Ongelijkheid: Ontwikkelingen op de arbeidsmarkt en in de arbeidsverhoudingen

The Dutch labour market and labour relations have experienced profound changes in recent years. This article discusses in particular the growing diversity, fragmentation and inequality in the labour market, as well as the mounting pressure on the representativeness of most of all trade unions, but also of employers’ organisations. The authors argue that these developments cannot be considered independently, especially where the shifting balance of power between unions and employers, the continuous wage moderation and the flexibilization of the labour market are concerned. The polder institutions are in a stalemate, the relationships between employers and unions at sectoral and national level are becoming more conflictive and the social partners are less and less able to reach consensus on the core social and economic subjects. These findings matter to the world of HRM in two ways. On the one hand, (the debate about) future HR-policies will be influenced strongly by the mentioned structural changes in the labour market and labour relations. On the other hand, these changes are the result of the choices made in HR strategies and HR practices in organisations. Keywords: labour relations, inequality, diversity, fragmentation, power balance