Worker participation and employee empowerment : a comparative study of two enterprises in Malta

Abstract

A recent European survey on 'New Technology and the Role of Employee Involvement' has found that "The existing pattern of involvement inside enterprises seems to be favouring participation as an agent for efficiency rather than as an agent for redistributing power". That study has noted that management is really 'interested in developing direct forms of participation with individual employees, sidestepping collective participation with employee representatives'. The actual dynamics of any participation strategy are best tested through empirical case studies. This paper explores the contrasting experiences of different forms of worker participation or employee empowerment operating in two of Malta's leading enterprises: the Drydocks (MDD) and the local subsidiary of SGS Thompson (ST) a French - Italian multinational producing electronic components.