Studying Employment Relations from a Trade Union Perspective: the Politics of Research

Abstract

The case study examines the politics of research. The case study deals with a research project looking at the implementation of lean working in the UK Civil Service and the trade union response. The study will assist those researching trade unions and employment relations to conceptualise the politics of research. The case study is based on the author’s PhD. The article describes the potentially robust collaboration between the author and the union at the outset of the project contrasting this with the frustrations and opportunities generated by the ways the union did not support the research as the author had anticipated. Recognising that the union seemingly placed limited value on the research process, the author adopted his research methods pragmatically. The author recommends that researchers use union structures to acquire legitimacy to gain access to union stewards and members. He provides suggestions on how this might be achieved particularly for researchers with a limited trade union background. The case study concludes with questions for reflection.