Global Employment Relations
MG327
Course Outline 2012-2013
Global employment relations provides a critical analysis of the variation in
national, regional (such as the European Union) and international labour
market institutions (e.g. the ILO) which either directly or indirectly regulate
employment relations in different countries and, the different ways that
key actors such as employers and their associations, managers,
employees, trade unions, NGOs and governments influence employment
practices. It draws on concepts and theories from industrial relations, the
law, political science, political economy and human resource
management. The module also examines the activities of multinational
enterprises and the challenges to such organisations pose for employees.
The course is a final year programme of learning in which both theoretical
concepts and real life events are analysed and questioned in a critical yet
lively and engaging manner.
Objective
Lecturer(s)
Times
Overall
Learning
Outcomes
Name
Office
Ext
E-mail
Dr Tony Royle
Room 321
3106
tony.royle@nuigalway.ie
Day
Time
Venue
Thursdays
1-3
CA116
Upon completion of this course you will be able to:
 Demonstrate an understanding of the global context of employment
relations and differing perspectives on employment and management
practice in different countries
 Compare and contrast different levels of labour market regulation and
employee representation institutions in different countries and regions
across the globe
 Critically examine the regional impact that the employment and social
policy of the European Union is having on its member states in terms of
employment and employment relations
 Evaluate the various attempts at the international level to regulate the
activities of multinational enterprises through labour standards, corporate
codes and the activities of international trade union movement
 Evaluate different theoretical and conceptual models used for the
comparison and assessment of different industrial relations systems in a
number of selected countries.
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Format
With the exception of the first week, first hour of each week will involve a
seminar session involving discussion of the previous weeks lecture. The
second hour will be a formal lecture providing the input for the following
week’s discussion, this will provide students with the opportunity to
engage with the material in greater detail and complement the student’s
own private study. The aim is to develop informal and interactive
discussion, and it is essential that students prepare for class by reading
some of the recommended reading associated with each lecture.
Students are also encouraged to use the library’s extensive journal
collection as well as government and other internet sites (such as national
and international trade union web sites and NGO web sites etc)
Course
Material
The lecture notes and course outline will be available on blackboard
http://blackboard.nuigalway.ie
Assessment
Workload
An End of Semester Examination accounting for 100% of total marks.
Students will be asked to answer two questions.
Credit weighting:
5 ECT
Lecture hours:
24
Independent study:
100
Examination:
2
Total Student Effort:
126 hours
Core Texts
The following are the main textbooks that you will find useful for this course, however, there is no
one single text book that covers all the necessary material on this course so you will need to
engage with more than one as well as making full use of academic journal articles which are an
important and often more up to date source of information. A small number of indicative readings are
given each week, but students hoping to do well on this module will need to go beyond these
readings (see for example the additional reading list at the end of the course outline).
Bamber, G., Lansbury R., Wailes, N. (eds.) (5th edition) (2011), International and Comparative
Industrial Relations, Allen & Unwin, London. (331 INT). (Earlier editions are also useful)
Barry, M. and Wilkinson, A. (eds.) (2011) Research Handbook of Comparative Employment
Relations, London: Sage.
Morley, M., Gunnigle, P. and Collings, D. (2006), Global Industrial Relations, Routledge, London
(331 GLO)
Van Ruysseveldt, J. and Visser, J. (1996) Industrial Relations in Europe, Traditions and Transitions,
London: Sage
The above four texts (with the exception of some chapters) are mostly organised by country or pairs
of countries and not themes. However, they do provide some useful material in most weeks of the
course. The following are largely based on themes, with some providing more international and
comparative material than others.
Bean, R. (1994), Comparative Industrial Relations: an introduction to cross-national perspectives,
Routledge, London (331 BEA)
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Blyton, P. and Turnbull, P (2004) The Dynamics of Employee Relations, Macmillan: London, ch 4
Eaton, J. (2000) Comparative Employment Relations, Polity Press, Cambridge (331 EAT)
Ferner A. and Hyman, R. (eds) (1998), Changing Industrial Relations in Europe, Blackwell, Oxford.
(331.094 CHA)
Royle, T. (2000) Working for McDonald’s in Europe, London: Routledge
Rubery, J. and Grimshaw, D. (2003) The Organisation of Employment: An International
Perspective, Macmillan, London. (331 RUB)
Salamon, M. (2000) Industrial Relations Theory and Practice, Prentice Hall
Van Ruysseveldt, J, Huiskamp, R., Van Hoof, J. (1995) Comparative Industrial and Employment
Relations, London: Sage
Key journals
Journals are the best resource of up to date reliable data and analysis and should be regularly
consulted. The following is a small selection these can be accessed on-line through the library eKnowledge portal or through hard copy in the library itself
Economic and Industrial Democracy
Employee Relations
European Industrial Relations Journal
Industrial Law Journal
International Human Resource Management Journal
Industrial Relations Journal
Industrial relations
International Journal of Comparative Labour law and Industrial Relations
International Labour Review
Journal of Labor Research
Labor Studies Journal
Labor History
British Journal of Industrial Relations
European Industrial Relations Review
Human Resource Management Journal
Policy studies Journal
Politics and Society
Transfer
Work Employment and Society
Work and occupations
WorkingUSA
Web Based Materials and Information:
The internet is also useful source of information for international issues, including industrial relations,
but should be used to complement research published in journals and books. The following is a
small selection of web pages which are worth consulting on a regular basis:
www.corpwatch.org
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Monitors the activities of MNCs
www.ilo.org
The International Labour Organisation provides information on human and labour rights,
developments in labour standards and global employment data.
www.eurofound.europa.eu
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions provides
information and research on various employment related issues especially in relation to
developments at EU level.
www.ier.org.uk
The Institute of Employment Rights is an independent labour movement ‘think tank’, providing
research on international employment rights and laws.
www.etuc.org/etui
The European Trade Union Institute provides information on EU social and employment policy. The
ETUI also produces very useful and informative research publications.
http://europa.eu.int
This is the official site of the European Commission. The site is a source for EU documents, news on
directives and development across the European community on employment and other EU matters.
www.labourstart.org
Labour Start provides news and analysis of current and up to date industrial relations and trade
union issues across the world.
www.oxfam.org
Provides regular reports on human rights issues
www.global-unions.org
A site for affiliated union bodies covering various global industrial relations issues, employment
standards, child labour and debates on different industrial relations policies and practices.
www.tuac.org
This site coordinates and represents the views of the trade union movement across industrialised
economies. It also provides formal policy advice and opinion to the OECD, for example trade union
views on major economic summits.
Newspapers
The quality newspapers are often a good source of current information on the financial and
employment aspects of multinational companies. In addition the UK-based newspapers (which are
readily available in Ireland (e.g. Times, Financial Times, Guardian and Observer) all have online
access (e.g. www.guardian.co.uk) and often have a lot of useful international coverage.
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Lecture and Seminar Outline
Week
1
Topic
Indicative reading for each lecture
Lecture: Introduction and
Overview: Global employment
relations, theories and
perspectives
Bamber et al (2011) Ch 1
Bean, R. (1994) Ch 1
Morley, Gunnigle and Collings (2006) Ch1
Barry and Wilkinson (2011), Ch 1 and 2
2
Seminar: Question and
answers on week 1 lecture
Bean (1994) Ch 2
Morely Gunnigle and Collings (2010) Ch. 10
Lecture: Trade unions at the
national level
3
Seminar:
Question
and Bean, R. (1994) Ch 3
answers on week 2 lecture
Ruysseveldt, Huiskamp and van Hoof (1995) Ch 4
Lecture:
Employers
associations
4
Managers,
Blyton, P. and Turnbull, P (2004) Ch 4
and
their
Traxler, F. (2003) Bargaining (de)centralisation, Macroeconomic
Performance and Control over the Employment Relationship,
British Journal of Industrial Relations, 41, 1: 1-27.
Seminar:
Question
and Bean, R. (1994), ch 5
answers on week 4 lecture
Blyton, P. and Turnbull, P. (2004) Ch 6
Lecture: Role of the State
6
Logan, J. (2006) The Union Avoidance industry in the United
States, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 44, 4: 651-676.
Seminar:
Question
and Bean, R. (1994) Ch 4
answers on week 3 lecture
Salamon, M (2000) Ch 9
Lecture: Collective bargaining
5
Schnabel, C. and Wagner, C. (2007) ‘Union density and
determinants of union membership in 18 EU countries: evidence
from micro data 2002/2003’, Industrial Relations Journal, 38, 1: 532.
Bamber, Lansbury and Wailes (2011) Ch 3 and 7
Seminar:
Question
and Bean (1994), Ch. 6
answers on week 5 lecture
Blyton, P. and Turnbull, P. (2004) Ch. 10
Lecture: Conflict and Strikes
in International Perspective
Morley Gunnigle and Collings (2006) Ch 13
Salamon, M. (2000) Chapter 11
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7
Question and answers on week Bean (1994), Ch. 7
6 lecture
Bamber, Lansbury and Wailes Ch 2 and Ch 8
Lecture: National-level
systems of employee
participation and voice
8
Royle, T. (2000) Ch. 6
Salamon, M. (2000) Ch. 10
Seminar:
Question
and Gold, M. (2010) ‘Employee participation in the EU: The Long Road
to Legislation’, Economic and Industrial Democracy, 31, 4(s): 9-23.
answers on week 7 lecture
Lecture: European Union:
Social policy and employee
participation
Hall, M. (2006) A cool response to the ICE regulations? Employer
and trade union approaches to the new legal framework for
information and consultation, Industrial Relations Journal, 37, 5:
456-472
Royle, T. (1999), ‘Where’s the Beef? McDonald’s and its European
Works Council’, European Journal of Industrial Relations, 5 (3).
9
Seminar:
Question
and Bean, R. (1994) ch 8
answers on week 8 lecture
Jenkins and Turnbull (2011) (Ch 9) in Blyton, Heery and Turnbull
(eds.) Re-assessing the Employment Relationship: Palgrave
MacMillan
Lecture: Multinational
Corporations and Global
Capital: Facts figures, theories Royle, T. (2000) Working for McDonald’s in Europe, London:
Routledge, Ch 1
and the challenge for Labour
Royle, T. (2010) ‘McDonald’s and the Global ‘McJob’: A
longitudinal study of work, pay and unionization in the
international fast-food industry’, Labor History, 51, 2, 249-69
10
Seminar:
Question
and Alston, P. and Heenan, J. (2004) ‘Shrinking the International
Labor Code’, International Law and Politics, 36, 2&3: 221-264.
answers on week 9 lecture
Morley, Gunnigle and Collings (2006) Ch 11
Lecture: International labour
standards, social clauses
and voluntary private
initiatives
11
Barry and Wilkinson (2011) Ch 18
Royle, T. (2010) ‘The ILO’s shift to promotional principles and the
privatisation of labour rights: An analysis of labour Standards,
Voluntary self-regulation and social clauses’, International Journal
of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, 26, 3: 249272.
Seminar:
Question
and Anner, M., Greer, I. Hauptmeier, M., Lillie, N., Winchester, N.
(2006) ‘The industrial determinants of transnational solidarity:
answers on week 10 lecture
global inter-union politics in three sectors’, European Journal of
Industrial Relations, 121: 7-27.
Lecture: Global Unions
Croucher and Cotton Ch. 1 and 2
Campaigns, International
Framework Agreements and
Hammer, N. (2005) ‘International Framework Agreements: Global
other forms of advocacy
Industrial Relations between Rights and Bargaining’, Transfer, 11,
4: 511-30.
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12
Seminar:
Question
and
answers on week 11 lecture
Lecture: Course Review and
Exam Revision
Additional Recommended Reading
Week 1
Eaton (2000) Ch. 1
Rubery & Grimshaw (2003) Chs 1 & 2
Salamon, M. (2000) Ch 1&2
Ruysseveldt, Huiskamp and van Hoof (1995) Ch 1
Week 2 Trade Unions
Bean, R. (1994) Ch 2
Buttigieg, D.M., Deery, S.J., Iverson, R.D. (2008) Union Mobilization: A Consideration of the factors
Affecting the Willingness of Union Members to Take Industrial Action, British Journal of Industrial
Relations, 46, 2: 248-267.
D'Art, D. & Turner, T. (2003), ‘Union recognition in Ireland: one step forward or two steps back?’,
Industrial Relations Journal, 34 (3), pp 226-241.
Eaton (2000) Ch 4
Freeman, R. and Rogers, J. (1999) What Workers Want, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press
Frege, C.M. and Kelly, J. (2004) Varieties of Unionism, Strategies for Union revitalization in a Globalizing
Economy, Oxford: OUP.
Frege, C. (2006) Chapter 10 in Morley, Gunnigle and Collings
Royle, T. (2000) Ch 5
Royle, T. and Urano, E. (2012) ‘A New Form of Union Organizing in Japan? Community Unions and the
Case of the McDonald’s ‘McUnion’, Work, Employment and Society, 26, 4: 606-622.
Salamon, M (2000) Chapters 4 and 5
Schnabel, C. and Wagner, C. (2007) ‘Union density and determinants of union membership in 18 EU
countries: evidence from micro data 2002/2003’, Industrial Relations Journal, 38, 1: 5-32.
Visser, J. (1998) ‘European Trade Unions in the mid-1990s’, Industrial Relations Journal (European Annual
review 1997)
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Week 3 Employers
Dundon, T. (2002), ‘Employer Hostility to Union Organising in the UK’, Industrial Relations Journal, Vol.
33 (3), pp 234-45
Royle, T. (2002) ‘Multinational corporations, employers’ associations and trade union exclusion strategies in
the German fast-food industry’, Employee Relations, 24, 4: 437-460.
Royle, T. and Ortiz, L. (2009) ‘Dominance Effects from local competitors: setting institutional parameters for
employment relations in multinational subsidiaries; a case from the Spanish supermarket sector’, British
Journal of Industrial Relations, 47, 4: 653-675.
Rubery & Grimshaw (2003) Ch. 3
Salamon, M. (2000) Ch. 7
Traxler, F. (2001) ‘Employers and employer organisation in Europe: membership strength, density and
representativeness’, Industrial Relations Journal, IRJ Annual Review 1999/2000, Oxford: Blackwell
Visser, J. (2006) Trade Union Membership in 24 countries, Monthly Labour Review, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 129, January: 38-49.
Wallace, J., Gunnigle, P. and McMahon, G. (2004) Industrial Relations in Ireland, Dublin: Gill and McMillan
Ch 6.
Week 4 Collective Bargaining
Bean (1994) Ch 4
Eaton (2000) Ch 5
Ruysseveldt, Huiskamp and van Hoof (1995) Ch 6
Salamon, M (2000) Ch 9
Towers, B. (1997) The Representation Gap, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Traxler, F. (2003), ‘Coordinated bargaining: a stocktaking of its preconditions, practices and performance’,
Industrial Relations Journal, Vol. 34 (3), pp 194-210.
Traxler, F. and Brandl, B. (2012) Collective bargaining inter-sectoral heterogeneity and competitiveness: a cross
national comparison of macroeconomic performance, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 50, 1.
Week 5 The Role of the State
Bean, R. (1994) Ch. 5
Eaton (2000) Ch. 7, 8 & 9
Godard, J. (2002) ‘Institutional environments, employer practices and states in liberal market economies’,
Industrial Relations, 41: 249-286.
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Koçer, R.G. and Visser, J. (2009) ‘The Role of the State in Balancing the Minimum Wage in Turkey and the
USA’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 47, 2: 349-370.
Rubery, J. and Grimshaw, D. (2003), Ch. 4 & 6
Ruysseveldt, Huiskamp and van Hoof (1995) Ch 5
Salamon, M. (2000) Ch. 8
Smith, P. and Morton, G. (2006) ‘Nine years of New Labour: neo-liberalism and workers rights’, British
Journal of Industrial Relations, 44: 401-20.
Teague, P. (2006) Social Partnership and Local development in Ireland: The Limits to Deliberation, British
Journal of Industrial Relations, 44, 3421-444.
Week 6 Conflict and Strikes
Buttigieg, D.M., Deery, S.J., Iverson, R.D. (2008) Union Mobilization: A Consideration of the factors
Affecting the Willingness of Union Members to Take Industrial Action, British Journal of Industrial
Relations, 46, 2: 248-267.
Godard, J. (2011) ‘What’s happened to strikes?’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 49, 2: 282-305.
Hale, D. (2008) international Comparisons of labour disputes in 2006, Economic and Labour Market Review,
2, 4: 32-41
Hyman, R. (1977) Strikes, Glasgow: Fontana
Kelly, J. (1998) Rethinking Industrial Relations: London: Routledge
Rigby, M. and Aledo, M.L.M. (2001) ‘The Worst record in Europe? A Comparative Analysis of Industrial
Conflict in Spain’, European Journal of Industrial Relations, 7, 3: 287-305
www.labourstart.org; www.global-unions.org; www.etuc.org/etui; www.icftu.org;
www.eurofound.europa.eu.
Wallace, J., Gunnigle, P. and McMahon, G. (2004) Industrial Relations in Ireland, Dublin: Gill and McMillan
Week 7
Bean, R. (1994) Ch. 7
Fitzroy, F. and Kraft, K. (2005) ‘Co-determination, Efficiency and Productivity’, British Journal of
Industrial Relations, 43, 2: 233-47.
Freeman, R.B., Boxall, P., Haynes, P. (eds.) (2007) What Workers Say, Ithaca and London: Cornell
University
Harley, B., Hyman, J., Thompson, P. (2005) Participation and Democracy at Work, London: Palgrave.
Jirjahn, U. (2009) ‘The introduction of works councils in German establishments – rent seeking or rent
protection?’ British Journal of Industrial Relations, 47, 3: 521-545.
Lane, C. (1989) Management and Labour in Europe, Aldershot: Edward Elgar
Page 9 of 12
Ruysseveldt, Huiskamp, van Hoof, (1995) Ch. 7
Sadowski, D., Schneider, M., Wagner, K. (1995) Works councils barriers or boosts for the competitiveness
of German firms? British Journal of Industrial Relations, 33, 3: 493-513.
Wilkinson, A., Gollan, P., Marchington, M. and Lewin, D. (2010) The Oxford Handbook of Participation In
Organizations. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Week 8
Barnard, C. (2006) EC Employment Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Gold, M. (2009) (ed.) Employment Policy in the EU, London: Palgrave
Hyman, R. (2005) ‘Trade Unions and the Politics of the European Social Model’, Economic and Industrial
Democracy, 26, 1: 9-40
Ramsay, H. (1997) ‘Fools Gold? European Works Councils and Workplace Democracy’, Industrial Relations
Journal, 28, 4: 314-22
Rogers, J. and Streeck, W. (1995) Works Councils: Consultation, Representation and Cooperation in
Industrial Relations, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Royle, T. (2012) ‘Socially Inclusive or Exclusive? An Analysis of European Social Policy, Legislation and
European Case Law’, Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations, 80, 25-48.
Schulten, T. (1996) ‘European Works Councils: Prospects for a new system of European industrial relations,
European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2, 3: 303-324.
Waddington, J. (2010) European Works Councils: A Transnational Industrial Relations Institution in the
Making, London and New York: Routledge
Week 9
Dicken, P. (2007) Global Shift: Reshaping the Global Economic Map in the 21st Century, London: Sage.
Edwards, T. and Rees, C. (2011) International Human Resource Management: Globalization, National
Systems and Multinational Companies, Harlow: Pearson, Ch 2.
Ferner, A. and Edwards, P. (1995) ‘Power and the Diffusion of Organisational Change within
Multinationals’, European Journal of Industrial Relations, July, 1, 2: 1-35
Ferner, A., Quintanilla, J., Sanchez-Runde, C. (2006) Multinationals, Insitutions and the Construction of
Transnational Practices, London: Palgrave.
Human Rights Watch (2000) Unfair Advantage: worker’s freedom of association in the United States under
international human rights standards, London: Human Rights Watch
Klein, N. (2001) No Logo, London: Harper Collins
Royle, T. (2004) Employment practices of Multinationals in the Spanish and German Quick food service
sectors: Low Road Convergence? European Journal of Industrial Relations, 10, 1: 51-71
Royle, T. (2005) ‘The union-recognition dispute at McDonald’s Moscow food-processing factory’, Industrial
Relations Journal, 36, 4: 318-332
Page 10 of 12
Stockhammer, E. (2004) ‘Financialization and the slowdown of accumulation’, Cambridge Journal of
Economics, 28: 719-41.
Stone, K.M.V. (2006) ‘Legal Protections for Atypical Employees: employment law for workers without
workplaces and employees without employers’, Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labour Law, 27, 2:
251-286.
Thornley, C., Jeffreys, S., Appay, B. (eds.) (2010) Globalization of precarious Forms of Production and
Employment, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Week 10
Alston, P. and Heenan, J. (2004) ‘Shrinking the International Labor Code’, International Law and
Politics, 36, 2&3: 221-264.
Compa, L. and Vogt, J.S. (2001) ‘Labor Rights in the Generalized System of Preferences: A 20
Year Review’, Comparative Labor law and Policy Journal, 22, 2&3: 199-238.
Hepple, B. (2002) (ed.) Social and Labour Rights in a Global Context, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Hepple, B. (2005) Labour Laws and Global Trade, Oxford and Portland: Hart Publishing.
Locke, R., Kochan, T, Romis, M., Qin, F. (2007) Beyond Corporate Codes of Conduct: Work
organisation and labour standards at Nike’s suppliers’, International Labour Review, 146, 1-2: 2137.
Maupain, F. (2005) ‘Revitalization not Retreat. The real Potential of the 1998 ILO Declaration for
the Universal Protection of Workers’ Rights’, European Journal of International Law, 16, 3: 440466.
Rodriguez-Garavito, C. (2005) ‘Global governance and labour rights: codes of conduct and antisweatshop struggles in global apparel factories in Mexico and Guatemala’, Politics and Society, 33, 2:
203-333.
Royle, T. (2005) Realism or Idealism? Corporate social responsibility and employee stakeholder in the
global fast-food industry, Business Ethics: A European Review, 14, 1: 42-55.
Rubery, J. and Grimshaw, D. (2003), The Organisation of Employment: An International Perspective,
Macmillan, London. (331 RUB) Ch 10
Standing, G. (2008) The ILO: An Agency of Globalization? Development and Change, 39, 3: 355384
Week 11
Bourque, R., (2008) ‘International Framework Agreements and the future of collective bargaining in
multinational companies’, Just Labour: A Canadian Journal of Work and Society, Spring, 12: 30-47.
Bronfenbrenner, K. (2006) (ed.) Global Unions: Challenging Transnational Capital Through Cross-Border
Campaigns, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Page 11 of 12
Croucher, R. and Cotton, E. (2009) Global Unions, Global Business, London: Middlesex University Press.
Fairbrother, P., Williams, G., Barton, R.R., Gibellieri, E., Tropeoli, A. (2007) Union facing the future, questions
and possibilities, Labour Studies Journal, 31, 4: 31-53.
Harrod, J. and O’Brien, R. (2002) (eds.) Global Unions? Theory and Strategies of Organized Labour in the
Global Political Economy, London: Routledge.
Lillie, N. (2004) ‘Global Collective Bargaining on Flag of Convenience Shipping’, British Journal of
Industrial Relations, 42, 1: 47-67.
Ramsay, H. (1999) ‘In Search of International Union Theory’, in Waddington, J. (ed.) Globalization and
Patterns of Labour Resistance, London: Mansell.
Stevis, D. and Boswell, T. (2007) Globalization and Labour: Democratizing Global Governance, London:
Blackwell
Turnbull, P. (2006) The War on Europe’s Waterfront: repertoires of power in the Port transport Industry,
British Journal of Industrial Relations, 44, 2: 305-326
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