From guinea pigs to agents: the potential of participatory action research in union revitalisation and worker participation studies

A key concern in European trade union studies and policy is whether, and how, labour organisations can meet challenges in the 21st century’s world of work amid multiple crises, given a steady decline in their affiliation and power since the 1980s. This chapter argues that participatory action research (PAR) fruitfully supports union revitalisation endeavours. PAR mobilises methodological tools that can enhance union capabilities and more democratic ways of functioning, strengthening labour organisations’ associational and discursive power in the long-term. This approach sees unions as partners of knowledge production and actors of transformative policies, rather than as passive objects of research. However, despite PAR being particularly well suited to solving collective problems in organisations or communities, it has rarely been applied in industrial relations (IR) and union settings and research (Huw and Turnbull, 2023; Martin et al., 2003). Drawing on a recent PAR project, the chapter introduces PAR as a social science methodology and explains its under-utilisation in IR, despite its potential benefits, particularly in the field of worker participation and union revitalisation. Following the “Democratising Endesa” PAR project case, it evaluates the methodology and reflects on challenges that were encountered. The chapter concludes with recommendations for activist scholars and unions interested in using PAR to better understand and support union revitalisation processes.