Collective Bargaining and Equality: Making Connections

By Adelle Blackett and Colleen Sheppard

Collective bargaining and the elimination of discrimination in employment are egalitarian, democratic and mutually reinforcing goals. But how far do they meet expectations?

Being limited largely to formal sector workers, the right to collective bargaining eludes most workers, notably those in the informal sector in developing countries. With the gap between collective bargaining and equality growing, the authors explore how unequal access to collective representation can result in one principle effectively preventing recognition of the other, before examining state labour regulatory initiatives and equality promotion through collective bargaining.

(International Labour Review. Vol. 142, no. 4, 2003/4; pp419-57)