The aim of this study is to improve Industrial Relations in Europe, and to bring about more collaborative labor relations through the empowerment of union representatives, and by making improvements to organization processes in both the trade unions and businesses. The Action Plan's general objectives are: a) to analyze the structural, institutional and personal variables that affect the perception and role development of the union representatives in different European Industrial Relations Systems; b) the consequences for the outcomes of both union organizations and union representatives; and c) to design and disseminate strategies to promote sustainable motivation and empowerment of union representatives by means of the provision of personal and institutional resources that will allow them to orient themselves towards flexible and innovative labor relations.

The team of the University of Seville as coordinator of the project manages the development of the entire action plan as well as the achievement of all objectives. The coordination meetings celebrated last December (at the beginning of the project) in Leuven (Belgium) and Seville (Spain) were organized by the Spanish team. In those meetings the Spanish coordinator planned and confirmed with all partners the set up and deadlines of the schedule as well as the design of the handbook. Furthermore, the Spanish team will collect and analyze the national data. After the collection and analysis of the data, the main results will be evaluated by means of a focus group, where experts in the topic will participate. The final results will be presented at the Workshop organized in Seville and oriented to a large audience from all over Europe. It will be organized together with CARL. Finally, our team will be the editor of the final handbook, which will establish a Protocol for Good Practices for worker representatives and the social audience. The presentation of the handbook as well as conferences of the international partners will be the main activities of the final workshop.

The main research outcomes will be reflected in a handbook, which will establish a Protocol for Good Practices for worker representatives and the social audience. This Protocol pretends to be an essential tool of knowledge transfer of the Research work results, adapted to social reality of each worker representatives in the partner countries. We will study how organizational (i.e. flexibility, trust, conflict management, social corporate responsibility, employability and business partnership) and personal factors (i.e. competences, stress, commitment, and influence) affect the employee representatives empowerment. The main guide lines have been drafted through participation of the whole Research Team with the support of Worker representatives organizations that take part in the Project. The Handbook is offering a methodological and practical improvement of the Industrial Relations; specifically through enhanced dialogue and negotiation skills. This handbook will be disseminated widely throughout the partners’ countries. At least 500 copies for each country will be distributed; a total of 4500 copies will be edited, both in English and in the official languages of the partner countries.

The action plan is innovative and will have a big impact on trade unions and organizations, as well as on the labor market, given that it analyses the role of the representative from a socio-psychological point of view and brings it up to an organizational level. It promotes sustainable motivation and empowerment of representatives by means of the provision of personal and institutional resources that will allow them to orient themselves towards flexible and innovative labor relations

Grupo Indrho

Code PAIDI: HUM-568

Lourdes Munduate. Socio. 

Universidad de Sevilla

Budget of Andalusian group: € 95,666.84

http://grupo.us.es/grupoindrho/

• University of Sevilla (Spain)
• University of Leuven (Belgium)
• University of Amsterdam (Holland): Aukje Nauta University of Manchester (Great Britain)
• University Otto von Guericke (Germany)
• University of Tallin (Estonia): Mare Teichman ISCTE (Portugal)
• Kalovig Centre (Denmark)
• Team Arbejsliv (Denmark)
• UGT Andalucia
• CCOO (Fundación 1 de Mayo)
• Consejo Andaluz de Relaciones Laborales (CARL)