Thesis supervisors:
Jean-Michel Denis
and Cécile Guillaume
The law of August 20, 2008, "on the renewal of social democracy," brought about significant changes to professional elections in companies. Previously strictly limited to internal company issues, elections for employee representatives now also determine the access and influence of trade unions in collective bargaining. By calling on employees to vote, the reform aims to democratically justify the powers granted by the State to organizations considered "representative." Nevertheless, research has shown that the conditions within companies are not always conducive to making voting a vehicle for democratization. In the context of professional elections, voting is more often a subject of dispute between actors (trade unions, candidates, but also, informally, company management) seeking to legitimize their own interests. This situation is particularly clear in the cleaning sector, where employees, often of foreign origin, work exclusively for subcontractors on scattered sites, often in precarious conditions, etc. The proposed thesis will examine how the various actors have responded to the reform, the changes in the elections (in terms of organization and results), and the resulting developments in industrial relations at the sectoral level.
The law of August 20, 2008, "on the renewal of social democracy" brought important changes to professional elections in companies. Previously strictly circumscribed to internal company issues, the elections of employee representatives now also determine the access and weight of trade union organizations in collective bargaining. By calling employees to the ballot box, the reform aims to democratically justify the powers granted by the State to organizations considered as "representative." Nevertheless, research has shown that the conditions in companies were not always met to make voting a vector of democratization. Within the framework of professional elections, the vote is rather an object of dispute between actors (trade unions, candidates but also informally the management of the company) who seek to legitimize their own interests. This situation is particularly clear in the cleaning sector, where employees usually have precarious statuses. The thesis will focus on the way in which the actors have grasped the reform, the transformations in the elections (in terms of organization and results) and the consequent changes in industrial relations at the branch level.
Year of enrollment
: 2020
Doctoral school
: Organizations, Markets, and Institutions (OMI)