1
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2
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3
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- Canada‑ Modified version of the American system
- Britain‑ Decentralized bargaining by autonomous parties
- Sweden‑ Highly centralized, highly structured bargaining by
centrally controlled parties
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4
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- Themes
- Environments
- Ideology
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5
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- Highly regulated and legalistic system
- Radical and Incompatible Ideologies
- Disunity of the Labor Movement and influence of
anarcho‑syndicalist traditions
- Weakness of bargaining and strength of law in determining working
conditions
- Symbolic Uses of Conflict
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6
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- The Political context
- Fifth Republic‑
- Constitution since 1958
- Preceded by two other Republics dating from 1870s
- Government
- Broad Presidential Powers - esp. defense and foreign policy
- 2 chamber Parliament
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7
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- Parties
- Union for a Popular Movement - UMP
- Union for French Democracy - UDF
- Socialist Party - PSF
- Communists - PCF
- National Front
- Huge number of splinter parties
- Political parties have incompatible goals
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8
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- UMP – 355
- UDF – 29
- PSF – 140
- PCF – 21
- Others – 32
- Senate
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9
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- Modern Industrial Economy
- Major deposits of iron ore, coal and bauxite
- Major producer of steel, machinery, textiles and clothing, motor
vehicles
- Import most petroleum and food
- Per capita GDP
- Education
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10
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- Relies on planning more than other western governments
- Much state ownership
- 2003 highest tax burden in course after Sweden
- Social benefits include pregnancy allowances, child allowances, free
health care including prescriptions, and free education through
university level
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11
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- Unemployment 2004 about 10.1%
- Up from 8.1% 2001
- Has been in this high range since about 1990
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12
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- Not highly compatible
- Revolution of 1789
- 1871 Paris Commune
- Parties
- Unions strongly anti‑capitalist ideologies
- Employers extremely anti‑union and paternalistic
- Corruption
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13
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14
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15
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- Reading for Next Class
- Paper Reminder
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16
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- Republic and Parliamentary Democracy
- Highly developed and highly regulated economy
- Extreme and incompatible ideologies of the parties
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17
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- General Characteristics of Union Movement
- The Confederations – General
- The CGT
- The CGT-FO
- The CFDT
- Support
- Minor Confederations and Their Support
- Other Issues
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18
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- Hough‑"French trade unionism is weak, ineffective, chaotic,
even tragic..."
- Unions developed as industrial wings of radical political movements
- Reflect ideological divisions of international labor movement
- Remain highly ideological and political
- All 3 major confederations espouse socialism
- Legacy of syndicalism
- Tendency to oppose bargaining
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19
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- No accurate data
- Perhaps 9% overall
- Perhaps under 6% in private sector
- Disproportionately public sector
- Union support much greater than membership
- Influence much greater than membership would indicate
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20
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- Low dues but still few members fully financial
- Rely on core of militant activists
- French worker more likely to offer his life to his union than to pay it
dues
- Unions weak at enterprise level
- Major union confederations have de‑emphasized this level
- Prefer to act where they can claim to advance interests of the entire
working class
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21
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- Employer opposition
- Non‑members choose not to join because often get benefits anyway
and joining tends to attach one to a political ideology
- Union traditionally didn’t need majority status to have bargaining
rights
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22
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- Five sizable confederations, 3 Principal ones
- None as large as single largest German union
- Three largest together fewer members than two largest UK Unions
- Confederations typically claim many more than actual membership
- Confederations consist of affiliated industrial federations. Industry may have one federation from
each confederation
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23
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- Many major unions independent
- With some exceptions, confederations often have strong control over the
affiliated industrial federations
- Workers typically think of themselves as members of confederation rather
than union (federation)
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24
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- Principal tasks of confederations (within the IR system)
- Formulating national policy
- Dealing with government
- International meetings
- Recently, some bargaining with employer umbrella organization
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25
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- Founded 1895
- Communists became dominant leadership group in 1947
- Communists emerged from war with organization in tact and with solid
resistance credentials
- General secretary always on PCF Political Bureau
- 1992 announced would no longer follow PCF in policy but would lead
- Generally view relations between employees and employers as
relationships of exploitation
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26
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- 2003 About 800,000 active members
- Extreme rhetoric of CGT justifies employer refusals to recognize and
negotiate while these employer refusals justify the CGT's extreme public
rhetoric
- CGT Confederation least likely to sign bargaining agreements
- Prefers national agreements setting minimum conditions which local
struggles can improve
- Opposes agreements with no-strike or arbitration clauses
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27
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- Formed from 1947 split in CGT
- 2003 280,000 members
- Membership largely among white collar workers and in public sector
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28
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- Only one with reasonable membership data
- Perhaps has finally overtaken CGT as largest
- About 840,000 in 2003
- Founded as French Confederation of Catholic Workers‑ 1919
- Became progressive socialist favoring self-management
- Has evolved into pragmatic bread and butter union
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29
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- CGT 32%, CFDT 25%, FO 18%
- Note that their overall support is clearly much greater than their
actual membership
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30
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- CFTC
- 1964 split with CFDT ‑ Retains confessional ties
- About 100,000 members
- CGC
- Founded after WWII
- Organizes unions of executives, foremen, salesmen, technicians,
draftsmen and senior clerical workers
- About 80,000 members
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31
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- Representative union status
- Some federations have great autonomy within the confederations while
others are pure dependencies
- Unions survive and remain important perhaps less due to bargaining than
due their other roles
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32
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- Personnel Delegates
- Comites d' enterprise‑ works council
- Required in plants with over 50 employees
- Chosen by all employees
- Small employers can choose one
- Union delegates‑ shop representatives
- In law, technical distinctions among roles but in practice any and all
may be a vehicle for worker discontent and union activism
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33
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- Employer Organization
- Government Organization
- Rule-making
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34
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35
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- Reading for Next Time
- Collect Papers
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36
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- Somewhat unstable political system with inconsistent ideologies
- Highly productive economy
- Weak, chaotic, highly politicized and radicalized union movement‑
multi‑unionism
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37
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- Employer Organization
- Government Organization
- Rulemaking – Public Policy
- Rulemaking – Collective Bargaining
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38
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- Three levels of employer associations
- Nationwide‑ umbrella
- Industry‑wide
- Regional
- Employers, unlike unions, almost completely unified on IRHRM policy
- No explicit political support but frequent financial support to parties
of the right
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39
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- Formed in 1945
- Initially largely to represent industry in dealing with government
- Largely association of associations
- Broad membership
- Little formal authority over affiliates but growing in some ways
- 1999 renamed as MEDEF
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40
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- Some industrial enterprises treated just like the private sector
- Others treated as Civil Service and covered by special statutes
- Railroads
- Electric and gas
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41
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- Labor Ministry's Inspection Service
- Oversees application of labor laws and regulations at work place
- Inspectors help resolve disputes & informally chair some
negotiating sessions
- Laws requiring compulsory mediation and arbitration rarely enforced
- Workplace worker representatives
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42
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- Government involvement and legislation
- More prominent in the French system than most other western systems
- Much more important than collective bargaining
- Government engages in extensive consultation with employers and unions
- Unemployment Insurance
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43
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- 35 hour week since 2000
- Includes subsidies to employers who create more jobs
- Limits on hours apply to managers as well
- Limit on annual overtime of 180 hours
- 5 weeks vacation
- 11 paid holidays
- Retirement at age 60
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44
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- Very tight controls on ability of employer to layoff employees
- 2002 law bans psychological harassment and addresses issues of stress at
work
- Others include sickness, maternity, severance, family allowances, unfair
dismissal, and minimum wage
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45
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- Regulation of Bargaining
- 1950 law established principle of collective bargaining but not
mandatory
- Collective bargaining agreements cover nonunionists and can be
extended by Labor Minister to other areas or employers
- Also encouraged plural unionism
- Since 1978 only one representative union needs to sign agreement for
validity
- Requires all companies with more than 50 employees to establish works
councils
- No “good faith” obligation at any level
- Compulsory unionism and check‑off illegal
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46
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- FO believes in upholding agreements but to CGT and previously CFDT they
are just temporary truce in continuing struggle
- Bargaining Structure‑ Seems designed so enterprise management
won't have to deal face‑to‑face with union
- Local or enterprise
- Only minority of employees covered
- Rarely produced any kind of agreement in past but increasingly does
so, especially in large enterprises
- In general union plays little role in day‑to‑day plant
activities
- Most employers bargain only through employer associations
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47
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- Usually between employers’ association and each federation
- Set minimum wages and job classifications. Deal with unemployment comp and
retirement systems, as well as apprenticeship and training
- Valid if any representative union signs and covers all workers
- Cover overwhelming majority of firms and employees - perhaps 80% of
employees
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48
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- MEDEF only got formal authority in 1969 to negotiate agreements binding
members
- Increasingly important
- Wages not discussed, MEDEF lacks authority to do so
- Discuss unemployment compensation, retirement, apprenticeship and
training
- 2004 agreement designed to reduce gender disparities
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49
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- Agreements of no fixed duration
- Wages
- Traditionally employers have bargained only enough over wages to avoid
legislative determination
- Negotiated wages matter little since actual wages above negotiated
level
- Wages actually determined at enterprise level
- Highest employment costs in the course
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50
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- Bargaining Issues & Agreements
- At industry level a major issue had been menualisation ‑ demand to
raise the status of wage earners to that of salaried workers
- 1970 blue collar workers became salaried
- Industry agreements do little to restrict individual plant
management. Little about hiring,
layoffs, promotion, etc.
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51
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- Conflict
- Grievance Administration
- Comparisons
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52
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53
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- Reading for Next Class – BLW chapter on Italy
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54
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- Employer and Government Organization for IRHRM
- Large Role of Public Policy
- Bargaining largely at industry level
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55
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- Industrial Conflict
- Administering the Rules
- Themes and Comparisons
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56
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- Basic Patterns
- Total work days lost 1990-99 just above Sweden, Germany and Britain but
below Italy and Canada
- Lots of strikes but most very short, hit and run tactics
- Union strike calls often honored by non‑members, but typically
only about 50% response to strike call
- Strikes less designed to create economic pressure than to display
militance for internal consumption and to win public support
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57
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- Basic Patterns
- Constitution protects right to strike but lockouts and political
strikes illegal ‑ grievance strikes legal
- Frequently employers offer an anti‑strike bonus which is forfeit
if a strike occurs or even pays a bonus to strike breakers
- Basic characteristic of French strikes is spontaneity. Strikes over industrial issues but
content largely symbolic and ideological
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58
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- The Revolt of 1968
- Began as student revolt but soon spread to workers
- At its peak, 10 million on strike and engaged in sit‑downs
bringing economy to complete halt
- Recent Conflict
- General downward trend since about 1980
- Work time lost increasingly concentrated in public sector
- Growth of strikes led by "coordinates" temporary groups
unaffiliated to any of the union centers
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59
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- Major strike of 1995 - largest since 1968
- Began November 24 on railroads
- Gradually other transport and then other public sector workers joined
- At peak country near standstill and over 1/3 of civil servants on
strike
- Led by FO and CGT. CFDT
leadership opposed
- Polls showed most Frenchmen sympathetic to strikers, not government
- Ended after three weeks with government delaying action on rail cuts
and retirement but going ahead with health changes and welfare reforms
- 5 million work days lost
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60
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- December 2001 Euro strike
- December 2001 Air Traffic Controllers
- February-March 2004 pension strikes
- March 2004 strike by researchers
- January 2005 public service strike
- October 4, 2005 nationwide protest strike
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61
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- Personnel Delegates - Their job to present individual and collective
complaints
- Can be grievance or alleged legal violation
- Can also be new demand
- Employer must meet with personnel delegates monthly
- Shop representatives ‑ represent union but have only observer
status
- Labor Court is the legally required last step for all grievances
- Bi‑partite
- Elected members by labor and management
- Available to union and non‑union employees to deal with legal
violations, violations of collective agreements, or violations of
individual contracts of employment
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62
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- Highly regulated and legalistic system
- Radical and Incompatible Ideologies
- Disunity of the Labor Movement and influence of syndicalist traditions
- Weakness of bargaining and strength of law in determining working
conditions
- Symbolic Uses of Conflict
- State has effectively weakened unions
- Comparisons with Canada, Britain, and Sweden
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63
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- Begin Italy
- See Labourstart and Atlapedia
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