Adoption and Uses of ICTs by the Portuguese Unions. Are the Technologies Helping to Revitalize the Trade Unions?

Abstract

Most of the trade union movements in the advanced capitalist societies are living “hard times” (Chaison, 1996) since the 70s. Facing the problem, they are implementing a set of actions towards their revitalization (Frege and Kelly, 2003). The adoption of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) emerges in this context as an important tool for supporting those actions. The unions adopted the ICTs later than their counterparts (Ad-Hoc Committee on Labour and the Web, 1999; Pinnock, 2005), but the competitive advantages they offer and their flexibility encouraged the unions to adopt them more and more. Everywhere, the unions are making an investment in this domain, using ICTs in several areas with concrete objectives. Some studies reveal that this investment has a relevant impact in the organizational issues, but a more mitigate one in the overall unions’ efficiency (Fiorito et al., 2002). However, some authors go forward and state that ICTs have a relevant contribution for a qualitative transformation of the unions’ structures. According to them, new union forms are emerging called “cyberunion” (Shostak, 1999,2002), “e-union” (Darlington, 2000), “open-source unionism” (Freeman and Rogers, 2002) or “trade unionism 2.0” (Gutiérrez-Rubi, 2009). In this paper we will discuss if the adoption of ICTs by the Portuguese unions are giving a contribution for their revitalization. Methodologically, we have allied an extensive analysis (survey of national unions; analysis of the Internet use) with an in-depth analysis (a case study on CGTP-IN).