PT – Corporatist's

Theory of ER
Jone F. Lako
MG315
MPAD, SBM, USP
Laucala Campus
 Main Features of
Pluralist Theory
ASPECT PLURALIST PERSPECTIVE
• Every workplace contains individuals with variety of different interests,
General aims and aspirations.
philosophy • Power is evenly defused (no party dominates) amongst the main
bargaining groups

Role of the • Regarded as the impartial garden of the public interest

state • Protect the weak and restrain the power of the strong

• Not to expect blind obedience or suppress any idea or aims that

Role of conflict their own.
management • Reconcile conflicting opinions & keep within bounds not to destroy
the organization

• Legitimate representatives of employees interest

Trade Union • Right to challenge the right to manage
(Source: Bray et al, 2006)
Industrial • Inevitable and legitimate consequences of variety of interest or loyalty
conflict of workers
Corporatist Theory of
Employment Relations
• Contributed to PT by examining the role of
governments in a process of political
exchange with organized labor & capitalists
representatives (Crouch, 1992, 1993; Kelly,
2002)
• Called for more active State involvement in
(social) partnership with the representatives of
capital and labor with some measures of
tripartite (3 main actors) decision making
structures
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Corporatist Theory of
Employment Relations
• This contribution believes in 3rd party’s active
participation & intervention
• Employers association (EA as employers’ representatives)
and trade union (TU as workers representatives) bodies
help the State to administer agreed policies.
• The rationale behind the involvement of the
representatives of the bipartite parties is due to the
fact that they have control & influence over their
members.

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Corporatist Theory of
Employment Relations
• Promote high level of state involvement
– State to pass ER legislation to protect
workers rights & interests
– Enforce more legislation
– Provide framework for solving employment
disputes

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Corporatist Theory of
Employment Relations
• Promote high level of state involvement
– State to enforce more legislation
– Why?
▪ Unequal distribution of power
▪ Employer is believed to be the big pressure
group
• Should not be left alone
• Any wrong decision will affect national economy
• Solution – tripartism
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Corporatist Theory of
Employment Relations
• 3 level corporatism (Tripartism)
– Global tripartism
▪ ILO
– Macro tripartism
▪ Tripartism @ national level e.g. Germany & Sweden
Co-orditermination
– Meso tripartism
▪ Tripartism @ industry/sectoral level e.g. UK voluntary &
Australia compulsory arbitration
– Micro tripartism
▪
By J. Lako Consultation @ enterprise level e.g. Japan
5/19/2022 7
Corporatist Theory of
Employment Relations
• Corporatist countries;
• Sweden (Akan, 2006; Hammarstom & Nilsson, 1998),
• Denmark (Akan, 2006; Gill, Knudsen, & Lind, 1997) and
• Germany (Akan, 2006; Hassel, 1999).
• A +ve impact of corporatism when actors believed & acted in
good faith putting the interest of the nation as their own,
• Germany, being apolitical (Keller, 2004).
• It was the same principle that laid the foundation for labor-
management cooperation and consultation (L-MCC),
• ‘Swedish model’ (Hammarström, Huzzard, & Nilsson, 2004),
• Which Fiji’s ERA 2007 adopted (Lako, 2008).

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Fiji’s model of Corporatism

• 1976 – 1984 by the Mara Government

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Contributors of the Pluralist
Theory of I/E Relations
Founder(s) Approaches Contribution
Industrial The system consist of three components;
John Relations Input (actors, ideology & context), process
Dunlop Systems (conversion) and output (body of rules i.e.
model procedural & substantive & formal or
informal)
Emile The state’s more active role in directing the
Durkheim Corporatist activities of predominantly privately owned
industries in partnership with the
representatives of capital & labor.
Commons Institutionalist Formal and informal rules are a prime
& the determinate of social relations at work
Webbs
Paul Neo- The broad (complex) approach to rules and
Edwards institutionalist regulation

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 “No surprises”

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