Blanpain, Roger; Araki, Takashi; Ouchi, Shinya

Decentralizing Industrial Relations and the Role of Labor Unions and Employee Representatives: Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations 61

In countries where collective bargaining is conducted mainly at the industry or regional level, there is often a type of workers' representation at the company or establishment level other than a labor union. Where this double form of worker representation - that is, labor unions and employee representatives - exists, the relationship between the two can present a delicate problem in industrial relations. Decentralizing Industrial Relations is an in-depth country-by-country analysis, for nine major industrial nations, of three essential topics in this area: the relationship between labor unions and employee representatives, the shift in collective bargaining from industry or branch towards the company or establishment level, and the role of labor unions or employee representatives in the flexibilization of labor protective regulations.