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Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society Advance Access originally published online on August 6, 2009
Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society 2009 2(3):429-442; doi:10.1093/cjres/rsp020
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Right arrow J51 - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
Right arrow J52 - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation; Collective Bargaining
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

This article appears in the following Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society issue: Transforming Work: New Forms of Employment and their Regulation [View the issue table of contents]

Trade unions and contingent labour: scale and method

Edmund Heery

Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK, heery{at}cf.ac.uk


  Abstract

In recent years, there has been a trend for trade unions to attempt to represent contingent workers, including agency staff, workers on fixed-term contracts and the self-employed. This article seeks to explain and characterize this development in the UK. The main conclusions are that contingent workers require an "upscaling" of union representation, beyond the workplace, and that methods other than collective bargaining are more important for advancing the interests of this group. These methods include attempts to regulate labour markets unilaterally, provide union services and make use of employment law.

Keywords: agency work, casual work, contingent work, freelance, self-employed, trade union

Received on December 22, 2008. Accepted on July 6, 2009.

JEL classifications: J51, J52, J83


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