Public sector unions’ ideas about employee-driven development: Restricted conceptualization of representative participation in workplaces

Abstract

This article explores unions’ ideas about representative participation in employee-driven development in the Norwegian public sector, using key documents from two unions for professionals and one general union. By means of qualitative ideational analysis, the article finds that none of the unions clearly convey ideas linking representative participation to knowledge-based, employee-driven development, and the article argues that the potential for employee participation is not fully developed by these unions in the Norwegian public sector. Further, the analysis reveals differences between the unions in whether they describe their local representatives as a collective professional voice. This finding transcend the traditional division between professional associations and general unions, and raises new questions about the role of professional autonomy and knowledge in relation to representative participation and workplace development.