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Workplace Mediation and Trade Unions: Friends Or Foes?

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Workplace Mediation and Trade Unions: Friends Or Foes? Workplace Mediation and Trade Unions: Friends or Foes? A study of UK trade unions’ attitudes and experiences. by Virginia Elizabeth Branney Volume 1 of 2 A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Lancashire January 2020 STUDENT DECLARATION FORM Type of Award Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) School Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise 1. Concurrent registration for two or more academic awards I declare that while registered for the research degree, I was with the University’s specific permission, an enrolled student for the following award: Certificate in Teaching Toolkit 2. Material submitted for another award I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been used in any other submission for an academic award and is solely my own work. 3. Use of a Proof-reader No proof-reading service was used in the compilation of this thesis. 4. Signature of Candidate 5. Print name: Virginia Branney ABSTRACT Workplace mediation is a facilitative process for dealing with conflict between individuals in the workplace whereby a third party (the mediator), assists them to reach a mutually agreed outcome. Existing literature on the contemporary management of individual conflict in UK organisations includes studies of unionised employers’ use of workplace mediation. What distinguishes this study is its focus on trade union attitudes towards, and experiences of, workplace mediation, and its theoretically based approach. The findings derive mainly from exploratory multiple case studies of the involvement of UNISON and Communication Workers Union (CWU) representatives with mediation in the workplace. The UNISON cases feature ‘workplace mediation’ of individual employees’ grievances in different public sector organisations. In contrast, the CWU cases feature ‘industrial relations (IR) mediation’, conducted at workplace level, under the auspices of a collective dispute resolution procedure agreed nationally by the Royal Mail and CWU. Notwithstanding the differences between workplace and IR mediation, including the nature of union involvement, both modes of mediation apply the facilitative practice model associated with the resolution of individual grievances. The findings are analysed from different industrial relations perspectives on work (Heery, 2016) in relation to three themes: incorporation, union displacement and union revitalisation. From a critical pluralist perspective, the study concludes that the extent to which workplace mediation and trade unions could be considered “friends” or “foes” depended on a range of contextual factors. In summary, these factors were employers’ objectives in adopting mediation in the workplace; the degree to which employers involved recognised unions in introducing and operating workplace mediation in their organisations; and the willingness and capacity of trade unions to independently engage with employers over its adoption and use. It is argued that unions could better equip their representatives to critically appraise the ideology and core tenets underpinning the practice of UK workplace mediation. This would assist in enabling unions to enhance employee voice and equity in the process and avoid the potential pitfalls of its use in resolving workplace conflict. TABLE OF CONTENTS – Volume 1 LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. 7 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 8 Workplace mediation and trade unions - friends or foes? ........................................... 8 Workplace mediation – a definition ............................................................................. 8 Take-up and use of workplace mediation in the UK - an overview .............................. 9 The relevance of the study to contemporary employment relations ........................ 13 Research aim ............................................................................................................... 15 The themes: incorporation, displacement and union revitalisation .......................... 16 The research questions ............................................................................................... 20 Synopsis of the methodology ...................................................................................... 21 Structure of the thesis ................................................................................................. 23 CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 26 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 26 Part 1: Industrial relations perspectives and theory................................................... 26 Part 2: Individualised conflict and the role of trade unions ....................................... 46 Part 3: Mediation ........................................................................................................ 63 Part 4: UK workplace mediation and trade unions – an overview ............................. 76 UK workplace mediation in unionised organisations – reviewing the literature ....... 86 CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 113 Research strategy ...................................................................................................... 113 Research design ........................................................................................................ 115 The first phase of data collection .............................................................................. 116 The second phase of data collection: the case studies ............................................. 121 Researcher positionality ............................................................................................ 142 Collation, analysis and interpretation of data .......................................................... 146 Limitations of the study ............................................................................................ 149 CHAPTER THREE: INTRODUCING WORKPLACE MEDIATION ......................................... 155 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 155 TUC and Scottish TUC contemporary positions on workplace mediation ................ 156 Introducing Voluntary (IR) Mediation in Royal Mail ................................................. 157 Introducing workplace mediation – UNISON experiences ....................................... 171 Union in-house mediators: Incorporation or independent engagement? ............... 191 CHAPTER FOUR: THE OPERATION OF WORKPLACE MEDIATION .................................. 200 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 200 Union involvement in gate-keeping and the selection of cases for mediation ........ 200 Influencing union members’ choices - which dispute resolution option to take? ... 205 The mediation process: Union representatives’ views and experiences ................. 213 Accompaniment in mediation ................................................................................... 225 CHAPTER FIVE: OUTCOMES AND IMPACT OF WORKPLACE MEDIATION USE FOR TRADE UNIONS ......................................................................................................................... 242 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 242 CWU: IR mediation outcomes – incorporation or independent engagement? ....... 242 CWU: The impact of IR mediation - incorporation or independent engagement? .. 251 UNISON: Workplace mediation outcomes – incorporation or independent engagement? ............................................................................................................ 254 UNISON: The impact of workplace mediation - incorporation or independent engagement? ............................................................................................................ 261 Impact of the use of mediation: Extending unions’ collective influence at the workplace? ................................................................................................................ 265 Union support for mediation – impact on recruitment ............................................ 271 Mediation in the workplace: Institutional benefits for unions ................................. 277 IR and workplace mediation: Frequency of use and fragility ................................... 279 CHAPTER SIX: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ............................................................. 282 Original contribution to knowledge .......................................................................... 282 Discussion of the findings ......................................................................................... 286 Concluding summary ................................................................................................. 298 Implications of the findings for UK trade unions ...................................................... 299 Areas for future study ............................................................................................... 308 REFERENCES
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