IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ilrrev/v60y2007i4p457-476.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unions, Work Practices, and Wages under Different Institutional Environments: The Case of Canada and England

Author

Listed:
  • John Godard

Abstract

Using data collected in 2003–2004 in national telephone surveys of 750 Canadian and 450 English workers, the author finds that alternative work practices (AWPs), such as autonomous teams, quality circles, and information sharing, provided meaningful pay gains for non-union workers but not union workers in both Canada and England. In Canada, non-union AWP payoffs approached union wage premia at even moderate levels of AWP adoption, suggesting that AWPs may serve as an alternative means to higher pay, one that is incompatible with unions and that could erode demand for union representation. In England, there was no meaningful union wage premium, suggesting that AWPs may have replaced pay bargaining as a means to higher pay; but an interaction term combining union representation and “best†HR practices bore a strong association with higher pay, consistent with a new economic role whereby unions achieve gains for their members through collaborative, performance-enhancing strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • John Godard, 2007. "Unions, Work Practices, and Wages under Different Institutional Environments: The Case of Canada and England," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 60(4), pages 457-476, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:60:y:2007:i:4:p:457-476
    DOI: 10.1177/001979390706000401
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001979390706000401
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/001979390706000401?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 Machin & Stephen Wood, 2005. "Human Resource Management as a Substitute for Trade Unions in British Workplaces," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(2), pages 201-218, January.
    2. Sarah Oxenbridge & William Brown & Simon Deakin & Cliff Pratten, 2003. "Initial Responses to the Statutory Recognition Provisions of the Employment Relations Act 1999," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 41(2), pages 315-334, June.
    3. John T. Addison & Claus Schnabel (ed.), 2003. "International Handbook of Trade Unions," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2705.
    4. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2004. "What Effect Do Unions Have on Wages Now and Would Freeman and Medoff Be Surprised?," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 25(3), pages 383-414, July.
    5. repec:eee:labchp:v:2:y:1986:i:c:p:1139-1181 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Stephen Wood & John Goddard, 1999. "The Statutory Union Recognition Procedure in the Employment Relations Bill: A Comparative Analysis," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 203-245, June.
    7. Richard Freeman & Jeffrey Pelletier, 1990. "The Impact of Industrial Relations Legislation on British Union Density," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 28(2), pages 141-164, July.
    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. 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. John Godard, 2011. "Uncertainty and the Correlates of Union Voting Propensity: An Organizing Perspective," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 472-496, July.
    3. Michael White & Alex Bryson, 2018. "HPWS in the Public Sector: Are There Mutual Gains?," DoQSS Working Papers 18-10, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    4. Annalisa Cristini & Tor Eriksson & Dario Pozzoli, 2013. "High-Performance Management Practices and Employee Outcomes in Denmark," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 60(3), pages 232-266, July.
    5. Barry, Michael & Bryson, Alex & Gomez, Rafael & Kaufman, Bruce E. & Lomas, Guenther & Wilkinson, Adrian, 2018. "The," IZA Discussion Papers 11860, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. 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.

    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. Blanchflower, David G., 2006. "A Cross-Country Study of Union Membership," IZA Discussion Papers 2016, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. 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.
    3. Alex Bryson & P Willman, 2007. "Union Organization in Great Britain," CEP Discussion Papers dp0774, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex, 2008. "Union Decline in Britain," IZA Discussion Papers 3436, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. John H. Pencavel, 2004. "The Surprising Retreat of Union Britain," NBER Chapters, in: Seeking a Premier Economy: The Economic Effects of British Economic Reforms, 1980–2000, pages 181-232, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2022. "Union Membership Peaks in Midlife," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 124-151, March.
    7. Alex Bryson & Paul Willman & Rafael Gomez & Tobias Kretschmer, 2013. "The Comparative Advantage of Non-Union Voice in B ritain, 1980–2004," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52, pages 194-220, January.
    8. repec:ilr:articl:v:65:y:2012:i:2:p:263-285 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 2005. "The Wage Curve Reloaded," NBER Working Papers 11338, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Pierre Brochu & Louis-Philippe Morin, 2011. "Union Membership and Perceived Job Insecurity: 30 Years of Evidence from the American General social Survey," Working Papers 1106E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    11. Gustav A. Horn & Heike Joebges & Torsten Niechoj & Christian R. Proaño & Simon Sturn & Silke Tober & Achim Truger & Till van Treeck, 2009. "Von der Finanzkrise zur Weltwirtschaftskrise (I)," IMK Report 38-2009, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    12. Elisabetta Magnani & David Prentice, 2010. "Outsourcing And Unionization: A Tale Of Misallocated (Resistance) Resources," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 48(2), pages 460-482, April.
    13. White, Michael & Bryson, Alex, 2018. "HPWS in the Public Sector: Are There Mutual Gains?," IZA Discussion Papers 11965, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Blanchflower, David G. & Wainwright, Jon, 2005. "An Analysis of the Impact of Affirmative Action Programs on Self-Employment in the Construction Industry," IZA Discussion Papers 1856, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. John T. Addison, 2016. "Collective bargaining systems and macroeconomic and microeconomic flexibility: the quest for appropriate institutional forms in advanced economies," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-53, December.
    16. Bryson, Alex & Gomez, Rafael & Kretschmer, Tobias & Willman, P., 2009. "Employee voice and private sector workplace outcomes in Britain, 1980-2004," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 51585, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Barry, Michael & Bryson, Alex & Gomez, Rafael & Kaufman, Bruce E. & Lomas, Guenther & Wilkinson, Adrian, 2018. "The," IZA Discussion Papers 11860, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Bryson, Alex & Gomez, Rafael & Kretschmer, Tobias & Willman, P., 2009. "Employee voice and private sector workplace outcomes in Britain, 1980-2004," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 51585, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Pierre Brochu & Louis-Philippe Morin, 2012. "Union Membership and Perceived Job Insecurity: Thirty Years of Evidence from the American General Social Survey," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(2), pages 263-285, April.
    20. Laroche, Patrice, 2020. "Unions, Collective Bargaining and Firm Performance," GLO Discussion Paper Series 728, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    21. Daniele Checchi & Jelle Visser & Herman G. Van De Werfhorst, 2010. "Inequality and Union Membership: The Influence of Relative Earnings and Inequality Attitudes," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(1), pages 84-108, March.

    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:sae:ilrrev:v:60:y:2007:i:4:p:457-476. 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: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu .

    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.