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‘Thinking Outside the Box’? Trade Union Organizing Strategies and Polish Migrant Workers in the United Kingdom

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  • Ian Fitzgerald
  • Jane Hardy

Abstract

This article focuses on the responses of British trade unions to the arrival of Polish workers since the 2004 enlargement of the European Union. It is argued that existing definitions and explanations of UK trade union engagement with migrant workers do not capture the strategies that have been used to engage with these migrant workers. We suggest that there have been two sets of responses. First, recruitment and organization activity has centred on inclusion and has been undertaken on new terrains using innovative strategies. Second, we point to the importance of new linkages locally, regionally, nationally and internationally in organizing these new labour market entrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Ian Fitzgerald & Jane Hardy, 2010. "‘Thinking Outside the Box’? Trade Union Organizing Strategies and Polish Migrant Workers in the United Kingdom," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(1), pages 131-150, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:48:y:2010:i:1:p:131-150
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2009.00761.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. ., 2012. "Migration impact assessment: a state of the art," Chapters, in: Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot & Mediha Sahin (ed.), Migration Impact Assessment, chapter 1, pages 3-62, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Phil James & Joanna Karmowska, 2012. "Unions and migrant workers: strategic challenges in Britain," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 18(2), pages 201-212, May.
    3. Nijkamp, P. & Poot, H.J., 2012. "Migration impact assessment: A state of the art," Serie Research Memoranda 0009, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    4. Andy Hodder, 2014. "Organising young workers in the Public and Commercial Services union," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 153-168, March.
    5. Gabriella Alberti & Davide Però, 2018. "Migrating Industrial Relations: Migrant Workers’ Initiative Within and Outside Trade Unions," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(4), pages 693-715, December.
    6. Melanie Simms, 2013. "Special Issue. Edited by: Gregor Murray, Christian Lévesque, Christian Dufour and Adelheid Hege," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 373-388, July.
    7. Andrea Signoretti, 2021. "Workplace processes and employment opportunities for vulnerable social groups," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(1), pages 77-92, March.
    8. Philip James & Joanna Karmowska, 2016. "British union renewal: does salvation really lie beyond the workplace?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 102-116, March.
    9. Andreas Bieler & Jokubas Salyga, 2020. "Baltic labour in the crucible of capitalist exploitation: Reassessing ‘post-communist’ transformation," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(2), pages 191-210, June.
    10. Blanco, Cristina Faraco & Kraußlach, Mariannne & Lange, Miguel Montero & Pfeffer-Hoffmann, Christian, 2015. "Die Auswirkungen der Wirtschaftskrise auf die innereuropäische Arbeitsmigration am Beispiel der neuen spanischen Migration nach Deutschland," Working Paper Forschungsförderung 002, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf.
    11. Guglielmo Meardi & Melanie Simms & Duncan Adam, 2021. "Trade unions and precariat in Europe: Representative claims," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(1), pages 41-58, March.

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