IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/eurjou/v27y2021i4p387-403.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Down but not out: Union strategies and power resources in response to liberalization and changes in national postal services – The cases of Spain and Belgium

Author

Listed:
  • Sofía Pérez de Guzmán

    (Universidad de Cádiz, Spain)

  • Esteban Martínez

    (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium)

  • Ester Ulloa

    (Universidad de Cádiz, Spain)

Abstract

This article analyses national postal services unions’ strategic capacity in Spain and Belgium in response to the effects of liberalization and changes in the postal sector. The analysis shows, first, that despite having had to operate in a hostile context, Correos and bpost unions have been able to mobilize their power resources to resist the impact of market pressures on employment and working conditions. Second, it detects the relevance of national industrial relations institutions in order to understand the strategies unions adopt.

Suggested Citation

  • Sofía Pérez de Guzmán & Esteban Martínez & Ester Ulloa, 2021. "Down but not out: Union strategies and power resources in response to liberalization and changes in national postal services – The cases of Spain and Belgium," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(4), pages 387-403, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eurjou:v:27:y:2021:i:4:p:387-403
    DOI: 10.1177/0959680120980676
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0959680120980676
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0959680120980676?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephen Mustchin, 2017. "Public sector restructuring and the re-regulation of industrial relations: the three-decade project of privatisation, liberalisation and marketisation in Royal Mail," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 294-309, July.
    2. Ann C. Frost, 2001. "Reconceptualizing Local Union Responses to Workplace Restructuring in North America," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 39(4), pages 539-564, December.
    3. Richard M. Locke & Kathleen Thelen, 1995. "Apples and Oranges Revisited: Contextualized Comparisons and the Study of Comparative Labor Politics," Politics & Society, , vol. 23(3), pages 337-367, September.
    4. Chiara Benassi & Lisa Dorigatti, 2015. "Straight to the Core — Explaining Union Responses to the Casualization of Work: The IG Metall Campaign for Agency Workers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 533-555, September.
    5. Sako, Mari, 2008. "Do industries matter?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 673-686, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dongwoo Park, 2023. "Lopsided inclusion: The impact of multi‐employer bargaining and class‐based unionism on non‐regular employment in South Korea," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 110-132, March.
    2. Jens Arnholtz & Nana Wesley Hansen, 2013. "Labour market specific institutions and the working conditions of labour migrants: The case of Polish migrant labour in the Danish labour market," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 34(3), pages 401-422, August.
    3. Virginie Xhauflair & Benjamin Huybrechts & François Pichault, 2018. "How Can New Players Establish Themselves in Highly Institutionalized Labour Markets? A Belgian Case Study in the Area of Project†Based Work," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(2), pages 370-394, June.
    4. Nicolas Bacon & Paul Blyton, 2004. "Trade union responses to workplace restructuring: exploring union orientations and actions," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 18(4), pages 749-773, December.
    5. Eduardo Ortas & Isabel Gallego‐Álvarez & Igor Álvarez, 2019. "National institutions, stakeholder engagement, and firms' environmental, social, and governance performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(3), pages 598-611, May.
    6. Ji-Whan Yun, 2016. "The Setback in Political Entrepreneurship and Employment Dualization in Japan, 1998–2012," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(3), pages 473-495, September.
    7. Cameron Roles & Sukanya Ananth & Michael O’Donnell, 2022. "Reinforcing managerial prerogative in the Australian Public Service during the COVID-19 pandemic," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(1), pages 18-36, March.
    8. Matthew Amengual & Janice Fine, 2017. "Co‐enforcing Labor standards: the unique contributions of state and worker organizations in Argentina and the United States," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), pages 129-142, June.
    9. Alex Bryson & Erling Barth & Harald Dale-Olsen, 2013. "The Effects of Organizational Change on Worker Well-Being and the Moderating Role of Trade Unions," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(4), pages 989-1011, July.
    10. Adam Seth Litwin & Sherry M. Tanious, 2021. "Information Technology, Business Strategy and the Reassignment of Work from In‐House Employees to Agency Temps," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(3), pages 816-847, September.
    11. Keller, Berndt, 2017. "Review-Artikel: Internationale und vergleichende Arbeitsbeziehungen [Review article: International and comparative employment relations]," Industrielle Beziehungen. Zeitschrift für Arbeit, Organisation und Management, Verlag Barbara Budrich, vol. 24(3), pages 372-386.
    12. Selmer, Jan & Chiu, Randy, 2004. "Required human resources competencies in the future: a framework for developing HR executives in Hong Kong," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 324-336, November.
    13. Getinet Astatike Haile, 2021. "Men, women and unions," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 201-217, May.
    14. Saerom Han, 2023. "Mobilizing within and beyond the Labor Union: A Case of Precarious Workers’ Collective Actions in North Africa," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(4), pages 674-696, August.
    15. Matias Ramirez & Frederick Guy & David Beale, 2007. "Contested Resources: Unions, Employers, and the Adoption of New Work Practices in US and UK Telecommunications," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 45(3), pages 495-517, September.
    16. Goyer, Michel, 2002. "The transformation of corporate governance in France and Germany: The role of workplace institutions," MPIfG Working Paper 02/10, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    17. Martí López‐Andreu, 2019. "Employment Institutions under Liberalization Pressures: Analysing the Effects of Regulatory Change on Collective Bargaining in Spain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 57(2), pages 328-349, June.
    18. Jan Behringer & Till van Treeck, 2018. "Revisiting debt-led and export-led growth models: a sectoral balances approach," IMK Working Paper 195-2018, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    19. Weisstanner, David, 2019. "Insiders under pressure: Flexible employment and wage inequality," INET Oxford Working Papers 2019-06, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    20. Benassi, Chiara & Dorigatti, Lisa & Pannini, Elisa, 2018. "Explaining divergent bargaining outcomes for agency workers: the role of labour divides and labour market reforms," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 89371, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:eurjou:v:27:y:2021:i:4:p:387-403. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.