Technological changes in the era of digitalization: What do collective agreements tell us?

• Published date: 01 January 2023
• Author: Véra‐Line Montreuil,Roland Foucher
• Date: 01 January 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12389

DOI: 10.1111/irj.12389

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Technological changes in the era of

digitalization: What do collective agreements

tell us?

Véra‐Line Montreuil |Roland Foucher

Department of Industrial Relations,

Université du Québec en Outaouais,

Québec, Canada

Correspondence

Véra‐Line Montreuil, Department of

Industrial Relations, Université du

Québec en Outaouais, Québec, Canada.

Email: vera.line.m@gmail.com

Abstract

Unionized organizations are implementing more than

ever technological changes to cope with an increas-

ingly changing and highly digital environment. Despite

the extensive literature on union responses to changes,

there is not much evidence on how unions and

employers draft provisions pertaining to technological

changes in collective agreements. Therefore, this paper

aims to conduct an in‐depth analysis of these provi-

sions in over 500 collective agreements signed between

2000 and 2020. Specifically, this study focuses on office

workers in two of the most important Canadian

industries, namely, the healthcare and manufacturing

sectors. The findings indicate that within the examined

provisions, the regulation of technological change

varies along a continuum that extends from no

obligations to stringent obligations on the part of the

employer. Moreover, the results show that these

provisions have remained stable over the past two

decades.

1|INTRODUCTION

Due to the pressure to become more efficient in an increasingly changing and highly digital

environment, unionized organizations are implementing more than ever a large number

of technological changes into the workplace (Brougham & Haar, 2018; Ouedraogo &

Ind. Relat. 2023;54:20–39.20

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wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/irj

© 2022 Brian Towers (BRITOW) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ouakouak, 2020). Over the past few years, the pace of technological progress has increased

considerably, and advances in robotization have disrupted the traditional modes of organizing

significantly (Turja et al., 2022). According to the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and

Development (OECD, 2019), 14% of workers will see their jobs become automated and 33% of

workers will see the content of their jobs profoundly transformed. These changes are expected

to affect all workers, regardless of their profession or sector of activity. Some companies are

already exploring solutions to automate a range of industrial, intellectual and social functions

(Dwivedi et al., 2021), and approximately 80% of large organizations have adopted some form of

artificial intelligence, which represents an increase of 70% over a period of 5 years (Ghosh

et al., 2019; Makarius et al., 2020). With the recent COVID‐19 pandemic, the phenomenon of

digitalization has become even more accentuated as a result of the widespread adoption of

remote or hybrid work where technologies have become vital to remain connected (Faraj

et al., 2021).

In such an era of digitalization and considering the critical role of unions in ensuring that

technological changes are made in the best interests of workers, it is surprising to note that to

date, no recent studies have analyzed the content of provisions regarding technological changes

in collective agreements. Most work analyzing the relationship between unionism and

workplace changes has either focused on the determinants of union responses to changes (e.g.,

Stroud & Fairbrother, 2011) or the effects of technological changes on workers (e.g., Goyal &

Aneja, 2020). While investigation of these issues is certainly enlightening, one piece of the

puzzle seems to be missing in the literature, namely, a careful study of provisions pertaining to

technological changes at a time when technology has more importance in unionized

organizations than ever before. Indeed, the literature is silent regarding the ways in which

these provisions are currently framed, and whether they have evolved since the turn of the

century to adapt collective agreements to today's reality. In light of these academic voids, this

research aims to make an in‐depth analysis of technological change provisions in over 500

collective agreements signed between 2000 and 2020. Specifically, this study focused on office

workers in two of the most important Canadian industries, namely, the healthcare and

manufacturing sectors. By conducting a comparative analysis, this research explores the

complexity, heterogeneity, and homogeneity that may emerge when employers and unions

draft provisions in the same country but in different sectors.

The remainder of this paper is divided into five sections. The first section of the paper

outlines the current debates on employers' obligations in collective agreements regarding

technological changes. The second section explains the empirical choice, namely the Canadian

context. The third section presents the research methodology. The fourth section presents and

discusses the main findings of the study. The fifth section outlines the limitations, implications,

directions for future research as well as a summary of the findings.

2|TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES:

EMPLOYERS' OBLIGATIONS IN COLLECTIVE

AGREEMENTS

Technological changes can be defined as transformations stemming from the introduction of

new digital tools, materials, systems, and automated processes (Akyeampong, 2005;

Smith, 2002). Today, technological advances have permeated different spheres of society,

which affects all types of workers and organizations. As mentioned by Wright and Schultz

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE ERA OF DIGITALIZATION

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