In the first semester, this module will examine the history of the French labour movement, from its revolutionary origins in the nineteenth century to its apparent ‘domestication’ in the 1980s. The emphasis will be on attempts to integrate the labour movement into French capitalism and enduring sources of conflict.

The second semester will focus more thematically on issues of work organisation, negotiation, the role of the State and contemporary conflict. The module will conclude with an examination of the current state and future of the labour movement under current conditions of globalisation and Europeanisation.

• Explain the factors affecting the development of the French labour movement in its broader context.
• Analyse and evaluate complex arguments concerning the French labour movement.
• Demonstrate a high level of critical awareness, and the ability to argue and rebut a case, justifying your own viewpoint, with regard to the French labour movement.
• Present arguments in a structured, logical and coherent manner with regard to the French labour movement.
• Demonstrate basic word-processing skills.

There will be lectures and seminars up to 35-40 hours annually, including in-depth revision classes at the end of Semester S, all of which are obligatory.  Students are required to make one or two seminar presentations, in which they will have to justify their views and argue their case under criticism from their peers. All students are expected to prepare for all tutorials. Your tutor will provide you with guidance and critical feedback on your performance.

Coursework essays are to enable students to demonstrate that they understand an argument or debate in detail. They will demonstrate that they can summarise the key positions, can critically engage with ideas and concepts that are central to the module, and can apply core empirical knowledge to the arguments to produce a well-structured, analytical and coherently argued essay in response to a given question.

Oral presentations will enable students to develop oral presentation and public speaking skills, including synthesising an argument in a short presentation, constructing a coherent argument, critically engaging with ideas and concepts, using empirical evidence to support an argument and responding to questions and feedback for peers and the tutor.

The aim of the examination is to enable students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of debates, concepts and arguments that are central to the module. The exam format tests a student’s ability to use the knowledge they have gained to respond to unseen questions and to apply their knowledge and skills to construct coherent, analytical and convincing answers.

Seminar material will also provide the opportunity to develop skills of interpreting, and recognising the limits of statistical data.

Coursework - 10% - Presentation write-up - Autumn semester

Coursework - 30% - Essay (2,000 words) - Spring semester

Written exam - 60% - 2 hours - Spring examination period

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR REASSESSMENT IN THIS MODULE:

In the event of failing the module, the student will be re-assessed by 2-hour examination in the resit examination period (100% of the module mark).

Semester 1: The Development of the French Labour Movement

Week 1:  Introduction

Week 2:  Lecture: The Origins of Trade Unions

Week 3:  Lecture: Labour Politics and the Third Republic

               Seminar: Why did workers not have faith in Republican political institutions?

Week 4:  Lecture: Revolutionary Syndicalism

                Seminar: Why did French trade unions opt for a revolutionary strategy?

Week 5:  Lecture: The decline of Revolutionary Syndicalism and Division in the Labour Movement

                Seminar: To what extent does the 1914 – 1921 period represent a turning point for the labour movement?

Week 6:   Reading Week

Week 7:   Lecture: From the 1920s to the Popular Front

                 Seminar: Did a French system of industrial relations exist before World War Two?

Week 8:   Lecture: The Post-war Boom Years

                 Seminar: Does the Fordist compromise suggest a decline in labour militancy in France?

Week 9:   Lecture: Labour and Politics: an exclusionary post-war settlement?

                 Seminar:

Week 10:  Lecture: May 1968

                 Seminar: May 1968: a consequence of ‘labour exclusion’?

Week 11:  Lecture: The 1970s and 1980s: Trade Unions in Crisis

                  Seminar: How did the end of the Fordist compromise affect the French labour movement?

Semester 2: French Labour Today: Towards Consensus?

Week 1: Lecture: Trade unions in France today

               Seminar: What is the traditional ‘French model’ of trade unionism and what problems does it pose for the union movement?

Week 2: Lecture: Unions and Left Parties in 21^st Century France

               Seminar: To what extent are party-union relations in France a product of history?

Week 3: Lecture: Work organisation:  from Taylorism to new employer strategies

               Seminar: Work organisation: are new employer strategies a threat to trade unions?

Week 4: Lecture: Workplace Representation

               Seminar: Does workplace representation bring about greater consensus in France?

Week 5: Lecture: The Development of Decentralised Collective Bargaining

               Seminar: Does the increase in workplace collective bargaining since the early 1980s suggest consensus in the workplace?

Week 6: Reading Week

Week 7: Lecture: The Role of the State and the Legal Regulation of Labour Relations

               Seminar: To what extent is the State an essential broker in French industrial relations?

Week 8:  Lecture: Industrial Conflict

               Seminar: What do recent conflicts tell us about the French labour movement?

Week 9:  Lecture: Globalisation, Europeanisation and the French Labour Movement

                Seminar: To what extent and how have globalisation and Europeanisation weakened the French labour movement?

Weeks 10 & 11:   Revision seminars

Capdevielle, J. and Mouriaux, R. (1973) Les syndicats ouvriers en France, Armand Collin, Paris.

Goetschy, J. and Jobert, A. (1993) "Industrial relations in France", in G. Bamber and R. Lansbury (eds.), International and Comparative Industrial Relations, 2nd Ed., Routledge, London.

Goetschy, J. and Rozenblatt, P. (1993) "France: the industrial relations system at a turning point?", in A. Ferner and R. Hyman (eds.), Industrial Relations in the New Europe, Blackwell, Oxford.

Goetschy, J. (1998) ‘France: The Limits of Reform’ in A. Ferner and R. Hyman (eds) Changing Industrial Relations, Blackwell, Oxford.

Jacquier, J-P. (1998) Les clés du social en France: manuel d’initiation sociale, Editions Liaisons, Paris.

Jeffreys, S. (2003) Liberté Egalité and Franternité at Work: Changing French Employment Relations and Management, Palgrave, Basingstoke.

Howell, C. (1992) Regulating Labor: The State and Industrial Relations Reform in Postwar France. Princeton NJ: PUP.

Howell, C. (2009) ‘The Transformation of French Industrial Relations: Labor Representation and the State in a Post-Dirigiste Era, Politics and Society 37(2), pp. 229-256.

Karila-Cohen, P. and Wilfert, B. (1998) Leçon d'histoire sur le syndicalisme en France. Paris: Presses universitaires de France.

Landier, H. and Labbé, D. (1998) Les organisations syndicales en France: des origines aux difficultés actuelles, Editions Liaisons, Paris.

Lane, C. (1989) Management and Labour in Europe, Edward Elgar, Aldershot.

Milner, S. (1995) "France" in S. Berger and D. Broughton (eds), The Force of Labour: The Western European Labour Movement and the Working Class in the Twentieth Century, Oxford, Berg, pp. 211-244.

Mouriaux, R. (1983) Les syndicats dans la société francaise, PFNSP, Paris.

Noblecourt, M. (1990) Les syndicats en questions, Editions Ouvrières, Paris.

Parsons, N. (2005) French Industrial Relations in the New World Economy, Routledge, London,

Parsons, N.  (2013) ‘France’ in C. Frege and J. Kelly (eds), Comparative Employment Relations in the Global Economy. London: Routledge.

Parsons, (2013) ‘Legitimising Illegal Protest: The Permissive Ideational environment and “Bossnappings” in France, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 51 (2), 288-309.

Parsons, N. ‘Worker Reactions to Crisis: Explaining ‘Bossnappings’, French Politics, Culture and Society, 2012, 30 (1), ISSN 1537-6370.

Parsons, N. (2015) ‘Left parties and trade unions in France’. French Politics 2015, 13, pp. 64-83.

Pernot, J-M. (2010) Syndicats : lendemains de crise ? Paris : Le Monde/Folio.

Pruvost, G. and Roger, P. (1995) L’histoire inachevée de l'unité syndicale, Editions de l'Atelier, Paris.

Reynaud, J-D. (1975) Les syndicats en France, Tome 1, Editions du Seuil, Paris.

van Ruysseveldt, J. and Visser, J. (1996) ‘Contestation and State Intervention Forever? Industrial Relations in France’ in J. van Ruysseveldt and J. Visser (eds) Industrial Relations in Europe: Traditions and Transitions, London, Sage.

Verret, M. (1995) Chevilles ouvrières, Editions de l’Atelier/Editions ouvrières, Paris.

Willard, C. (1995) La France ouvrière (3 vols.), Editions de l’Atelier, Paris.

Parsons, N. (2005) ‘French Industrial Relations – Still Exceptional?’ in E. Godin and T. Chafer (eds) The French Exception

Lange, P., Ross, G. and Vannicelli (1982) Unions, Change and Crisis

J. van Ruysseveldt and J. Visser (1996) ‘Contestation and State Intervention Forever? Industrial Relations in France’ in J. van Ruysseveldt and J. Visser (eds) Industrial Relations in Europe

Groux, G. (1994) "Industrial Relations in France: Union Crisis and the 'French Exception", Journal of Area Studies, 5

Kesselman, M. (1989) "The New Shape of Labour and Industrial Relations", in P. Godt (ed.), Policymakng in France from de Gaulle to Mitterrand

Devillechabrolle, V., ‘Les délocalisations gagnent le tertiaire’

Landré, M., ‘Notre arsenal social fait peur aux investisseurs’

Milner, S. (2001), ‘Globalisation and employment in France’