/a> have a range of better outcomes in\nterms of job quality and staff satisfaction, so the benefits to workers are\nclear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But\nwhat about managers? While it can be frustrating for some managers to be told\nthat there are problems with a particular decision, it shows them a wider\npicture of what is going on in the organisation. Workers\u2019 perspectives can help\nshow why a decision made in the boardroom or a manager\u2019s office may not be\nimplemented quite as anticipated, which, in turn, can improve decision making.\nCollective worker voice also helps ensure that there has been a process of\ngaining consent and co-operation with decisions which helps ensure decisions\nare implemented effectively. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Collective voice and unionisation<strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\nare some organisations that have experimented with non-union forms of voice\nsuch as staff forums and works councils. However, the evidence internationally\nis clear that those forums are usually seen as most effective \u2013 by both workers\nand managers \u2013 when they work with and alongside union representation, rather\nthan as a substitute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Academic\n<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/1024258916681723\">evidence<\/a> shows is that what matters is that unions are independent of\nemployers and build their capacity as strategic actors. There are several\neffects going on there. First, it seems to give workers confidence that their\nrepresentatives have their best interests at heart. Even when workers are not\nactive in their union, or maybe not even a member, the fact that the union is\nthere representing them in voice structures is important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Second,\nwhen unions are involved, staff forums tend to talk about more substantive\nissues; rather than car parking permits (an important, but usually a not\nstrategic issue) discussions tend to focus on more strategic issues such as pay\nand equality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Third,\nunions can usually provide training and support for worker representatives,\nmeaning they will tend to be better at their roles. In short, whether unions\nare involved in facilitating collective worker voice through a staff forum or\nthrough wider collective bargaining, there can be real benefits for all\nparties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The policy implications of collective voice <strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite\nthese known benefits, many politicians, policy makers and employers are\nsceptical about supporting collective voice at work. Sometimes that is overt\nresistance, but often it is because most of us now work in the absence of these\nstructures, so we simply aren\u2019t used to deciding issues at work collectively\nany more. Changing that will take time and focus from various parties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Government\nis clearly important because they are the ones that can \u2018set the rules of the\ngame\u2019. What governments and policy makers expect from employers changes, and\nthere is certainly scope to lead the way in, for example, including\nconsideration of collective worker voice in the industrial strategy. But what\nis really central is providing forums for employers and worker representatives\nto sit together to decide what is right for them in their setting; maybe a\nsector, a region or a specific organisation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Time\nand time again, we hear national and international evidence about how\ncollective voice really works when it is tailored to the particular needs and\ncircumstances of workers and managers. So providing space for them to discuss\nwhat is important to them is probably the most important effective focus for policy\nmakers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collective\nworker voice is a way to negotiate change in the world of work so that wider\ninterests are taken into consideration, but there are currently few mechanisms\nto do that. Rebuilding collective voice takes time and energy, but is not\nimpossible and there are good examples from around the world that can guide and\ninform that future.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do employers and employees gain when they participate in mechanisms of collective voice? This question matters because work is changing and there are likely to be serious social and economic problems if those changes are decided with only employers\u2019 interests at heart. What is collective voice at work? In short, collective voice refers to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":2714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1395,1406,1396],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1630],"class_list":["post-2712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-comment","category-economy","category-uk"],"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/cropped-annie-spratt-8mqOw4DBBSg-unsplash.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2712"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=2712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}