{"title":"Losing Unequally: Financialisation, Productivity and the Finance Wage Premium","authors":"Giorgos Gouzoulis, Iris Nikolopoulou","doi":"10.1111/irj.70010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.70010","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper provides an expanded analytical framework on the effects of financialisation on the finance wage premium. Current analyses focus on how financial deregulation has increased employee compensation in the financial sectors via rent-sharing. We argue that rising financial payments—the source of financial rents—also induce wage suppression in the rest of the economy. First, nonfinancial corporations pass increases in their financial payments to workers through wage reductions. Second, simultaneously, indebted workers lower their wage demands to avoid unemployment and personal default. Thus, understanding the growth of the finance wage premium requires scrutinising the impact of business and household indebtedness. To evaluate this argument, we use quarterly data from Eurostat for Greece over the period 1999Q1–2021Q3, and we show that increases in all components of private debt are strongly associated with positive changes in the finance wage premium.</p>","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"57 1","pages":"32-46"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irj.70010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145909336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eduardo Mendoza Montoya, Carlos Eduardo Mendoza Leal
{"title":"Do Labor Action Plans Work? Evidence From the U.S.–Colombia Labor Action Plan and Union Rights Violations","authors":"Eduardo Mendoza Montoya, Carlos Eduardo Mendoza Leal","doi":"10.1111/irj.70011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.70011","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Using judicial data, this study evaluates the impact of Colombia's Labor Action Plan (PAL) on Violations of Freedom of Work and Association. Findings show affected municipalities doubled post-PAL, with predictors shifting from institutional presence to poverty and violent crime, underscoring persistent enforcement gaps in labor rights in Latin America.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"57 1","pages":"20-31"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145905139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jessica Borg, Justine Ferrer, Timothy Bartram, Patricia Pariona Cabrera, Hannah Meacham, Peter Holland
{"title":"Enterprise Bargaining as a Lens to Understand the Relationship Between Union Leaders and Members: A Case Study of an Australian Frontline Workers' Union","authors":"Jessica Borg, Justine Ferrer, Timothy Bartram, Patricia Pariona Cabrera, Hannah Meacham, Peter Holland","doi":"10.1111/irj.70009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.70009","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Following recent enterprise bargaining negotiations, which led to a majority ‘No’ vote by Australian frontline service union members, we survey 9834 members and examine factors that led to such voting decisions. We identified growing heterogeneity of members and their growing dissatisfaction. Our study raises important implications for union democracy.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"57 1","pages":"3-19"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145904911","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Devolution and Employment Relations in Northern Ireland","authors":"Niall Cullinane","doi":"10.1111/irj.70008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.70008","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article examines the impact of devolution on employment relations and trade union dynamics in Northern Ireland within the unique framework of its power-sharing institutions. It considers how employment policy has developed under devolution, given that employment law is a devolved matter for the region. It also seeks to address what influence the trade union movement has had on the devolved political arrangements. The article argues that the governing administration has engaged in limited innovation in employment law, although there is evidence of intended and unintended divergence from Westminster policy. It is proposed that while the trade union movement played a critical role under Direct Rule during “the Troubles,” its influence has waned since devolution, although it retains pockets of influence within the local political structure.</p>","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"56 6","pages":"482-491"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irj.70008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145435996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Devolution and Industrial Relations: An Overview","authors":"Edmund Heery","doi":"10.1111/irj.70007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.70007","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article presents an overview of how industrial relations have been shaped by constitutional devolution across the United Kingdom. It shows that the devolved national governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and English regional authorities led by Metro Mayors, have developed distinctive industrial relations policies that have led to variation in labour market regulation. These policies have typically been developed under the rubric of ‘fair work’ and have been pursued through a variety of methods. The latter include acting as a ‘good employer’, legislation, public procurement, and soft forms of regulation such as good employment charters which have been widely adopted by devolved authorities. The article concludes by reviewing the debate over devolution within industrial relations and notes how political change might foster further experimentation in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"56 6","pages":"472-481"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irj.70007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145435991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Timing is Everything: Lessons From a Trade Union Campaign for a ‘Right to Disconnect’","authors":"Caroline Murphy","doi":"10.1111/irj.70002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.70002","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In the context of reduced opportunities for traditional forms of union organising, this paper asks: how well do digital campaigns facilitate the advancement of trade union aims? The paper examines a campaign to secure a Right to Disconnect (RtD) for workers in the financial services sector in Ireland. Through interviews with key actors including union organisers and activists, as well as an in-depth examination of secondary data, including union social media, policy documentation and survey data, this paper outlines the strategies underpinning the campaign, the techniques employed at various stages, and the outcomes achieved. The findings demonstrate how unions can advance their regulatory function through organising and contributes to our practical understanding of the orchestration of digital campaigns through a multifaceted approach, strategically targeting different stakeholders concurrently.</p>","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"56 6","pages":"461-471"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irj.70002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145436501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Value of Industrial Relations: Contemporary Work and Employment in Britain By Andy Hodder and Stephen Mustchin (eds.), Bristol University Press, 2024. 158 pp. £27.99 (paperback). ISBN: 978-1-52-923695-8","authors":"Peter Prowse","doi":"10.1111/irj.70004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.70004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"56 6","pages":"492-493"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145436307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brendan McCarthy, Michelle O'Sullivan, Elaine Doyle, Joan Ballantine
{"title":"‘Good Workers’ and the Moulding of Employee Voice and Silence in Big 4 Firms","authors":"Brendan McCarthy, Michelle O'Sullivan, Elaine Doyle, Joan Ballantine","doi":"10.1111/irj.70006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.70006","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article examines voice and silence on workplace problems in Big 4 professional service firms. Based on interviews in Ireland, workers reported problems in relation to workload and hours, underperforming colleagues, mistreatment, pay, leave time, and promotion. Silence was the dominant response reflecting workers' implicit understanding of organisationally desired worker attributes. Where voice occurred, it was individual and informal. Our analysis places voice as a site of antagonistic worker-management relations, and we contribute to the emerging labour process critique of employee resilience as a tool of management control.</p>","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"56 6","pages":"451-460"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irj.70006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145436345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hard-to-Reach Insider Actors on Light-Touch Labour Market Regulation in the UK: Compliance, Deterrence, and Intelligence?","authors":"Ian Clark","doi":"10.1111/irj.70005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.70005","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Actors who deliver state policy on low wage precarious workers on the front-line manage coercion and exploitation in the workplace by accepting the presence of both through permissiveness rather than seeking enforcement of labour market regulations. To develop this argument the article examines permissiveness in compliance, deterrence, and intelligence approaches used by regulators and enforcement agencies. The article provides a contribution to understanding the limitations of current approaches to labour market regulation which oversee noncompliance, confine deterrence activities to specific sectors, and use intelligence sources for law enforcement rather than labour market enforcement. The contribution does so by examining enforcement agency actors, and regulatory actors as hard-to-engage actors who play a critical part in the formulation labour market regulation policy on the front-line.</p>","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"56 6","pages":"441-450"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irj.70005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145436347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Explaining the Autonomy-Control-Paradox With the Rise of Remote Work","authors":"Nina-Sophie Fritsch, Wyatt Sophia, Bernd Liedl","doi":"10.1111/irj.70000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.70000","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In the digital age, working remotely has become the new normal for many employees in most European countries. In Austria too, the context of the present study, remote work was once considered to be the exception rather than the rule. Nevertheless, it became indispensable for an unforeseen number of employees, especially within the last couple of years. In line with this transformation of the labour market, more flexibility over both time and place of work leads to a sense of more autonomy for employees. However, the increase of autonomy comes with paradoxical consequences as the new circumstances introduce different modes of control. Therefore, the present paper aims to explain how the autonomy-control paradox works from an employee's perspective, by applying a two-phase explanatory sequential mixed methods design. Our results are based on quantitative data using the Micro Census as well as the Austrian AKCOVID Panel Survey and a set of 33 problem-centred semi-structured interviews. The findings of our quantitative study indicate that especially employees regularly working remotely perceive increased levels of both autonomy and control. The analyses of our qualitative interviews deepen the understanding of this paradox as we discuss eight subcategories in an exemplary typology representing ideal-typical characteristics on a continuum where we evaluate individual preferences and the actual working situation using a schematic illustration in a two-dimensional model.</p>","PeriodicalId":46619,"journal":{"name":"INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL","volume":"56 6","pages":"427-440"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/irj.70000","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145436346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}