Presented in "How does policy get under the skin", Barcelona, 3 of July 2015

2. Laia Ollé Espluga
Grup de Recerca en Desigualtats en Salut. Employment Conditions Network
(GREDS-EMCONET). Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Barcelona
Labour market policies
and worker participation

3. Worker participation:
“any workplace process or mechanism that allows employees to
exert some influence over their work and the conditions under
which they work”1.
Other related terms: involvement, engagement, voice,
empowerment…
Definition of participation

4. Political root Economic root
Aim: To exercise equal political
rights to the management of the
factory
For employers, to enhance
worker efficiency
For workers, to improve work
satisfaction
Right Management discretionary power
Source: Own elaboration based on 2.
Roots

5. Political root Economic root
Aim: To exercise equal political
rights to the management of the
factory
For employers, to enhance
worker efficiency
For workers, to improve work
satisfaction
Right Management discretionary power
Representative
participation
Economic
democracy
Source: Own elaboration based on 2.
Roots

6. Political root Economic root
Aim: To exercise equal political
rights to the management of the
factory
For employers, to enhance
worker efficiency
For workers, to improve work
satisfaction
Right Management discretionary power
Representative
participation
Economic
democracy
Source: Own elaboration based on 2.
Roots

7. Political root Economic root
Aim: To exercise equal political
rights to the management of the
factory
For employers, to enhance
worker efficiency
For workers, to improve work
satisfaction
Right Management discretionary power
Representative
participation
Economic
democracy
Direct
participation
Participation in
profit sharing
Source: Own elaboration based on 2.
Roots

8. Representative participation
Indirect , collective participation, through a representative who acts on
behalf of workers.
Issues: pay, overall plant working conditions , vacations and other
employee benefits
Direct participation
Immediate interaction between workers and management. Individually
oriented.
Issues: normally, decisions about individual jobs and task related
matters.
Direct and representative participation

9. • Deregulation of employment relations in favour of
flexibility.
 Erosion of employment protection legislation
 Rise of precarious employment conditions
• Changes in collective bargaining procedures
 Unions “combated”, as they contribute to employment
rigidities (labour costs rise, rigidities in working practices…)
 Dismantling of collective agreements and social
representation at workplace
Weakening
of
worker
collective
power
Labour market policies and participation

10. Labour law reforms in Europe during the crisis, four main areas of
changes 3:
- working time
- atypical employment
- rules on redundancy (for business reasons)
- industrial relations structures and processes, affecting social dialogue
and collective bargaining
Labour market policies and participation

11. • Little explored area of research.
• Impact of worker representative participation on
(occupational) health:
 Better enforcement of the rules 4.
 Higher levels of preventive action: reception of information and
training on occupational health hazards, written safety guidelines,
or risks assessments conducted 4,5.
 Reduction of work-related injuries and illnesses 6-8.
Worker participation and health

12. Workers’ perspectiveSafety representatives’ (SRs) perspective
Problem solving
Problem identification
Decision making
Raise isses with management
Worker mobilization
INTERACTION PROCESSES
Safety
representative
(SR)
Firm
Worker
SR Firm
Worker
INTERACTION PROCESSES
Problem identification
Decision making
Problem solving

13. Existence of safety representatives
Yes No Do not know
n (%) n (%) n (%) p-valuea p-valueb
Type of contract < 0.001 < 0.001
Permanent (4461) 2873 (84.0%) 1088 (79.5%) 500 (66.8%)
Temporary (1075) 546 (16.0%) 281 (20.5%) 248 (33.2%)
Weekly working hours < 0.001 0.001
Up to 30 (751) 382 (11.2%) 210 (15.4%) 159 (21.4%)
30 - 40 (3886) 2507 (73.3%) 906 (66.3%) 473 (63.6%)
41 or more (896) 533 (15.6%) 251 (18.4%) 111 (15.1%)
Tenure < 0.001 < 0.001
Up to 6 months (540) 262 (7.7%) 137 (10.0%) 141 (19.0%)
7 months - 2 years (557) 297 (8.7%) 165 (12.0%) 95 (12.8%)
More than 2 years (4452) 2871 (83.7%) 1069 (78.0%) 512 (69.1%)
Size < 0.001 < 0.001
From 6 to 9 (757) 309 (9.0%) 356 (25.9%) 92 (12.3%)
From 10 to 49 (2575) 1409 (41.0%) 743 (54.1%) 423 (56.4%)
From 50 to 249 (1243) 880 (25.6%) 188 (13.7%) 175 (23.3%)
250 or more (987) 841 (24.5%) 86 (6.3%) 60 (8.0%)
Sector < 0.001 0.756
Agriculture (142) 49 (1.4%) 65 (4.7%) 28 (3.7%)
Industry (960) 764 (22.2%) 127 (9.2%) 69 (9.2%)
Construction (364) 238 (6.9%) 81 (5.9%) 45 (6.0%)
Services (4096) 2387 (69.4%) 1100 (80.1%) 609 (81.1%)
a Comparison between yes and do not know, 95% confidence level.
b Comparison between no and do not know, 95% confidence level.

14. Model also adjusted by sex, nationality, age, educational attainment, occupational social class, economic sector,
type of contract, tenure, working hours.
Reference
category:
Workers who do
not know
whether the
have safety
representatives
or not
10.26
2.87

15. Model also adjusted by sex, nationality, age, educational attainment, occupational social class, economic sector,
type of contract, tenure, working hours.
Reference
category:
Workers who do
not know
whether the
have safety
representatives
or not

16. • Dismantling of collective, representative forms of worker
participation has been an outstanding component of labor
market policies in the recent decades.
• Relevance for its (pretty unexplored) impact on workers’
health.
Final remarks

17. 1 Arrigo, G., & Casale, G. (2010). A comparative overview of terms and notions on employee
participation. Geneva: ILO, p. 148.
2 Schiller, B. (1991). “Workplace Democracy: The Dual Roots of Worker Participation.” In Managing
Modern Capitalism: Industrial Renewal and Workplace Democracy in the United States and Western
Europe, edited by MD Hancock, J Logue, and B Schiller, 109–19. New York: Greenwood Press.
3 Clauwaert S., Schömann I. (2012). The crisis and national labour law reforms: a mapping exercise
(Working Paper). Brussels: ETUI
4 Coutrot T. (2009). Le rôle des comités d’hygiène, de sécurité et des conditions de travail en France:
Une analyse empirique. Tr et Emp 117):25-38.
5 Walters D., Wadsworth E., Davies R., Lloyd-Williams H., Marsh K. (2012). Analysis of the findings of
the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks on the effectiveness and support for
worker representation and consultation on health and safety. Luxembourg: European Agency for
Safety and Health at Work.
6Mygind K., Borg V., Flyvhol MA., Sell L., Jepsen KF. (2005). A study of the implementation process of
an intervention to prevent work-related skin problems in wet-work occupations. Int Arch of Occ and
Env Health, 79, 66–74.
7Reilly, B., Paci, P., & Holl, P. (1995). Unions, Safety Committees and Workplace Injuries. Br J of Ind
Rel, 33(2), 275–288.
8 Robinson, A. M., & Smallman, C. (2013). Workplace injury and voice: a comparison of management
and union perceptions. Work, Employment & Society, 27(4), 674–693.
References

18. Thank you