Trade unions and work-life balance: changing times in France and the UK?

Gregory, A; Milner, SE

Abstract

The mixed empirical findings to date have indicated that some, but not all, unions in industrialized countries are actively involved in campaigning and bargaining around work–life balance (WLB) issues, as part of a modernization
agenda linked to feminization and to ‘positive flexibility’. This article seeks to identify factors that might encourage or inhibit trade unions from involvement
in WLB issues, within a cross-national comparative perspective focusing on two countries (France and the UK) that have contrasting working time regimes and approaches to WLB. It draws on original research carried out in two sectors — insurance and social work — in these two countries. The article links the emergence of union WLB programmes and bargaining agendas to genderequality concerns within the union and to the gender composition of the sector, as well as to the working time regime, including the mode of action, partnership being a significant corollary of WLB campaigning in the UK. We find support for the modernization thesis in the UK, particularly in the public sector, but within severe constraints defined by employer initiative.

Citation

Gregory, A., & Milner, S. (2009). Trade unions and work-life balance: changing times in France and the UK?. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 47(1), 122-146. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2008.00710.x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2009
• Deposit Date: Feb 13, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 13, 2009
• Journal: British Journal of Industrial Relations
• Print ISSN: 0007-1080
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 47
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 122-146
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2008.00710.x
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2008.00710.x
• Additional Information: References : Ackers, P. (2002). ‘Reframing employment relations: the case for neo-pluralism’, Industrial Relations Journal, 33 (1): 2–19. Ardura, A. and Silvera, R. (2001). ‘L’égalité hommes-femmes: quelles stratégies hommes-femmes?’. Revue de l’IRES, 3 (37): 1–25. Bagilhole, B. and Byrne, P. (2000). ‘From hard law to soft law and from equality to reconciliation in the UK’. In L. Hantrais (ed.), Gendered Policies in Europe. Reconciling Employment and Family Life. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 124–42. Bardoel, A. E., Moss, S. A., Smyrnios, K. and Tharenou, P. (1999). ‘Employee characteristics associated with the provision of work-family policies and programs’. International Journal of Manpower, 20 (8): 563–76. Trade Unions and Work–Life Balance 143 © Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2009. Belloni, M.-C., Boulin, J.-Y. and Junter-Loiseau, A. (1998). ‘Du temps de travail aux temps de la ville’. In M. Maruani (ed.), Les nouvelles frontières de l’inégalité. Hommes et femmes sur le marché du travail. Paris: La Découverte, pp. 169–82. Bewley, H. and Fernie, S. (2003). ‘What do unions do for women?’. In H. Gospel and S. Wood (eds.), Representing Workers: Union Membership in Britain, Vol. I. London: Routledge, pp. 92–118. Budd, J. W. and Mumford, K. (2004). ‘Trade unions and family-friendly policies in Britain’. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 57 (2): 204–22. Burchell, B. J. (2006). ‘Work intensification in the UK’. In D. Perrons, C. Fagan, L. McDowell, K. Ray and K. Ward (eds.), Gender Divisions and Working Time in the New Economy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 21–34. Coleman, M. and Hasting, S. (1993). Les femmes et les syndicats en Europe. Geneva: ILO. Colgan, F. and Ledwith, S. (eds.) (2002). Gender, Diversity and Trade Unions. International Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge. Colling, T. and Dickens, L. (2001). ‘Gender equality and trade unions: a new basis for mobilisation?’. In M. Noon and E. Ogbonna (eds.), Equality, Diversity and Disadvantage in Employment. Basingstoke: Palgrave, pp. 136–55. Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT) (2003). Négocier l’égalité professionnelle. Paris: CFDT. Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) (2000). Gagnons du Temps: Repères CGT pour Négocier la RTT. Limoges: Rivet Presse Edition. Cressey, P. (2002). ‘Women and atypical working in the United Kingdom: the prospects for positive flexibility’. In H. Sarfati and G. Bonoli (eds.), Labour Market and Social Protection Reforms in International Perspective. Aldershot/Burlington, VT: Ashgate, pp. 353–71. Dean, H. (2006). Women in Trade Unions. Methods and Good Practices for Gender Mainstreaming. Brussels: European Trade Union Institute. Defalvard, H., Lurol, M. and Polzhuber, E. (2005). ‘Les inégalités de genre dans le passage aux 35 heures, sources et resistances’. Travail et Emploi, 102: 45–56. Demetriades, S., Meixner, M. and Barry, A. (2006). Reconciliation of Work and Family Life and Collective Bargaining in the European Union. An Analysis of EIRO Articles. Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Dickens, L., Townley, B. and Winchester, D. (1988). Tackling Sex Discrimination through Collective Bargaining. London: HMSO. European Union (EU) (2007). Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Social and Economic Committee, and the Committee of the Regions on equality between women and men. Brussels. COM (2007) 49 final. Fagnani, J. and Letablier, M.-T. (2007). ‘The French 35-hour working law and the work-life balance of parents: friend or foe?’. In D. Perrons, C. Fagan, L. McDowell, K. Ray and K. Ward (eds.), Gender Divisions and Working Time in the New Economy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 79–90. Felstead, A., Jewson, N., Phizacklea, A. and Walters, S. (2002). ‘Opportunities to work at home in the context of work-life balance’. Human Resource Management Journal, 12 (1): 54–76. Fleetwood, S. (2007). ‘Why work-life balance now?’. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18 (3): 387–400. 144 British Journal of Industrial Relations © Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2009. Franco, A. and Winqvist, K. (2002). ‘Women and men reconciling family life’. Statistics in Focus: Population and Social Conditions. Theme 3, 9/2002. Gambles, R., Lewis, S. and Rapoport, R. (2006). The Myth of Work-Life Balance: The Challenge of Our Time for Men, Women and Societies. Chichester: Wiley. Gerstel, N. and Clawson, D. (2001). ‘Unions’ responses to family concerns’. Social Problems, 48 (2): 277–97. —— and —— (2002). ‘Unions’ responses to family concerns’. In N. Gerstel, D. Clawson and R. Zussman (eds.), Families at Work. Expanding the Bounds. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, pp. 317–42. Gregory, A. and Milner, S. (2006). ‘Les entreprises et la conciliation de la vie professionnelle et familiale’. Recherches et Prévisions, 85: 5–27. —— and —— (2008). ‘Fatherhood regimes and father involvement in Britain and France’. Community Work and Family, 11 (1): 61–84. —— and ——(2009). ‘Introduction. Work-life balance: a matter of choice?’. Gender, Work and Organization, 15 (1): 1–13. Guillaume, C. and Pochic, S. (2007). ‘Le syndicalisme à l’épreuve de la féminisation: la permanence paradoxale du plafond de verre à la CFDT’. Politix, 78. Hantrais, L. (ed.) (2000). Gendered Policies in Europe. Reconciling Employment and Family Life. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. —— and Ackers, P. (2005). ‘Women’s choices in Europe: striking the work-life balance’. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 11 (2): 197–212. Hardy, S. and Adnett, N. (2002). ‘The parental leave directive: a family-friendly social Europe?’. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 8 (2): 157–72. Heery, E. (2006a). ‘Bargaining for balance: Union policy on work-life issues in the United Kingdom’. In P. Blyton, B. Blunsdon, K. Reed and A. Dastmalchian (eds.), Work-Life Integration. International Perspectives on the Balancing of Multiple Roles. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 42–62. —— (2006b). ‘Equality bargaining: where, who and why?’. Gender, Work and Organization, 13 (6): 522–42. Hyman, J. and Summers, J. (2007). ‘Work and life: can employee representation influence balance?’. Employment Relations, 29 (4): 367–84. Jefferys, S. (2000). ‘A “Copernican revolution” in French Industrial Relations: are the times a’changing?’. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 38 (2): 241–60. Jobert, A. (1994). ‘L’égalité professionnelle dans la négociation collective’. Travail et Emploi, 63: 177–87. Kersley, B., Alpin, C., Bryson, A. and Forth, J. (2006). Inside the Workplace. Findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. London and New York: Routledge. Kirton, G. and Greene, A. (2005). ‘Gender, equality and industrial relations in the “New Europe”: an introduction’. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 11 (2): 141–9. —— and —— (2006). ‘The discourse of diversity in unionised contexts: views from trade union equality officers’. Personnel Review, 35 (4): 431–48. Lanquetin, M.-T., Laufer, J. and Letablier, M.-T. (2000). ‘From equality to reconciliation in France?’. In L. Hantrais (ed.), Gendered Policies in Europe. Reconciling Employment and Family Life. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 68–88. Laufer, J. (1998). ‘Equal opportunity between men and women: the case of France’. Feminist Economics, 4 (1): 53–69. Trade Unions and Work–Life Balance 145 © Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2009. Le Feuvre, N. and Lemarchant, C. (2007). ‘Employment, the family and work-life balance in France’. In R. Crompton, S. Lewis and C. Lyonette (eds.), Women, Men, Work and Family in Europe. London: Palgrave, pp. 210–29. Lewis, S. and Cooper, C. (2005). Work-Life Integration. Case Studies of Organisational Change. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. McBride, A. (2000). ‘Promoting representation of women within UNISON’. In M. Terry (ed.), Redefining Public Sector Unionism. UNISON and the Future of Trade Unions. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 100–18. —— (2001). Gender Democracy in Trade Unions. Aldershot, Burlington, VT: Ashgate. Morris, J. and Pillinger, J. (2007). ‘Developing positive flexibility for employees: the British trade union approach’. In D. Perrons, C. Fagan, L. McDowell, K. Ray and K. Ward (eds.), Gender Divisions and Working Time in the New Economy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 207–24. Nelson, A., Nemec, K., Solvik, K. and Ramsden, C. (2004). The Evaluation of the Work-Life Balance Challenge Fund. Employment Relations Research Series No. 32. London: Department of Trade and Industry. Pillinger, J. (1998). Working Time in Europe. A European Working Time Policy in the Public Services. Brussels: European Federation of Public Service Unions. Richardson, M., Tailby, S., Danford, A., Stewart, P. and Upchurch, M. (2005). ‘Best value and workplace partnership in local government’. Personnel Review, 34 (6): 713–28. Rubery, J., Smith, M. and Fagan, C. (1998). ‘Gender, societal effects and workingtime regimes’. Feminist Economics, 4 (1): 71–101. Stuart, M. and Martinez Lucio, M. (2005). ‘Partnership and modernisation in employment relations: an introduction’. In M. Stuart and M. Martinez Lucio (eds.), Partnership and Modernisation in Employment Relations. London: Routledge, pp. 1–22. Trades Union Congress (TUC) (1999). The Time of Our Lives in Bristol. Developing Flexibility for Employees and Services. London: TUC. —— (2001). Changing Times. A TUC Guide to Work-Life Balance. London: TUC. —— (2003). Equality Opportunities Audit. London: TUC. —— (2005a). TUC Submission: Women and Work Commission. London: TUC. —— (2005b). Work and Families, Choice and Flexibility: TUC Response. London: TUC. Trebilcock, A. (1991). ‘Pour renforcer la présence des femmes aux échelons supérieurs des syndicats: les stratégies du succès’. Revue Internationale du Travail, 130 (4): 451–73. Trot, J. and Zylberberg-Hocquard, M.-H. (2001). ‘Les femmes et le syndicalisme’. In R. Silvera and V. Estournes (eds.), Les Femmes, le Travail et la Société. Paris: VO Editions, pp. 217–46. Unison (2002). Local Government Service Group Annual Report. London: Unison. Walby, S. and Olsen, W. (2002). The Impact of Women’s Position in the Labour Market on Pay and Implications for UK Productivity. London: Women and Equality Unit. Women and Work Commission (2006). Shaping a Fairer Future, Executive Summary and Recommendations. February. London: HMSO. Wood, S., de Menezes, L. M. and Lasoasa, A. (2003). ‘Family-friendly management in Great Britain: testing various perspectives’. Industrial Relations, 42 (2): 221–50.