Employment flexibility and industrial relations arrangements at organisation level. A comparison of five European countries
| Published date | 01 October 1998 |
| Date | 01 October 1998 |
| Pages | 430-442 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425459810238693 |
| Author | Patrick Gunnigle,Thomas Turner,Michael Morley |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Employee
Relations
20,5
430
Employment flexibility and
industrial relations
arrangements at organisation
level
A comparison of five European countries
Patrick Gunnigle, Thomas Turner and Michael Morley
Employment Relations Research Unit, University of Limerick, Limerick,
Ireland
Introduction
A major trend among European organisations over the past two decades has
been a shift towards greater functional, numerical and financial flexibility (see,
for example, Bielenski et al., 1992; Boyer, 1988; Mayne et al., 1997; Meulders et
al., 1996; Roche et al., 1996). The “flexible firm” concept is generally associated
with the work of Atkinson (1984) who suggested the emergence of an
organisational model comprising a core and peripheral workforce. This model
is based on the adoption of three key flexibility forms: numerical, functional
and financial flexibility. However, empirical evidence suggests that the adoption
of these flexibility forms differs considerably between countries. There is also
evidence of considerable variation in the take-up of different flexibility forms
according to industrial sector, employment types and the nature of the
employment relationship (see, for, example, Bramble, 1988; Bridges and
Villemez, 1991; Davis-Blake and Uzzi, 1993; Heather et al., 1996; Hunter et al.,
1993; Pollert, 1988).
Employment flexibility and industrial relations
Undoubtedly a major locus of debate at European Union policy level has been
the issue of numerical flexibility in employment arrangements. Numerical
flexibility reflects the organisation’s ability to increase or decrease employment
quickly in line with fluctuations in business demand. Numerical flexibility has
very significant industrial relations connotations. European trade unions have
a long tradition of seeking to improve employment security. However, the past
decade has seen a trend towards increasing numerical flexibility as a key
initiative in improving labour market flexibility in Europe (Sparrow and
Hiltrop, 1994). Longitudinal data from the Cranet-E project indicates a marked
increase in numerical flexibility forms across many European countries
(Brewster et al., 1993; 1997). This development reinforces trends in national
statistics on the proliferation of non-standard employment forms: the number of
Employee Relations,
Vol. 20 No. 5, 1998, pp. 430-442,
© MCBUniversity Press, 0142-5455
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