Who represents whom?: The consequences of the exclusion of unions from the safety representation system in the UK offshore oil and gas industry

Employee Relations

Volumn 21, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 45-62

  Wright, Chris ^a   Spaven, Malcolm ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Employee involvement; Safety; Trade unions; Training; United Kingdom

Indexed keywords

EID: 84986136041     PISSN: 01425455     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/01425459910252984     Document Type: Article

References (37)

1. Ackers, P., Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A. and Goodman, J. (1992), “The use of cycles? Explaining employee involvement in the 1990’s”, Industrial Relations Journal, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 268-83.
2. Angle, H. and Perry, J. (1986), “Dual commitment and labor-management relationship climate”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 31-50.
3. Atkinson, J. (1985), “Flexibility: planning for an uncertain future”, Manpower, Policy and Practice, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 26-9.
4. Biggens, D., Phillips, M. and O'Sullivan, P. (1991), “Benefits of worker participation in health and safety”, Labour > Industry, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 138-59.
5. Boreham, P. and Hall, R. (1994),“Trade union strategy in contemporary capitalism”, Economic and Industrial Democracy, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 313-53.
6. Carson, W.G. (1982), The Other Price of Britain's Oil, Martin Robertson, Oxford.
7. Cullen, The Hon. Lord (1991), The Public Inquiry into the Piper Alpha Disaster, Vols. 1 and 2, HMSO, London.
8. Drago, R. and Wooden, M. (1993), “Do union voice and worker participation coincide? A study of Australian managers’ perceptions”, Economic Industrial Democracy, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 573-88.
9. Eaton, A. and Voos, P. (1989), “The ability of unions to adapt to innovative workplace arrangements”, American Economic Review, Vol. 79 No. 2, pp. 172-6.
10. Fairbrother, P. (1996), “Organise and survive: unions and health and safety – a case study of an engineering unionised workforce”, Employee Relations, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 2-88.
11. Fevre, R. (1987), “Subcontracting in steel”, Work, Employment and Society, Vol. 1 No. 4, pp. 509-27.
12. Foster, J. and Woolfson, C. (1993), Workforce Involvement and Health and Safety Offshore: Power, Language and Information Technology, Scottish Trade Union Congress, Glasgow.
13. Giddens, A. (1984), The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration, Polity Press, Cambridge.
14. Grabe, S. (1991), “Regulatory agencies and interest groups in occupational health and safety in Great Britain and West Germany: a perspective from West Germany”, Law > Policy, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 55-72.
15. Health and Safety Commission (1995), Consultative Document: Draft Proposals for Health and Safety Consultation with Employees (Regulations and Guidance), HMSO, London.
16. Health and Safety Executive (1992), Safety Representatives and Safety Committees on Offshore Installations (Guidance Notes), HMSO, London.
17. Health and Safety Executive (1995), An Interim Evaluation of the Offshore Installation (Safety Case) Regulations 1992, HMSO, London.
18. Health and Safety Executive (1998), A Guide to the Offshore Installations (Safety Representatives and Safety Committees) Regulations 1989, HMSO, London.
19. Hege, A. and Dufour, C. (1995), "Decentralization and legitimacy in employee representation: a Franco-German comparison”, European Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 83-99.
20. Hodson, R., Welsh, S., Rieble, S., Thomson, C. and Creighton, S. (1993), “Is worker solidarity undermined by autonomy and participation? Patterns from the ethnographic literature”, American Sociological Review, Vol. 58 No. 3, pp. 398-416.
21. Leana, C., Ahlbrandt, R. and Murrell, A. (1992), “The effects of employee involvement programs on unionized workers’ attitudes, perceptions and preferences in decision making”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 35 No. 4, pp. 861-73.
22. Martin, C., Parsons, C. and Bennett, N. (1995), “The influence of employee involvement program membership during downsizing: attitudes toward the employer and the union”, Journal of Management, Vol. 21 No. 5, pp. 879-90.
23. Milner, S. and Richards, E. (1991),“3”, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 8 No. 3 pp. 377-90.
24. Milton, D. (1986), “Late capitalism and the decline of trade union power in the United States”, Economic and Industrial Democracy, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 319-49.
25. O'Dell, C. and McAdams, J. (1987), People, Performance and Pay, American Productivity Center, Houston, TX.
26. Pendleton, A., Robinson, A. and Wilson, N. (1995), “Does employee ownership weaken trade unions? Evidence from the UK bus industry”, Economic > Industrial Democracy, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 577-605.
27. Reilly, B., Paci, P. and Holl, P. (1995), “Unions, safety committees and workplace injuries”, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 273-88.
28. Spaven, M., Ras, H., Morrison, A. and Wright, C. (1993), The Effectiveness of Offshore Safety Representatives and Safety Committees: A Report to the Health and Safety Executive, 2 volumes, HSE, London.
29. Storey, J. and Sisson, K. (1993), Managing Human Resources and Industrial Relations, Open University Press, Milton Keynes.
30. Veerma, A. (1989), “Joint participation programs; self-help or suicide for labor?”, Industrial Relations, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 401-10.
31. Walters, A. (1995), “Employee representation and occupational health and safety”, Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, Vol. 8 No. 6, pp. 313-18.
32. Walters, A (1996), “Trade unions and the effectiveness of worker representation in health and safety in Britain”, International Journal of Health Services, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 625-41.
33. Walters, A. (1998), “Health and safety strategies in a changing Europe”, International Journal of Health Services, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 305-31.
34. Whyte, D., Tombs, S. and Smith, D. (1996), “Offshore safety management in the ‘new era’: perceptions and experiences of workers”, Major Hazards Onshore and Offshore, Vol. 2, Institute of Chemical Engineers, Rugby, pp. 35-51.
35. Woolfson, C., Foster, J. and Beck, M. (1996), Paying the Piper: Capital and Labour in Britain's Offshore Oil Industry, Mansell, London.
36. Wright, C. (1994), “A fallible safety system: institutional irrationality in the offshore oil and gas industry”, The Sociological Review, Vol. 42 No. 1, pp. 79-103.
37. Wright, C. and Spaven, M. (1996), “Unions and health and safety in the UK's offshore oil and gas industry”, New Solutions, Vol. 7 No. 1, Autumn, pp. 46-52.