Offshore industrial relations in Britain and Norway: pluralism and neo-corporatism as contexts of strategic adaptation

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:5231544

Andersen, S S

Major differences in the adaptation of unions and occupational safety policies in the British and Norwegian offshore sectors are analyzed in response to the challenges of the international oil industry. The British and Norwegian systems of industrial relations, viewed as typical cases of pluralism and neo-corporatism, are contrasted in terms of social rationality. The capacity for local restructuring when national traditions fail offshore is different in the two systems: British unions are flexible as long as basic economic incentives and the right to organize locally are not challenged. Legal-bureaucratic control presupposes state autonomy based on independent resources and expertise. When the Norwegian union tradition failed offshore, the political culture and network resources proved to be a powerful basis for local action. Problems in safety and health regulation revealed the implicit cooperation which is normally the basis for neo-corporatist control relations. However, the success of independent militant unions was regarded as a threat to existing unions and national economic policy-making system. The institutional structures of pluralist and neo-corporatist systems have implications which are often overlooked under normal conditions. Moreover, they go beyond and may even be incompatible with, ideological interpretations.

• Research Organization: Stanford Univ., CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5231544
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
03 NATURAL GAS
030300 -- Natural Gas-- Drilling
Production
& Processing
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
294000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Fossil Fuels
EUROPE
INDUSTRY
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LABOR RELATIONS
NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY
NORWAY
OFFSHORE OPERATIONS
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
SCANDINAVIA
UNITED KINGDOM
WESTERN EUROPE