Workplace democracy

Introduction

Democracy at work is the application of the equity in diverse forms using democratic standards (in particular vote or debates). It confers to the employees a greater power of choice as for the way of doing things and how to work.

Using resources found on Canvas, relevant articles and my personal knowledge of the topic, I going to conduct my essay in three structured parts which will allow me to answer all the facets of the subject. First of all, I’m going to discuss the workplace democracy in anhistorical and theoretical context. This will provide an overall view of democracy at work during the years and it will give an idea of how it changed and became what it is now.In a second part, I will define the consequences of restrained worker voice and the impact it can have on productivity. Lastly, we will try to understand the limits of the democracy at work and what can and needs to be done in order to fix them.

Part 1 : The discussion of workplace democracy in historical and theoretical context: from the growth of the factory system to Theresa May

During the industrial age, all workers did not make the same work, and not in the same conditions. At the beginning of the industrial age, the workers had a very low salary which obliged them to make, almost, all the members of their family work. Furthermore, the working days were often very long (it varied between 12 and 10 hours of daily work) and the work was often physical and in factories where it was hot. The working conditions were very bad and workplace democracy was inexistent.  

At the same time, the cooperative movement was born. A cooperative is a company in which the partners contribute voluntarily and equally. The cooperative movement is based on the principle of the cooperation (or mutualism) and of solidarity. The power is democratically exercised and the members of the cooperative work with the concern of the general interest of all the partners. Robert Owen is considered as the father of the cooperative movement today. He chose to manage his cotton company according to principles which are similar to those of the utopian socialism. So, he improved the living conditions of his workers. He increased their salaries. He repaired houses and opened a store which proposed good quality sold some alcohol in limited quantity. He invested in the education of adults (hygiene, order, foresight), but especially the one of children, for whom he created a primary school. The cotton factories prospered and became an example of how workplace democracy and good environment can affect a company positively.

During the 19th, the working conditions of the workers improved. The weekly hours of work decreased and the first social rights protecting the workers were born. They were able to show legally their dissatisfaction by striking and managed to have the first welfares against the unemployment and the occupational accidents. It is at that time that labor unions of British workers began to strengthen as national structures. Widely inspired by Robert Owen's ideas, trade unions wanted to obtain improvements of the working and living conditions of their members with negotiations or strikes. Trade unions’ representatives, used collective bargaining to adjust working salaries, conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' rights. It is with all those changes that workplace democracy began to mean something and have importance.

Moreover, to calm the industrial unrest, J.H. Whitley (chairman of the investigation committee) suggested to use regular joint consultations to settle matters between workers and employers. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, joint consultation is « a formal system of discussions between management and employees before decisions are taken which affect the employees. » It later became known as the Whitley Council or Joint Industrial Council. Later, with the UK joining the European Union in 1973, workplace democracy took another turn. Indeed, since the mid-1970s, the EU has had a serious duty to assure workers’ rights and keeping them from being exploited and discriminated. European Works Councils were created. Annual meetings between management and elected employee representatives took place in community-scale. In 1977, The Report of the committee of inquiry on industrial democracy also known as The Bullock Report made quite a controversy. The report was meant to solve the disputes due to the industrial dissatisfaction. The report was suggesting worker participation and workers’ control which meant to give the workers more power (co-determination). Obviously, the report got mixed results, some thought that the ideas proposed in the report were good but that the direct participation of the workers was too much because they saw the shareholders as the « owners » of the companies and some were completely opposed to it.

The end of the 20th century was a time of great fight for the industrial democracy. According to Hugh Clegg, industrial democracy is « any theory or scheme as long as it is based on genuine concern for the rights of workers in industry, particularly their right to share in the control of industrial decisions ». In 1979, the « Winter of Discontent » started, it’s the period in which the country knew big strikes and important disorder. The ongoing strikes by the trade-unions started with the 5% limit on pay rises decided by the Labour Party for the public sector. This limit was meant to reduce the inflation but finally led to food shortage and frequent power cut. Finally, the Labour government settled and agreed to a higher pay rise. In total, 29 474 000 days of work were lost during this period. Although the strikes were largely finished in February 1979, the incapacity of the government to contain the strikes helped the Conservative Party of Margaret Thatcher to win the general elections of 1979 and to set up a legislation to weaken trade unions. The conservative government privatized many former nationalized  industries like railways, electricity and gas which reduced trade-union influence. For the Unitarists (Conservative Party) who are against participation the role of the state is to maintain « the right of management to manage » and permit the free functioning of private market exchanges whereas for the Pluralists (Labour Party) who are in favor of participation and workers’ rights, the role of the State is to facilitate bargaining and compromise between the main actors.  

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