Union substitution in the British Caribbean
by Noel M. Cowell, Gangaram Singh
International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management (IJHRDM), Vol. 2, No. 3/4, 2002

Abstract: It is becoming a common practice for an employer to decollectivise the employment relationship by engineering a replacement of the collective agreement with individual fixed-term contracts of employment. In this study, we present the results of a survey of 89 workers employed at a Jamaican manufacturing enterprise in the wake of a conversion from permanent to fixed-term contracts of employment. The responses of the 60 workers who had worked in the company prior to the conversion indicated that they felt better off as contract workers and were more satisfied with various aspects of the employment relationship. On the other hand, the same set of workers reported that several aspects of communication and grievance administration were better before the conversion. In addition, they were more likely to disagree than to agree that the ousted union had been effective. Moreover, they were more likely to agree than to disagree that unions in general are necessary. In the final section of the paper, we discuss the results and draw implications for institutions and public policy.

Online publication date: Mon, 18-Aug-2003

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management (IJHRDM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com