Trade union organizations as agents of collaborative change. The inclusiveparticipatory business model

Abstract

This article analyses, from the trade union perspective, the proposal of the inclusive-participatory business model (IPM), designed and agreed upon by different people belonging to the political, trade union and business world of Euskadi. Despite the existence of various experiences in participatory companies in most countries of the European Union, in our country, this business model has had little development and practical implementation, being in the gestation process. The theoretical foundation of participation and the identification of existing models define the theoretical discussion. Through personal interviews with members of the most representative unions in the Basque Country (CCOO, CGT, ELA, LAB and UGT) and of the Association of Friends Arizmendarrieta (ALE) and Foundation of Arizmendarrieta, as the promoters of the IPM, the study provides a qualitative analysis of the potentialities and limitations presented by the model, as well as the identification of the key elements to be taken into consideration in its institutional and organizational design, with a view to its development in business praxis. Moreover, the work provides elements of analysis that can serve a more complete and informed debate on the participation of workers in the company and thus allow progress, from the trade union perspective, in the development of participatory company models.