Beyond informality: effectiveness of a new actor for representing call centre workers in Turkey

• Published date: 01 November 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12108
• Date: 01 November 2015
• Author: Şafak Tartanoğlu

Beyond informality: effectiveness of a new

actor for representing call centre workers

in Turkey

S¸afak Tartanog˘lu

ABSTRACT

This article explores the organisational dynamics of the ‘Association of Call Centre

Workers’ and aims to discover the effectiveness and sustainability of it as a new actor

for representing the interests of call centre workers in Turkey. While traditional trade

unions have fundamental problems such as efficacy and representation of various

worker groups in changing workplaces, in the Turkish context, they have additional

difficulties based on structural and legal constraints. Call centre workers seldom

utilise the formal representation channels because of these and some other individual

reasons such as a lack of information about their rights and labour movements.

Moving from the importance of analysing the informal worker organisational dynam-

ics in the case of a new trade union for call centre workers, the emphasis of the

research is on the ability of the Association to develop a form of resistance and

representation for the previously unrepresented.

1 INTRODUCTION

Recent studies of industrial relations and labour process issues have made assump-

tions about the weakening of organised labour, insignificance of collective action and

disappearance of conflict in contemporary workplaces. However, social and economic

relations between capital and labour are still a form of ‘structured antagonism’

(Edwards, 1990), and it is inevitable that modern workplaces are still a contested

terrain in which managers and workers continually renegotiate the terms of employ-

ment based on the power resources of the two sides. In this context, worker percep-

tions of working conditions develop worker desire for a collective voice and

representation to enhance their bargaining power vis-a-vis the employer (Bryson and

Freeman, 2013: 1–2).

The traditional actors for worker voice and representation are trade unions with

collective bargaining. Unions have the established channels for representation,

whereas collective bargaining is a constructive process aimed at promoting interests

❒S¸afak Tartanog˘ lu is Research Assistant in Department of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations,

Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Uludag University. Correspondence should be

addressed to S¸afak Tartanog˘ lu, Department of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations, Faculty

of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Uludag University, Bursa 16059, Turkey; email: safaktartan

@gmail.com

Industrial Relations Journal

ISSN 0019-8692

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

46:5 6, 381–397–

and resolving conflict (Tapia and Turner, 2013: 603). However, in recent decades,

there have been numerous changes that have influence on the traditional actors and

institutions in industrial relations. Union efficacy and inclusive collective bargaining

system have been declining as a result of neo-liberal economic policies and changes

such as deregulation, flexibility and individualisation in working life. In addition to

such external challenges, there are internal factors like lack of employee trust in

unions that form member commitment. These circumstances have been converting

the unions into a consultative force in many countries (Tapia, 2013: 667).

Union decline refers to many changes that affect the unions both quantitatively and

qualitatively. While unions are dealing with difficulties about membership, effective-

ness, bargaining power and political influence (Findlay and Warhurst, 2011: 115) in

many advanced economies, they have more fundamental problems in developing

countries. The changing structure of production regimes, increase in importance

of service-producing industries, increase in subcontracting, high unemployment

rates, negative attitudes of employers about unions, legal and also political restric-

tions are among the problems that determine union decline in these countries.

It is a fact that unionisation rates are declining in most parts of the world, and

although the majority of employees are not covered by collective bargaining in

advanced economies (Tapia, 2013: 667), the decline of unionisation rates is not as

acute as in developing countries.

As traditional trade unions mobilise the interests of labour and negotiate terms of

work within the labour process (Ackers et al., 1996: 1), the decline in the power of

trade unions has led particularly to some considerable gaps in representing the inter-

ests of workers and the expression of voice. Contemporary trade unionism is chal-

lenged not only in representing the interests of workers (Jenkins, 2013: 623) but also

in mobilising them to act collectively. If there are no such traditional channels,

workers may require a more active mobilisation to represent their interests (Tapia and

Turner, 2013: 603).

The first answer to the question of how the representation gap mentioned above

might be filled is the revitalisation of the unions. The main focus of revitalisation

debates in advanced economies is about the difficult adaptation of unions to the

changes in society and economy, as well as the idea that existing unions cannot

meet the interests of a changing workforce. The second identifies a role for new and

alternative actors for worker representation (Heery and Adler, 2004; Heery et al.,

2004: 1–3).

There is also another outlook that is supported by a different pathway like focusing

on a ‘hybrid’ approach (Tapia, 2013: 668). This approach is based on the idea of

combining trade union activities with new actors and actions. Some scholars are

supporting the idea of collaborative network of these two organisational forms to

make the labour movement more effective (Heckscher and Carre, 2006: 617).

Given the significance of the current debates about alternative labour organisations

in the global context, this article explores new developments in the organisation and

representation of call centre workers’ interests in Turkey. As in other developing

economies, there has been a tendency for such workers to be dismissed by traditional

trade unions. As labour relations are influenced by the political and economic struc-

ture of the country they appear in, there are considerable inter-country differ-

ences regarding labour market conditions and structure of industrial relations. In

other words, it is better to grasp developed and developing countries as analytical

categories as well as to note the differences within each category. There is a process of

382 S¸afak Tartanog˘lu

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd