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New Zealand has had a long history of state-sponsored trade unionism, with up to 60% of the workforce being employed under the terms and conditions of a union negotiated collective bargain. It had adopted systems of industrial conciliation and arbitration as a means of resolving disputes over wage fixing and related matters. However, 2 major rewrites of legislation, the Labor Relations Act 1987 and the Employment Contracts Act 1991, have made a significant shift in these fundamentals. It is estimated that collective bargaining has fallen by nearly 60% in the 2 years since the Act took effect. Multi-employer bargaining has largely collapsed. Unions lost some 90,000 members in the first 7 months under the new system and an additional 86,000 in the most recent year - an aggregate loss of almost 30% of membership in less than 2 years. If the Employment Contracts Act regime continues, further fragmentation of unions may occur and collective bargaining will continue to collapse.

The article reviews the book, "Understanding Industrial Organisations : Theoritical Perspectives in Industrial Sociology," by Richard K. Brown.

Les transformations de l'organisation du travail reposent sur les relations de confiance entre les principaux agents du travail et de la gestion. Nous présentons quatre cas de coopération concertée vers une réorganisation de la production dans des établissements manufacturiers syndiqués. Le processus de mise en confiance se fonde sur la présence de personnes réputées et compétentes. La répétition de l'expérience, la durée des contacts interpersonnels et l'échange d'informations jugées crédibles permettent de consolider la confiance entre les représentants syndicaux et les membres de la direction qui solutionnent des problèmes particuliers au processus de transformation de l'organisation du travail dans leur établissement. Les ententes patronales syndicales sont de nature consensuelle et permettent la flexibilité recherchée par les acteurs. Des facteurs hors de leur contrôle les incitent toutefois à cosigner ces ententes et à cristalliser de nouvelles formes de relations fondées sur la coopération.

The article reviews the book, "Trading Freedom: How Free Trade Affects our Lives, Work and Environment," edited by John Cavanagh, John Gershman, Karen Baker and Gretchen Helmke.

Les lois Auroux de 1982 ont impulsé, en France, un mouvement de décentralisation des relations professionnelles. On peut effectivement constater, au cours de la dernière décennie, un développement notable des accords d'entreprise. Aux yeux de l'observateur, ce mouvement ne doit pas occulter, malgré tout, ni la pérennité des accords de branche, ni l'importante variable des accords d'entreprise selon les secteurs et les tailles d'entreprise ni, enfin, le fait que la dynamique n'est pas nécessairement la même d'un thème de négociation à l'autre. Une enquête menée dans deux secteurs (électronique et santé) permet de spécifier les limites de la décentralisation en matière de négociation sur l'emploi.

A study examined the effects of various factors underlying variations in the time taken to certify unions in British Columbia. A multivariate regression model with granting time as the dependent variable was employed, with dummy variables for the certification process, unfair labor practice complaints, region, industry union, and time period as the independent variables. The size of the union bargaining unit was considered, also. The results show that the certification process is the most important determinant of granting time. Most of the explanatory power of the model was obtained from the certification process and region regressors.

The article reviews the book, "The Politics of Continuity: British Foreign Policy and the Labour Government: 1945-46," by John Saville.

The article reviews the book, "Maritime Capital: The Shipping Industry in Atlantic Canada, 1820-1914," by Eric Sager and Gerald Panting.

The article reviews the book, "People in Struggle: The Life and Art of Bill Stapleton," by C. H. Gervais.

The editor takes note of two papers published in the journal as well as editorial board members who received awards.

In 1919 at the height of the post-war labour revolt,the Royal Canadian Mounted Police took responsibility for national security. This volume contains archival materials and other materials received through Canadian Access to Information legislation. It includes lists of personal files, subject files, and security bulletins circulated to the government. In general the material provides an excellent overview of the genesis of the Canadian state security system. --Publisher's description

The article deals with various deregulatory efforts in relation to labour relations and labour markets in Germany. The analysis differentiates between flexibilisation as a strategy of employers and deregulation as a collection of actions taken by the state, which currently provide the political flanks for employers' efforts towards flexibility. The central measures of German deregulation are described and criticized in theoretical and empirical perspective. A controlled form of flexibility instead of a market driven, non-controlled flexibility is given preferential treatment. Proposals are made for defensive, compensatory steps towards re-regulation; offensive, formative forms of regulation are discussed.

The article reviews the book, "On Strike at Hormel: The Struggle for a Democratic Labor Movement," by Hardy Green.

The article reviews the book, "On Wisconsin Women: Working for Their Rights From Settlement to Suffrage," by Genevieve G. McBride.

The experiences of working women are explored in Women, Work, and Place. Tied together by the conceptual theme "place matters," the essays emphasize the social, cultural, economic, historical, and geographical contexts in which women work, and the effect of specific conditions on women's experiences. Topics include the transformation of the work force in nineteenth-century Montreal (Bettina Bradbury), feminization of skill in the British garment industry (Allison Kaye), the relationship between work and family for Japanese immigrant women in Canada (Audrey Kobayashi), experiences of women during a labour dispute in Ontario (Joy Parr), contemporary restructuring of the labour force in the United States (Susan Christopherson) and in an urban context in Montreal (Damaris Rose and Paul Villeneuve), the effect of gentrification on women's work roles (Liz Bondi), inequality in the work force (Sylvia Gold), and theoretical issues involved in understanding women in the contemporary city (Linda Peake). An introductory essay provides a review of current issues. --Publisher's description

The public is concerned about whether the management careers of women are hindered by discrimination and whether women and men in management who try to balance career and family are penalized for doing so. In an attempt to address those questions, data from a 1989 survey of over 600 middle-level managers im a large Canadian corporation were analyzed to examine the characteristics of jobs held by career-family and career-primary men and women. Hypotheses were developed based on human capital theory, statistical discrimination theory, and gender role congruence theory. Examining career outcomes suggested that participation in household labor had a significantly more negative association with men's hierarchical level than with women's.

A study investigates the impact of an insurance premium experience rating mechanism that is designed to induce firms to reduce the incidence of workplace accidents and accident claims costs. Logit model analysis of survey-response data and case study information is used to analyze the impact of the introduction of workers' compensation insurance premium experience rating on employer behavior in Ontario, Canada. The main result is that the financial incentives provided by experience rating have induced employers to alter their behaviors and undertake strategies aimed at accident prevention (reducing accident frequency rates) and reducing workers' compensation claims cost.

A model of a critical union commitment dimension - willingness to work for the union - is proposed and tested. Given the decline in union density in most advanced industrial societies, unions all over face the need for increased member activism. Organization and social psychological theories, along with previous empirical research, are used to develop the conceptual model, measures, and predictions. These predictions are tested via a 2-stage regression model, using data from a large sample of Swedish professional union members. As predicted, both attitudinal commitment and subjective norms are critical influences on the individual's willingness to work on behalf of the union. These results suggest that future research on union participation should focus on the determinants of behavioral intentions given the high correlation between willingness to work for the union and actual participation.

The article reviews the books, "Histoire des idées sociologiques, Tome I : Des origines à Weber; Tome 2 : De Parsons aux contemporains," by Michel Lallement.

The article reviews the book, "Working Women of Collar City: Gender, Class, and Community in Tory, 1864-86," by Carole Turbin.