Colfer Phd Final Submitted 04.12.18 Trade Union Influence Under
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This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics and International Studies. Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, December 2017 i Declaration This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other university or similar institution except as specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other university or similar institution. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit. i There's a simple doctrine: outside of a person's love, the most sacred thing that they can give is their labour. And somehow or another along the way, we tend to forget that. Labour is a very precious thing that you have. Anytime that you can combine labour with love, you've made a good merger. -James Carville ii Acknowledgements I want to thank the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the University of Cambridge Home and European Scholarship Scheme (CHESS), Pembroke College, the estate of the late Professor Monica Partridge, and the Cambridge Political Economy Society for their generous funding and support throughout my doctoral research. I also want to thank the European Trade Union Institute and the American College of Athens, especially Professor Eleni Patra, for supporting me during fieldwork in Brussels and Athens respectively. I would in addition like to thank my interviewees and advisers, who gave of their time so generously. I wish to especially acknowledge the support of Dr Christos Ioannou in Athens, Dr Kurt Vandaele in Brussels, and Kevin P. O’Kelly in Dublin for dealing patiently with my questions, for reading relevant passages of this thesis, and for providing invaluable feedback. The staff at the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge were enormously helpful and kind throughout my doctoral research, and I learned a great deal from interacting with our excellent faculty. I wish to particularly acknowledge Dr Chris Bickerton, Professor David Runciman, Professor Brendan Simms, Dr Peter Sloman, Dr Julie Smith, and Dr Pieter Van Houten, and for their advice, encouragement and fellowship. I am similarly grateful to Professor Kenneth Armstrong at the Faculty of Law. It has been a delight and a privilege to be part of the community at Pembroke College, Cambridge. During my PhD research I’ve had the pleasure of being a porter, a bedder, a supervisor, a part of the undergraduate admissions team, and a graduate student. I’ve made excellent friends, have had thousands of interesting and important conversations and experiences, and I’ve really enjoyed myself. I’d particularly like to thank Lord Chris Smith, Dr Becky Coombs, the porters, and the kitchen and housekeeping staff for helping us all keep body and soul together, and for creating the truly exceptional community that we have. There are too many friends to mention, but they know who they are. I particularly wish to acknowledge those who I worked alongside in the graduate cave, often till the small hours, and for the conversations we had and the problems we’d solve if only they put us in charge. I’m proud to be in the first generation of my family to go to university, and the first to undertake a PhD. My parents never asked any questions when I said that I wanted to go back to college to read books for a living, and I thank them for that. My siblings, godmother, and extended family also mercifully asked no questions, and have been incredibly supportive during my doctoral research and throughout all of my endeavours. Finally, I want to thank my supervisor Professor William Brown for his support, guidance and friendship, and my second supervisor Dr Geoffrey Edwards for the same. I’ve been extremely fortunate to work with such great people, and I’ve learned more than I can ever express. iii Table of contents List of abbreviations used more than once ..................................................................................... vii List of tables ....................................................................................................................... xiv List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1 – Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Trade unions and Europe .............................................................................................................. 2 Union Challenges .......................................................................................................................... 5 European industrial relations........................................................................................................ 6 European integration .................................................................................................................... 7 European integration and industrial relations .............................................................................. 8 European integration and trade unions ...................................................................................... 10 European integration conclusions............................................................................................... 12 Research questions ..................................................................................................................... 13 Locating this study ........................................................................................................................... 15 A note on terms ............................................................................................................................... 15 Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 16 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 22 Outline of the rest of this study .................................................................................................. 23 Section I – Social, political and economic context – the European crises. .......................... 25 Chapter 2: Europe and its crises ......................................................................................... 27 Part I: The global crises in Europe- a potentially lethal cocktail .................................................. 27 Part II: Challenges inherent in the EU’s institutional infrastructure ............................................ 30 The Eurozone................................................................................................................................... 30 The theory of optimum currency area.............................................................................................. 31 Crisis in the Eurozone ...................................................................................................................... 32 Recent key ECJ decisions in the field of social and industrial relations policy ............................. 33 Conclusions - Europe and its crises ............................................................................................. 35 Part III: The challenges facing trade unions ................................................................................ 36 Part IV: The European Social Model ............................................................................................ 42 Conclusions - The EU’s ‘lethal incompleteness’ ........................................................................... 43 Chapter 3 Europe’s crisis responses, and their consequences............................................ 45 Part I Crisis responses ................................................................................................................. 46 Austerity, bailouts and the Troika .................................................................................................... 46 New economic governance: Europe’s ‘silent revolution’ .................................................................. 49 Part II Consequences for industrial relations, the citizen, and the EU ......................................... 51 Impact of the crisis on industrial relations practices ......................................................................... 51 Social, political and economic consequences ................................................................................... 55 Part III Consequences for the European Union ........................................................................... 57 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 59 iv Section II Theoretical context – union power and influence .............................................. 61 Chapter 4: The Orientations of European Trade Unions .................................................... 63 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................