TRADE-UNIONS, RESTRUCTURING AND INDIVIDUALIZATION IN FRENCH AND BRITISH BANKS

The European banking sector has experienced radical restructuring in t he 1990s. This article compares the experiences and opinions of French and British trade union activists in two banks. It argues that while trade union organization in each country remains distinct, activists' perceptions of restructuring and industrial relations or HRM changes h ave much in common: there is a growing convergence in working practice s and workers' experiences. Job losses, the reorganization of work and segmentation of the labour force have weakened the power of unions to make a collective response. However, despite some signs of growing in dividualism, there is little to suggest that 'commitment' to the emplo yer has increased; and unions continue to rely on collective organizat ion to restrain managerial unitarism.