Ryanair is now Europe’s largest low cost airline. It is also one of the most controversial, due to its outspoken boss, its cost containment strategies and its hostile relations with organised labour. Ryanair has consistently denied accusations that it is anti-union, stating that it respects...

Explanations of union growth and decline are generally linked to trends in the business cycle which are reflected primarily in prices, wages and unemployment – an example of this approach is the Bain and Elsheikh model – explanations not entirely appropriate in a country with a developing...

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...

This paper considers the impact of collectivist and individualist management styles in employee relations on levels of strategic integration in employee relations. The findings indicate a positive relationship between individualism and strategic integration. The findings further indicate that...

This paper addresses the impact of institutional industrial relations arrangements at organisation level on the extent and pattern of utilisation of different forms of employment flexibility. In particular, it evaluates the extent to which factors such as union recognition, union density and...

Purpose: Many familiar global corporations have well-developed corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies that enunciate socially caring values that include the dignity and well-being of their employees. Yet opposition to independent employee voice from companies with trumpeted CSR...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the substantial expansion in the labour force between 1997 and 2004 on the proportion of the Irish workforce that can be categorised as working in knowledge occupations. Design/methodology/approach – The Quarterly National...

There has been a historical shift in the employment relationship for many employees which is marked by an increasing insulation from the external market and the development of internal labour markets (ILM). Focuses on two important aspects which are indicative of an ILM, the mobility of labour...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the substantial expansion in the labour force between 1997 and 2004 on the proportion of the Irish workforce that can be categorised as working in knowledge occupations. Design/methodology/approach – The Quarterly National...