Hunt, T. orcid.org/0000-0002-0266-4818 and Connolly, H. (2023) Covid-19 and the work of trade unions: adaptation, transition and renewal. Industrial Relations Journal. ISSN 0019-8692
Abstract
Trade unions face long-term challenges including declining memberships that threaten their influence. COVID-19 created new challenges and possibilities for renewal. This article presents findings from a study conducted during the pandemic, comprising a large survey and interviews that investigated how unions adapted to the changes to working life they and their members faced. Evidence from UK unions shows unions rapidly changing how they worked, particularly in adopting and investing in new technologies. COVID-19 became a trigger for adaptation for unions which helped to meet the challenges created by the pandemic and demonstrated unions' creative ability to adapt and maintain relevance. The article contributes new insights about union renewal and argues that renewal should be understood as a continuous and evolving process of adaptation and transition, shaped as much by internal strategy as external shocks. It argues that confidence within unions about their ability to reform is important for understanding renewal.
Metadata
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. Industrial Relations Journal published by Brian Towers (BRITOW) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. | ||||
Keywords: | COVID-19; membership; participation; technology; union renewal; union work | ||||
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield | ||||
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Research Institutes Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) |
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Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield | ||||
Date Deposited: | 07 Feb 2023 14:25 | ||||
Last Modified: | 20 Feb 2023 16:18 | ||||
Status: | Published online | ||||
Publisher: | Wiley | ||||
Refereed: | Yes | ||||
Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12395 |