Collective Bargaining & Negotiation Skills

Collective Bargaining & Negotiation Skills

• This topic covers the related concepts of Industrial Relations (IR) and Employee Relations (ER).
• ER, also known as IR, focuses on the interactions between employers and employees, often represented by management and trade unions respectively.
• IR can be viewed negatively as tied to conflict, strikes, and walkouts.
• ER focuses on understanding the relationship between employers and employees, how it functions, is regulated, and how it is contested.
• ER emphasizes direct communication and interactions with employees at an individual level, while minimizing trade union involvement.

Perspectives on Employee Relations

• Theories and perspectives help analyse and interpret Industrial Relations/Employee Relations.
• They highlight varying assumptions about management-union relationships and workplace conflicts.
• Two relevant perspectives are:
  • Unitarism:
    • This perspective views organizations as harmonious and collaborative.
    • Management’s primary role is to maintain harmony.
    • Conflict is attributed to individual troublemakers, not structural issues.
    • Management is considered the sole authority and source of power.
    • Unions are often seen as disruptive and undesirable.
  • Pluralism:
    • This perspective recognizes that organizations contain diverse groups with different interests.
    • Conflict is inevitable and seen as a normal part of the organizational structure.
    • Management’s role is to create a system that handles conflict constructively through institutionalized processes and negotiation.
    • Unions have a legitimate role in representing employee interests.

Managerial Objectives in Employee Relations

• Managers aim to:
  • Reduce labor costs.
  • Achieve stability in labor relations through the handling of employee grievances.
  • Increase productivity and labor utilization.
  • Increase cooperation and commitment from employees.
  • Gain more control over the labor process.
  • Minimize workplace disruptions and conflict.

The Context of Employee Relations

• The context of ER is dynamic and involves factors like:
  • The decline of highly unionized sectors.
  • Economic recessions.
  • The rise of flexible workforces.
  • The development of public sector pay review bodies.
  • The growth of Human Resource Management (HRM) systems and Performance Related Pay (PRP).
  • Decreasing firm size.

Management-Union Partnership

• This involves a shift from traditional union agitation to cooperative relationships.
• Key elements in these partnerships:
  • Shared commitment to business performance improvement between management and unions.
  • Guarantees of job security from the company..
  • Union acceptance of flexible work arrangements.
  • New forms of communication and consultation, including participation from non-union employees.

Student Activities (Individual and Group)

• Activities often require students to analyze current workplace situations and recommend perspectives.
• Considering trade unions versus staff associations are key issues.
• Advantages/disadvantages of involvement in each type of organization are assessed.

Management & Union Activities

• Guidelines for management regarding union activities.
• Neutral communication with employees regarding unionization, or prohibiting activities where they interfere with operations.
• Management can prohibit the outside distribution of union information on company property.
• Employees have the right to share union information during breaks.
• Prohibition of questioning employees regarding their plans to unionize.
• Avoiding threats or promises regarding unionization.
• Ensuring nondiscrimination toward employees engaged in unionization efforts.
• Preventing union coercion that pressures employees to join the union.