ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises the different trends that have led to EPV’s troubled present and uncertain future. There are positive indicators, such as the UK government’s concerns over job quality. Also, unions recognise that their potential membership base has changed: with more economically active women and more vulnerable workers, many unions are considering new strategies to recruit, retain and promote an active membership. Nevertheless, the impact of austerity and deregulation on union activity and worker confidence is apparent. Many commentators now discuss a growing loss of autonomy for workers, even among those who once had it.
The potential impact of Brexit is uncertain but collective participation may ultimately suffer without EU protections. The book concludes that prospects for representative participation under neoliberal economic conditions are not favourable. In developed economies, management-initiated involvement that offers faint task discretion and communication exercises is likely to persist. This helps to mask deeper management control and domination by free-market political and economic forces.
