Flexibility: The Trade Union View

Abstract

The trade union response to flexibility has become more pragmatic as public discussion about the subject has progressed. From initial and outright condemnation of the flexibility model produced by the Institute of Manpower Studies, unions have developed an awareness that some aspects of workforce flexibility may produce positive advantages for their members. The reality of that pragmatism should not be surprising since trade unions have adopted that approach throughout much of their history, but what is interesting in its application in this current sphere is its association with the ways in which trade unions are re‐thinking their relationships with their members and debating plans for their future workplace role. In this paper I seek to explore the nature of these relationships in greater detail, and the tensions inherent within them, as the trade union movement strives to come to terms with what are complex and sometimes disturbing changes in the relevancy of its workplace role.

Citation

Allen, C. (1989), "Flexibility: The Trade Union View", Management Research News, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 3-3. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb028005