Workplace Regimes and the Governance of the Employment Relationship: Re-establishing the Connections in Liberal Market Economies

Liberal market economies used to govern workplace employment relationships through collective bargaining. This institution has been allowed, or encouraged, to wither. The assumption is that governance at the level of the workplace will produce efficiency and also fairness. The evidence for this assumption is questionable, as illustrated by the limited take-up of claimed efficiency-inducing practices and growing inequality and work pressures. Thinking in terms of 'beneficial constraints' helps to identify ways in which regulation through constraints can in fact produce long-term gains. Concrete ways of putting these ideas into effect do not necessarily imply new regulations. A key need is to make existing rights meaningful and to encourage genuine dialogue about firms' strategic options.