Equity
Bargaining/Bargaining Equity
Linda Briskin (lbriskin@yorku.ca)
Toronto: Centre for Research on Work and Society
(CRWS), York University, 2006. (112 pages)
Restructuring
Work and Labour in the New Economy
(Initiatives on
the New Economy)
Working Paper
Series
2006 - 01
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ABSTRACT:
Drawing on material from the United Kingdom and other countries of the European Union, the United States, Australia and Canada, this paper considers the following themes relevant to equity bargaining/bargaining equity: labour market shifts, state restructuring and bargaining equity; bargaining equity in the context of equal opportunity and human rights legislation; the equity agenda in collective bargaining which includes an exploration of workplace versus family-friendly flexibility; strategies for challenging the generic worker in collective agreements; the challenge of desegregating the demographics and process of negotiations; and finally, the importance of building union support for equity bargaining and bargaining equity, both inside unions and through coalitions and alliances.
The Resources section of this document includes an annotated list of union documents relevant to equity bargaining, Canadian government sources on equity bargaining, searchable databases, an annotated bibliography of secondary sources, information on the extensive research project on Equal Opportunity and Collective Bargaining in the European Union, annotations of relevant material from the International Labour Office (ILO), and an index by subject.
It is hoped that this document will offer a multitude of ideas about how to bargain on any particular equity issue, facilitate the cross-fertilization of equity bargaining strategies across unions, and provide support to equity researchers in unions and universities. This document also demonstrates a convergence of equity bargaining concerns across vastly differing union movements, and cultural and national contexts. Indeed, much can be learned from the union organizing, government initiatives and research in other countries, in particular, in the European Union.