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Focuses on recent empirical evidence on management approaches to industrial relations in greenfield companies in Ireland. Places particular emphasis on the impact of industrial relations on the location of greenfield site facilities, patterns of trade union recognition and avoidance, pay determination, and the role of employer associations. Finds that, despite a national system of “bargained consensus” and the integration of trade unions into corporatist decision‐making structures on economic and social issues, most recent greenfield site facilities are non‐union. Argues that this evidence points to extensive management opposition to conventional pluralist industrial relations, despite the existence of a State system which has consistently promoted a consensus approach over the past two decades. This apparent paradox is explained by reference to the transformation in the structure and performance of the Irish economy in parallel with related social changes since the early 1980s.

The European Works Council (EWC) Directive reflects a shift to a softer style of governance which has been adopted by the EU in recent years. This article sets out to explore how successful this soft style governance is when implemented at the national level.

The paper introduces the literature on the subject and shows that two main theses have been developed to date; one which favours the softer mechanism of governance and one which is critical of it. Two propositions are developed from the literature. The article explores them by examining them in light of the manner in which the Directive has bedded down in the Irish context. It does this through a micro and macro analysis of material available on the EWC in Ireland and a series of interviews. Ireland is regarded as a suitable arena in which to explore these propositions.

The article finds that the EWC Directive was implemented in Ireland in a manner which was deemed suitable for its smooth integration into the Irish context. However, the transposition’s flexible nature is such that it is unclear that it has made any significant contribution to Ireland’s system of industrial relations. It is suggested that the EU may not yet have developed a form of governance suitable for a disparate, expanding community.

The paper provides a micro‐analysis of how the EWC Directive has been transposed in one Member State (Ireland). It combines this with a macro‐analysis which enables us to compare the Irish transposition with other Member States. This approach indicates that the Directive has been applied in a very heterogeneous style throughout the Member States, which tends to reproduce indigenous industrial relations systems rather than reform or challenge them.

Considers the nature of Human Resource Management (HRM) in the Republic of Ireland. Identifies four variants of HRM in Ireland: “soft” HRM; neo‐pluralism; “hard” HRM; and traditional industrial relations. Then considers key areas of HRM policy choice and reviews alternative approaches to HRM practice in Irish organizations. Analyses the role of the specialist HRM function in Ireland using a HRM typology. Evaluates the evidence of change in HRM practice with a particular focus on key dimensions of change such as developments in employment forms and flexibility, the role of trade unions and the emergence of proactive approaches to HRM at establishment level.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of industrial relations (IR), and IR conflict in the Irish healthcare sector.

The paper is based on a thematic analysis of Labour Court cases concerning hospitals over a ten‐year period.

The findings of the paper indicate that the nature of IR conflict is changing in healthcare. The paper suggests that alternative manifestations of IR conflict evident in the Irish healthcare sector include: absenteeism as a form of temporary exit; and resistance. The key groups in the sector are discussed in the context of their contrasting disputes. The themes which characterise negotiations are identified as precedent, procedure and partnership.

The research was conducted in the healthcare sector, and thus its transferability is limited. Caution is also required as the research pertains to one national setting, which despite sharing some structural similarities with other health and IR systems, is a unique context. The paper highlights the importance of recognising IR conflict in its various forms. It is further suggested that managing the process of IR conflict may be significant in furthering change agendas.

The value of the paper centres on the investigation of alternative manifestations of IR conflict in the healthcare sector.

Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.

Neoclassical approaches continue to dominate evaluations of national skill‐formation systems. Argues for the benefits of including alternative interdisciplinary and theoretically grounded approaches in any evaluation of the Irish system as it relates to its economic system. This broader focus, it is argued, could lead to more informed policy formulation and implementation. Following the “societal effect” approach, argues here that vocational education and training systems can only be adequately understood with reference to the set of inter‐relationships between the education system, industrial training system, the organizational structure of industry, the industrial relations system and the class and status relations of the wider society as reflected in its political system.

A feature of the industrial landscape in the 1990s is the emergence of a growing number of non‐union companies. Numerous factors have been suggested to explain this increase such as an increasingly competitive product market; fear of unemployment; a shift in managerial attitudes towards trade unions and the use of human resource management policies which are inimical to unionism. However, the most comprehensive attempt to establish the factors which increase the probability of union avoidance among companies is to be found in the industrial relations literature in the USA. Based on a survey of Irish manufacturing companies, evaluates the explanatory framework which has emerged from this literature and concludes that its validity is questionable in an Irish context.

Presents 35 abstracts from the 2001 Employment Research Unit Annual conference held at Cardiff Business School in September 2001. Attempts to explore the theme of changing politics of employment relations beyond and within the nation state, against a background of concern in the developed economies at the erosion of relatively advanced conditions of work and social welfare through increasing competition and international agitation for more effective global labour standards. Divides this concept into two areas, addressing the erosion of employment standards through processes of restructuring and examining attempts by governments, trade unions and agencies to re‐create effective systems of regulation. Gives case examples from areas such as India, Wales, London, Ireland, South Africa, Europe and Japan. Covers subjects such as the Disability Discrimination Act, minimum wage, training, contract workers and managing change.

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the genesis, operation, and effects of a dispute resolution body known as the National Implementation Body (NIB). The NIB was established by employers, unions, and the State in Ireland and was active between 2000 and 2009. It recorded significant success in resolving major disputes. A distinctive feature of the NIB was its networked character: the body involved key employer and union leaders and senior public servants, who exerted informal pressure on the parties in dispute to reach a settlement either within the NIB process itself or in the State’s mainstream dispute resolution agencies.

The research draws on case studies of disputes and interviews with key members of the NIB.

The findings reveal how the NIB mobilized networks to resolve a series of major disputes that threatened to derail national pay agreements or cause significant economic disruption.

The chapter examines the operation of networked dispute resolution in detail and considers the wider implications of networked dispute resolution in both Continental European and other Anglo-American countries.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of mediation on two long-running collective industrial disputes in Ireland using a theoretical framework established in the literature.

The paper presents a detailed qualitative analysis of two disputes. In both cases a panel of mediators was invited to intervene when the established dispute resolution structures and processes had failed and impasse had been prolonged. Each member of the mediation panels, and the lead union representative, was interviewed about their perception of the mediation process and its impact. Interview questions centred around a set of mediation “Outcome Determinants” identified by Wall et al. (2001). Following Wall et al.'s proposal, Lewin's (1951) Force Field Analysis theory is applied as a theoretical lens for understanding the subtle impact of mediation in these cases.

The empirical evidence suggests that while mediation did not lead directly to settlement, it influenced the resolution of these disputes. The disputes were a-typical in that most collective disputes in Ireland are resolved through established industrial relations structures and processes, either at firm level or through State-funded agents/agencies. However, intractable disputes occur periodically and there is an on-going need of this type of specialised ad hoc mediation. The Wall et al. framework combined with Force Field Analysis theory, provide a theoretical lens through which these disputes can be analysed and understood.

An understanding of the nuanced impact of mediation is useful for justifying the continuation of this valuable approach. There is also some scope for predicting the likely impact of mediation in advance of engagement or at least allowing the mediators to explore the status of the Outcome Determinants related to a specific case in order to develop a tailored mediation strategy.

This paper is unique in that it takes an existing theoretical framework and tests its application in two case disputes. The value of the framework is thus highlighted. Further application of the framework to other dispute scenarios would facilitate its development as a tool of understanding and some limited prediction. Mediation in this type of context has not been formally researched before. Public policy and theoretical implications of the work are highlighted in the concluding section.