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Ongoing project

Collective Organisations, Support and Sustainability (Colossus)

Focuses on employer organisations, trade unions and collective agreements.

Project period July 2020–July 2024
Project employer The Research Council of Norway
Project nr. 10402
Project leader Harald Dale-Olsen
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Photo: Arbeidslivet.no

Project Backround

Colossus will provide knowledge on structural reasons why employers and workers join collective organisations and why they do or not reach collective argeements. Colossus also targets policies and strategies to sustain collective organisations. Finally, Colossus studies the implementation of collective organisations and argeements.

Project Approach

Colossus comprises three work packages. WP1 studies structural reasons why employers and workers join collective organisations and why they do or not reach collective argeements. We conduct novel qualitative and quantitative data collections among Norwegian employers to confront this perspective with Norwegian data. We merge this survey with knowledge from administrative linked employer-employee data to get a comprehensive analysis of what type of firms join employer organisations (EO). We complement the study of EO with analyses of trade unions (TU). Finally, we study determinants of collective agreements. The work package is explicitly comparative, comparing Germany, Norway, US and UK. WP 2 studies policies and strategies to sustain collective organisations. Using information about the campaigns for TU membership, who were affected and when, as well as its content, we evaluate how successful these campaigns have been in a Norwegian contexts. In the second part of this work package, we study the effects of government subsidies of TU and EO membership. WP3 studies the implementation of collective organisations and agreements. In the first sub-project, we follow firms involved in conflict regarding the implementation of collective argeements handled by the National Mediator of Norway. We follow them before and after conflict, comparing them to similar workplaces and their employees on firm and worker outcomes such as productivity, worker turnover, wages and sick leaves, In the second sub-project, we study worker representatives to identify the benefits and costs of taking such a role.

Participants

ParticipantDegree PhoneE-mail
Erling Barth Research Professor Dr. polit. +47 930 91 410 erling.barth@samfunnsforskning.no
Sara Cools Research Professor PhD +47 984 96 736 sara.cools@samfunnsforskning.no
Harald Dale-Olsen Research Professor Dr. polit. +47 482 83 527 +47 958 08 463 harald.dale-olsen@samfunnsforskning.no
Henning Finseraas Affiliated Researcher PhD +47 482 83 631 henning.finseraas@ntnu.no
Ines Wagner Research Professor PhD +47 907 82 170 ines.wagner@samfunnsforskning.no
Sissel Trygstad
Kristin Alsos
Kristine Negaard
Alex Bryson
Richard Freeman
Bernd Brandl
Markus Helfen
Christian Lyhne Ibsen

Publications

  • Dale-Olsen, Harald & Østbakken, Kjersti Misje (2023). Økonomisk gevinst av fagorganisering på toppen av akademia? – En empirisk analyse av lønnsdannelsen blant professorer. Søkelys på arbeidslivet. 40(3), p. 1–21. doi: 10.18261/spa.40.3.1. Full text in Research Archive
  • Alsos, Kristin & Nergaard, Kristine (2023). Et organisert arbeidsliv - et gode for alle også i fremtiden? . In Fløtten, Tone; Kavli, Hanne Cecilie & Trygstad, Sissel Charlotte (Ed.), Ulikhetens drivere og dilemmaer. Universitetsforlaget. p. 35–53.
  • Nergaard, Kristine & Svarstad, Elin (2021). Fagorganisering blant unge nyansatte - hva betyr «et kollektivt trykk»? . Søkelys på arbeidslivet. 38(2), p. 81–98. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-7989-2021-02-01.

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  • Dale-Olsen, Harald; Barth, Erling & Bryson, Alex (2022). Turning Non-members into Members: Do Public Subsidies to Union Membership Matter? University College London.

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  • Dale-Olsen, Harald; Finseraas, Henning; Nergaard, Kristine & Svarstad, Elin (2023). Upholding Unions – How Co-Workers Influence Shape Membership?
  • Nergaard, Kristine (2023). Lavlønn og det norske forhandlingssystemet. Innledning for lavlønnsutvalget. Invitert til å innlede for utvalget. .
  • Alsos, Kristin & Nergaard, Kristine (2023). The teritarisation of strikes in a well-organised labour market - cracks in the balance of power model .
  • Alsos, Kristin & Nergaard, Kristine (2023). Wage bargaining during inflation. The case of Norway. .
  • Nergaard, Kristine (2023). Utvikling i tall på organisasjonsgrader .
  • Dale-Olsen, Harald (2022). Hvordan opprettholde og stimulere organisasjonsgraden blant ansatte?
  • Nergaard, Kristine (2021). Trends in trade union density and membership - Norway.
  • Nergaard, Kristine & Svarstad, Elin (2021). The role of family and intergenerational transmission of union membership in Norway .
  • Nergaard, Kristine & Alsos, Kristin (2021). Norwegian employer organisations – service providers or industrial relations actors?

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Tags: Working Life
Published Mar. 23, 2020 1:11 PM - Last modified Feb. 23, 2024 8:59 AM