ILPC 2027

Reinforced fragmentation or coherent cooperation? The impact of the 2008 representativeness reform on local union strategy in the French automobile industry. Debates on the 'institutionalisation' of France’s trade unions have dominated the French literature for some time, where institutionalisation is typified by unions’ increased dependence on legal, financial and organisational resources provided by the state, local authorities and employers (Andolfatto and Labbé, 2012). This institutionalisation is largely attributed to government interventions, which have sought to strengthen France’s traditionally weak and divided unions. Representative status was awarded to the five major union confederations in 1966, guaranteeing any local or sectoral union affiliated with one of these confederations access to workplaces without having to prove representative status (Connolly, 2010). France’s industrial relations are in a period of transition. Faced with increased decentralisation of collective bargaining, dwindling membership and a more internationally mobile capital, French trade unions have been under pressure for some time. However, a reform implemented in 2013 has radically changed the rules regarding trade union representativeness, emphasising the ‘electoral audience’ rather than affiliation to one of the nationally representative confederations. France has particularly high number of rival confederations which are deeply divided along religious, political and ideological lines. However, recent research suggests that activists are becoming more concerned for unions’ institutional security than with defending a specific ideological position (Connolly, 2010; Le Queux and Sainsaulieu, 2010). it is plausible that the new rules on representativeness could foster genuine, coherent cooperation or even mergers between unions so as to ensure a certain level of support (Pernot, 2010). On the other hand, it has been suggested that the reform could serve to reinforce union fragmentation by emphasising local union autonomy from national confederations, provoking local unions to participate in ad hoc alliances to win votes in workplace elections that may not be consistent with confederal ideology (Pernot, 2010). Thus, the focus of this study is to review the impact of the representativeness reform on union strategy at local level in an attempt to arbitrate between these two different interpretations. This research draws on interviews with local trade union representatives to examine union strategy at Renault and PSA Peugeot-Citroën (PSA) sites in the wake of the first workplace election results under the new rules. In pursuing this objective, the research provides evidence on union response to institutional change. The study also builds upon existing inter-union cooperation research in acknowledging Lévesque and Murray’s (2010) call to ‘disentangle’ inter-union dynamics at local level, which have largely been overlooked in the literature in this area (Sinclair, 2006). The French auto sector provides an interesting context in which to examine these dynamics in terms of its significance both to the country’s economy as an exporter and employer, and its historical status as a trade union stronghold (Jaidi and Thévenet, 2012; Beaud and Pialoux, 1999). A rather disjointed interpretation of union interaction emerges from the findings, with some local union sections participating in electoral alliances so as to obtain enough votes in workplace elections to survive, and others losing their representative status as a result of the new rules. Significantly, the findings vary across plants, even within the same company, indicating that the reform has reinforced union fragmentation by eliciting behaviour from local unions that is not in line with confederal actions elsewhere. References Andolfatto, D. and Labbé, D. (2012) ‘The Future of The French Trade Unions’, Management Revue, 23(4), pp. 341-352. Beaud, S. and Pialoux, M. (1999) Retour sur la condition ouvrière, Paris: Fayard. Connolly, H. (2010) Renewal in the French trade union movement: a grassroots perspective, Oxford: Peter Lang. Jaidi, Y. and Thévenet, M. (2012) ‘Managers during crisis: the case of a major French car manufacturer’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(16), pp. 3397-3413. Le Queux, S. and Sainsaulieu, I. (2010) ‘Social Movement and Unionism in France: A Case for Revitalization?’, Labor Studies Journal, 35(4), pp.503-519. Lévesque, C. and Murray, G. (2010) ‘Trade union cross-border alliances within MNCs: disentangling union dynamics at the local, national and international levels’, Industrial Relations Journal, 41(4), pp. 312–332. Pernot, J. M. (2010) Syndicats- lendemains de crise?, Paris: Gallimard. Sinclair, J. (2006) ‘An Obstacle to Management Innovation? Some Myths Uncovered on Multi-Union Workplaces in Ireland’, Irish Journal of Management, 27(1), pp. 33-55.