The power to dismiss : trade unions and the regulation of job security in Western Europe / Patrick Emmenegger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Emmenegger, Patrick, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Job security--Europe--History.

Job security.

Job security--Law and legislation--Europe--History.

Employees--Dismissal of--Law and legislation--Europe--History.

Employees.

Employees--Dismissal of--Law and legislation.

History.

Job security--Law and legislation.

Europe.

Physical Description:

XV, 346 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition, impression 1.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2014.

Summary:

This first comparative-historical analysis of the regulations that restrict the managerial capacity to dismiss employees and use temporary forms of employment addresses four puzzles that have long troubled the comparative political economy literature. Who is the driving force behind the extension of dismissal protection? Why is statutory dismissal protection particularly extensive in continental Europe? How can the uneven temporal development of job security regulations be explained? And what are the causes of the two-tier labour market reforms in recent decades? Analysing the historical development of job security regulations in Western Europe from the establishment of freedom of contract in the 19th century until the peak of two-tier labour market reforms in the 2000s, this book contributes to resolving these puzzles by emphasising the important role of trade unions, their preference for institutional control, and the strategic choices they make. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Job Security Regulations in Western Europe 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Variations in the Levels and Changes of Job Security Regulations and How to Account for Them 8

1.3 My Argument in Brief 13

1.4 Methodology 17

1.5 Structure of the Book 22

2 Towards a New Theory of the Politics of Job Security Regulations 26

2.1 Introduction 26

2.2 Literature Review 27

2.2.1 Job Security Regulations by Consensus: The Varieties of Capitalism Thesis 27

2.2.2 Conservative Social Policy: The Social Catholicism Thesis 33

2.2.3 Contested Regulations: The Power Resources Thesis 40

2.3 Beyond Cross-National Differences: Towards a More Nuanced Theory of the Politics of Job Security Regulations 44

2.3.1 Trade Unions are the Driving Force Behind the Extension of Job Security Regulations 45

2.3.2 The Paradoxical Effects of Early Trade Union Strength 48

2.3.3 Temporal Variations in Power Resources: Three Periods of Labour Movement Strength 53

2.3.4 Second-Best Solutions: Trade Unions and Two-Tier Labour Market Reforms 63

3 Setting Up a Regulatory Regime 76

3.1 Introduction 76

3.2 Before World War I: Freedom of Contract in a Period of Business Strength 78

3.3 The Interwar Period: The 1920 Works Council Act and the Rise of Fascism 93

3.4 World War II and Its Aftermath: The New Rote of Public Authorities 106

3.5 Job Security Regulations After Two World Wars 123

4 A 'Red Wave' over Europe 127

4.1 Introduction 127

4.2 A 'Red Wave' Sweeps over Europe 128

4.3 Little Effective Protection Against Dismissal 133

4.4 The Reform of Job Security Regulations in the Late 1960s and Early 1970s 136

4.4.1 France: The May 1968 Rupture 136

4.4.2 Italy: The Hot Autumn 145

4.4.3 Germany: The Quest for Co-Determination 151

4.4.4 The Netherlands: Wages Rather than Job Security 158

4.4.5 Switzerland: Too Weak to Enforce Significant Change 163

4.4.6 Sweden: From Contract to Law 168

4.4.7 Denmark: The Non-Event 175

4.4.8 Great Britain: Legislation Rather than Contestation 183

4.5 Job Security Regulations After the 'Red Wave' 192

5 The Age of Dualization 195

5.1 Introduction 195

5.2 Trade Unions in the Age of Dualization 197

5.3 The Reform of Job Security Regulations Since the Early 1980s 200

5.3.1 Great Britain: The Thatcher Revolution 200

5.3.2 Italy: No Choice but Dualization? 210

5.3.3 France: Fighting the Inevitable? 221

5.3.4 Germany: Dualization in a Coordinated Market Economy 233

5.3.5 Sweden: Dualization in a Social Democratic Welfare State 245

5.3.6 The Netherlands: Flexicurity in a Two-Tier Labour Market 256

5.3.7 Denmark and Switzerland: Closing Gaps but Keeping the Level of Protection Low 267

5.4 Job Security Regulations in the Age of Dualization 272

6 Power and Institutions 276

6.1 Introduction 276

6.2 The Historical Development of Job Security Regulations in Western Europe: Comparative Discussion of Findings 278

6.2.1 Setting Up a New Regulatory Regime 279

6.2.2 Facing the 'Red Wave' 281

6.2.3 The Age of Dualization 284

6.3 Beyond Cross-National Differences in Power Resources 286

6.4 Dualization Forever? 291.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780198709237

0198709234

OCLC:

895651857