Collectivism in the Digital Era: Novel Approaches to Worker Mobilization and Interest Representation

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Throughout Europe, trade unionism is in decline. Membership levels have fallen, the coverage of collective bargaining has contracted, and union influence has decreased in the workplace, the labour market, and the corridors of political power. While the consequences for individuals and societies are contested, a wealth of evidence suggests that this has contributed to a widening of the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest in our societies. Wealth inequalities and economic insecurity have been linked, meanwhile, to resurgent nationalism and the growing popularity of extremist political parties in several European states and elsewhere. In the last few years, there have been intriguing signs of the beginnings of revitalisation: of new forms of trade unionism and or worker claim articulation, representation and mobilisation, that harness social media and other forms of digital technology to reach and communicate with workers, including young workers. Conscious of the high stakes involved CODE investigates examples in the UK, Spain and Greece. Constructing case studies, it seeks to establish what kinds of worker mobilisation and collective action have been and are likely to be successful in the current digital era. Through contextual analysis and comparison, it aims to identify how interest representation and workers’ empowerment might be enhanced. In particular, it considers what role law and other institutions, both public and private, might play in enabling this process. Which innovative legal solutions can be designed to assist mobilization and interest representation in the digital era? In pursuing these objectives, CODE advances beyond the state of the art by employing and further developing a cutting-edge interdisciplinary approach to the study of labour markets and labour law. As such, it makes a contribution of real theoretical and practical significance to the reversal of trends towards union decline and inequalities of wealth and opportunity.