Researching Unorganised Workers Experience and Attitudes Orientations to and Experiences of Work Car

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Researching Unorganised Workers Experience and
AttitudesOrientations to and Experiences of
WorkCardiff School of Social Sciences, Cardiff
UniversityOctober 15th 2008

• Anna Pollert
• University of the West of England
• Bristol Business School
• Anna.Pollert_at_uwe.ac.uk

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The Unorganised Worker Routes to Support, Views
on RepresentationESRC Research Project Grant
R000230679

• Qualitative Interviews with 50 Citizens Advice
  Bureaux clients with employment problems
• The Unorganised Vulnerable Worker The Case for
  Union Organising, 2007, London Institute for
  Employment Rights
• The Unrepresented Worker Survey (URWS 2004)
• (Survey with IFF further Statistical Analysis
  with Andy Charlwood).
• CESR Working Paper 11 http//www.uwe.ac.uk/bbs/res
  earch/cesr

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Aims Examine Problems Experienced and Responses

• SAMPLE
• Workers who have had problems at work in
  previous 3 years
• Cognitive testing problem difficulty, concern
  or problem
• Those earning below median in their region
  (calculated as mean over 2001-2004)
• Those not represented by union (i.e. the
  non-unionised and union members in workplace
  without recognition)

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Methods

• Telephone survey
• Random digit dialling (regional representation,
  no sample frame)
• 23,130 dialled number
• 18,270 contacts
• 8,696 refused
• 9,574 agreed to be screened for interview
• 4,666 households with workers

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Stages of Screening

• Those who had experienced difficulty, concern or
  problem in 10 prompted areas
• Pay
• Work relations
• Workload
• Working hours
• Job Security
• Contract/job description
• Health and Safety
• Taking time-off
• Opportunities
• Discrimination
• Pay Screening
• Union Screening

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Further Screening Process
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Sample union experience

• Nationally, 48 workforce had never been union
  members 1983-2001
• URWS sample
• 58 never-members.
• 34 members at some time
• 6 members at time
• Bryson, A. and Gomez, R. (2005) Why Have
  Workers Stopped Joining Unions? Accounting for
  the Rise in Never-Membership in Britain

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Questions/Variables Examined

• All problems in 3 years
• All problems in 1 job (current or previous job)
• Details of each problem area (prompts)
• Whether felt problems infringement of rights
• Did they do anything ?(if not why - prompts)
• Focus on problem pushed hardest
• Any advice (types, what advised, if followed,
  ease of obtaining. If none, why not)?
• Any actions (9 prompted actions didnt do
  anything/stay/exit unprompted)
• Conclusion to action

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Further Questions Awareness, Actions, Attitudes
and Workplace

• Collectivity
• Collective awareness of problems
• Collective Actions on problems
• Attitudes to unions
• Why did never union member never join?
• If former member, why not at present?

• Workplace
• Size/sector
• Workplace Composition
• Hours and contract
• Social and mobile nature of job
• Existence of Disciplinary/Grievance procedures.
• Existence consultative meetings

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Problems experienced One Job
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Main Types of Problem
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Were Workers still in Job with Problems? Exit
and Voice.

• In Which Job in the past 3 years were the
  Problems?
• The current Job 58
• A previous job 42
• The Most Recent job 16
• A job prior to the current or most recent one
  26
• But leaving job does not mean did not take action

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86 TOOK ACTION
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Outcomes to Action

• 47 No Outcome
• 38 Had Outcome (12 negotiations were ongoing -
  15 of women and 8 of men)
• Result more likely for some problems
• work relations (58) pay (49), job security
  (41) and taking time off (40).
• 49 of those with Outcome Satisfied.
• Only 18 of those who acted or 16 of the 501
  people with problems at work (80 people) had
  satisfactory outcome.

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Positive attitudes to unions/individualism

• Agree that unions make a difference to workers
• Do not agree that
• unions are too weak
• that unions are too concerned with employers
  interests
• that unions tend to be militant.
• But generally prefer to deal with management
  themselves if they have a problem at work

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Would a union have helped solve the problem?

• 52.5 thought a union would have helped problem.
• 37.2 thought it would not.
• 10.3 were undecided.
• 40 felt that their experience of problems at
  work made them want to become a member of a trade
  union.
• Slides 15 and 16 Consciousness is contradictory