Non-Union Voice and the Effectiveness of Joint Consultation in New Zealand

Abstract

Formal systems of non-union employee representation are receiving increasing attention in the Anglo-American world. Drawing on the New Zealand Worker Representation and Participation Survey 2003, this study finds joint consultation and certain forms of non-union employee voice to be more prevalent and effective in New Zealand workplaces than previous accounts have allowed. New Zealand workers report having greater influence over many areas of workplace decision-making than their US and UK counterparts. The rolling back of unionism under the Employment Contracts Act 1991 seems not to have been accompanied by a decline in management– employee consultation.The findings of high levels of workplace influence and consultation in New Zealand contradict the ‘cycles of control’ thesis and challenge the assumptions of radical labour process theory. While further research is needed, they may suggest that a shift has been occurring in employee relations style.