Boxing and dancing: Dutch trade union and works council experiences revisited

This paper contains a quantitative analysis of approaches and results of 67 projects of Dutch company union groups and Works Councils to influence technological and organisational change, in three generations between 1975 and 1996. The effectiveness of problem-solving activities jointly undertaken with management (‘dancing’) in realizing a dvances in quality of working life proved to be
higher than that of own activities solely undertaken by union groups and Works Councils. Yet, such activities were more effective in improving their own position vis-à-vis their constituency and/or vis-àvis management. The scores on own activities were on average substantially higher than on joint problem-solving: even in these projects, active union groups and Works Councils mostly chose for a strong own profile, related to ‘boxing’ practices. This has notably been the case in manufacturing, in larger organizations and where relatively high union densities prevail.