IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/indrel/v52y2021i5p406-422.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Workforce adjustment strategies and concession bargaining in times of crisis: A qualitative approach based on French case studies

Author

Listed:
  • Noélie Delahaie
  • Coralie Perez

Abstract

Although the scale of the current crisis undoubtedly implies heavy repercussions on employment and work, this paper draws on the experience of French firms that implemented various workforce adjustments during the 2008 crisis. We focus on how adjustments were negotiated and the bargaining leeway for employee representatives. On the basis of 14 case studies, we seek to determine whether the crisis has led to concession bargaining and, if so, assess the characteristics of the bargaining. Mobilizing the power resources approach, we identify three types of concession bargaining based on their reciprocal and reversible features and question how actors were able to mobilize resources (institutional, associational and structural) at the workplace level. Our analysis shows that times of crisis are conducive to concession bargaining, the counterparts of which are not always identifiable for employees. Ultimately, it raises the need to identify new resources that unions could mobilize to defend jobs in the face of the COVID‐19 crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Noélie Delahaie & Coralie Perez, 2021. "Workforce adjustment strategies and concession bargaining in times of crisis: A qualitative approach based on French case studies," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 406-422, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:52:y:2021:i:5:p:406-422
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12342
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12342
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/irj.12342?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nicolas Castel & Noélie Delahaie & Héloïse Petit & Nathaniel London, 2015. "The Interrelationship of Collective Bargaining at Industry and Company-Levels in Wage Determination," Travail et Emploi, La DARES, vol. 0(5), pages 31-63.
    2. Maé Geymond & Coralie Perez & Corinne Perraudin & Nadine Thevenot & Julie Valentin & Francois-Xavier Devetter, 2019. "Entreprise éclatée et périmètre de la représentation collective," Post-Print hal-03895478, HAL.
    3. Valentina Paolucci & Paul Marginson, 2020. "Collective bargaining towards mutual flexibility and security goals in large internationalised companies—why do institutions (still) matter?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 329-350, July.
    4. repec:eme:ijmpps:v:34:y:2013:i:1:p:232-251 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Coralie Perez (coord.) & Nadine Thévenot (coord.) & Nathalie Berta & Delphine Brochard & Noélie Delahaie & Sophie Jallais & Corinne Perraudin & Catherine Sauviat & Julie Valentin, 2014. "Modes d'ajustement à la crise : des relations professionnelles sous tensions," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 14076, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    6. Stefan Zagelmeyer, 2013. "Tackling the crisis through concession bargaining: evidence from five German companies," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(3), pages 232-251, June.
    7. Thomas Amossé & Alex Bryson & John Forth & Héloïse Petit (ed.), 2016. "Comparative Workplace Employment Relations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-57419-0, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Minjie Cai & Sian Moore & Chris Ball & Matt Flynn & Ken Mulkearn, 2022. "The role of union health and safety representatives during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A case study of the UK food processing, distribution, and retail sectors," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 390-407, July.

    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. Alex Bryson & Lucy Stokes & David Wilkinson, 2023. "Is pupil attainment higher in well-managed schools?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 129-144, January.
    2. Alex Bryson & Christine Erhel & Zinaïda Salibekyan, 2017. "The Effects of Firm Size on Job Quality: A Comparative Study for Britain and France," DoQSS Working Papers 17-08, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    3. Andrea Salvatori & Seetha Menon & Wouter Zwysen, 2018. "The effect of computer use on job quality: Evidence from Europe," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 200, OECD Publishing.
    4. Petri Böckerman & Alex Bryson & Antti Kauhanen & Mari Kangasniemi, 2020. "Does job design make workers happy?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 67(1), pages 31-52, February.
    5. Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex, 2022. "Taking the pulse of nations: A biometric measure of well-being," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    6. Michael White & Alex Bryson, 2017. "Do Migrants Lower Workplace Wages?," DoQSS Working Papers 17-03, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    7. Thomas Amossé & Philippe Askenazy & Martin Chevalier & Christine Erhel & Héloïse Petit & Antoine Rebérioux, 2016. "Industrial Relations and Firms’ Reactions to the Recession: A Comparative Micro-Econometric Analysis of France and Great Britain [Relations sociales et ajustements à la crise : une analyse micro-st," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-02172455, HAL.
    8. Alex Bryson & Richard Freeman & Rafael Gomez & Paul Willman, 2017. "The Twin Track Model of Employee Voice: An Anglo-American Perspective on Union Decline and the Rise of Alternative Forms of Voice," DoQSS Working Papers 17-13, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    9. Petri Böckerman & Alex Bryson & Antti Kauhanen & Mari Kangasniemi, 2016. "Does Job Support Make Workers Happy?," DoQSS Working Papers 16-16, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    10. White, Michael & Bryson, Alex, 2018. "HPWS in the Public Sector: Are There Mutual Gains?," IZA Discussion Papers 11965, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Alex Bryson & Harald Dale-Olsen & Kristine Nergaard, 2016. "Gender Differences in the Union Wage Premium? A Comparative Case Study," DoQSS Working Papers 16-15, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    12. Askenazy, Philippe & Breda, Thomas, 2020. "Electoral Democracy at Work," IZA Discussion Papers 13226, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Esther Martínez‐Garcia & Joan Sorribes & Dolors Celma, 2018. "Sustainable Development through CSR in Human Resource Management Practices: The Effects of the Economic Crisis on Job Quality," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(4), pages 441-456, July.
    14. Coralie Perez & Nadine Thèvenot & Nathalie Berta & Delphine Brochard & Noélie Delahaie & Sophie Jallais & Corinne Perraudin & Catherine Sauviat & Julie Valentin, 2015. "Modes d’ajustement par le travail en temps de crise : des relations professionnelles sous tension," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01306493, HAL.
    15. Barry, Michael & Bryson, Alex & Gomez, Rafael & Kaufman, Bruce E. & Lomas, Guenther & Wilkinson, Adrian, 2018. "The," IZA Discussion Papers 11860, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. John Forth & Alex Bryson, 2018. "The impact of management practices on SME performance," DoQSS Working Papers 18-04, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    17. Burdin, Gabriel & Pérotin, Virginie, 2019. "Employee representation and flexible working time," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    18. Michael Barry & Alex Bryson & Rafael Gomez & Bruce Kaufman & Guenther Lomas & Adrian Wilkinson, 2018. "The ''Good Workplace'': The Role of Joint Consultative Committees, Unions and HR policies in Employee Ratings of Workplaces in Britain," DoQSS Working Papers 18-08, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    19. Olivier Godechot & Zinaida Salibekyan, 2019. "Should We Clash or Should I Go? The Impact of Low Wage and Poor Working Conditions on the Exit‐Voice Trade‐Off," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 33(4), pages 425-449, December.
    20. Alex Bryson & Michael White, 2019. "Migrants and Low-Paid Employment in British Workplaces," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 33(5), pages 759-776, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:bla:indrel:v:52:y:2021:i:5:p:406-422. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0019-8692 .

    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.