Non‐union employee representation: exploring the efficacy of the voice process
| Date | 01 June 2005 |
| Published date | 01 June 2005 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450510591602 |
| Pages | 272-288 |
| Author | Peter Butler |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Non-union employee
representation: exploring the
efficacy of the voice process
Peter Butler
Centre for Labour Market Studies, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
Abstract
Purpose – Recent years have witnessed a growing academic preoccupation with the theme of
employee voice. This article seeks to examine the efficacy of non-union forms of employee
representation (NERs).
Design/methodology/approach – Further to an exploration of the above theme, case study
research was carried out in an organisation possessing a relatively mature representative structure.
Findings – The findings broadly support the extant literature in exposing key deficiencies with
respect to this mode of voice. The body under review is seen to represent a largely unavailing vehicle
for the furtherance of employee interests – particularly within the arena of pay determination.
Research limitations/implications – In the light of the above findings the policy implications are
briefly explored. Reservations are expressed regarding the ability of the Information and Consultation
Directive to extend voice into the non-union sector.
Originality/value – In contrast with the earlier, predominantly descriptive studies of NERs, the
theme of “voice” is ensconced within a theoretically informed analysis. This allows the paper to reach a
more textured set of conclusions. The shortcomings in voice are systematically tracked to deficiencies
in two principal areas – power and autonomy.
Keywords Employee representatives, Non-unionism, Industrial relations,Joint consultations,
United Kingdom
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
A defining feature of UK industrial relations over the last twenty years or so has been
the decline of trade unionism. This is evidenced in diminishing trade union
membership and the reduced importance of collective bargaining (see Cully et al., 1999).
The waning of trade unionism, and the appearance of a purported representation gap
(Towers, 1997), has prompted academic enquiries into the efficacy of emergent
alternative forms of employee voice. These have been carried out amid concerns that
workers now have a reduced capacity to initiate issues and articulate grievances
(Benson, 2000, p. 453). This literature has included both empirical (Bryson, 2004;
Millward et al., 2000) and more philosophically grounded discussions (see, in
particular, Greenfield and Pleasure, 1993). Over the same period, academic
preoccupation with the theme of HRM has seen the emergence of a parallel but
distinct discourse. From this perspective, prescriptions are less concerned with voice
per se, and the related issues of social justice and organisational democracy, and more
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
The author would like to thank Michael Terry (University of Warwick), Alan Felstead (Centre for
Labour Market Studies, University of Leicester) and an anonymous referee for comments on an
earlier draft of this paper.
ER
27,3
272
Employee Relations
Vol. 27 No. 3, 2005
pp. 272-288
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425450510591602
focussed on the alleged business benefits of dialogue (McCabe and Lewin, 1992; Sako,
1998). This agenda has been subsumed most recently within the debate surrounding
the implementation of high performance work systems (Black and Lynch, 2004). In this
context, the concept of employee commitment has assumed importance as a significant
factor impacting on organisational performance (Guest, 2002, p. 38). Given that
commitment is commonly viewed as being allied to notions of involvement and
empowerment, organisations are increasingly being extolled to “recognise the
importance, even the necessity, of maximising employee voice” (McCabe and Lewin,
1992, p. 112).
In view of this increasing preoccupation, it is somewhat anomalous that the topic of
non-union voice has failed to emerge in its own right as a significant and substantive
field of enquiry. McLoughlin and Gourlay’s (1994, p. 163) assertion that: “how
employees are managed without unions and the nature of relations with employees
where unions are absent is an area ripe for further study”, was made a decade ago, but
still carries resonance today. This is particularly the case given the growing
importance of non-union modes of representation (NERs). In 1998, 22 per cent of
non-union workplaces reported the presence of NERs (Cully et al., 1999, p. 224). As
Terry (1999, p. 18) has argued, this number of non-union establishments these days,
“represents a lot of workplaces and a large number of employees”.
Nevertheless, qualitative data on NERs is limited and piecemeal, consisting largely
of a handful of isolated case studies (see below), along with some impressionistic
Incomes Data Services (IDS, 1989, 1994, 1999) reports. As Millward et al. (2000, p. 108)
argue, given the decline in trade union coverage “it is now ever more pertinent to
examine the incidence of other forms of employee voice”. Incidence per se, however,
tells us little if anything about the dynamics and outcomes of the voice process.
Ultimately there is a need for in-depth qualitative data to unravel such issues. This
paper seeks to contribute to this area by exploring the efficacy of the voice process in
one non-union organisation, “MediCo”, possessing a relatively mature representative
body.
This paper is structured as follows. First, the literature pertaining to NERs is
reviewed. Drawing upon this, an analytical framework is proposed as a means of more
fully delving into the dynamics of this mode of voice. This is followed by some
background information on both the case study company and the representative body,
superseded by a short methodological synopsis. In the main body of the paper the
substantive findings are presented, with the voice process subjected to a thorough and
searching examination. In the closing section we review the findings and briefly
contemplate the policy implications.
Previous research
There have been only a few studies of employee voice in the context of NERs (e.g.
Broad, 1994; Cressey et al., 1985; Gollan, 2001, 2002, 2003; Kirkbride, 1986a, b; Lloyd,
2001; Watling and Snook, 2001)[1]. At an empirical level, these provide important and
invaluable data, mapping out the difficulties inherent in the introduction and
maintenance of in-house representative structures. Nevertheless, this literature is
essentially a-theoretical and offers a primarily descriptive account. Although various
deficiencies are catalogued, this literature fails to connect these into a systematic
analysis.
Efficacy of the
voice process
273
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