Trade unions in e-democracy

Abstract

Trade unions (TU) seem to adapt very timidly and slowly to e-democracy. Electronic and networked communications challenge trade unions to develop new organizational methods of servicing their members' needs. Workers access their own e-mail in the workplace. The use of corporate intranet by TU of private as well as of public sector is becoming a legal possibility in many countries. More over, some national or international trade unions, as Connect in Great-Britain, "//syndikat" in Switzerland, a new international federation called "Union Network Organization" since 2000, are on-line and use ICT (Information and Communication Technology) to build networks with affiliates. This paper analyses these transformations and their reality in a society which both connects people and destroys social links at the same time. First, it presents the state of electronic communications' use by trade unions: the legal aspects and the apparition of new unions. Second, it examines the capacities of ICT to support trade union activities and, especially as a support to voting in professional elections. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004.