Labor-Management Relations

Labor-Management Relations

• Labor relations define the relationships between employees and management.
• Nowadays, the term commonly refers to the relationships between management and labor unions.

Labor Relations as Personnel Management

• The efficient utilization of material resources relies on how organizations use its personnel and manpower.
• Organization methods and individual treatment at work should allow individuals to realize their full potential.

Sources and Definition of Labor Problems

• Common sources of labor problems include irritation, complaints, grievances, and misunderstanding.
• A labor problem is a difficulty arising from impaired harmonious relations between employees and management.
• Labor problems can affect employee morale and impair company operations.

Satisfaction of Human Needs

• Basic physiological needs include hunger, rest, sleep, protection, and reproduction.
• Social needs include companionship, approval, self-assertion, and self-approval.

Satisfaction of Personal Needs

• Personal needs include wage or salary
• Also working conditions and company personnel policy
• Further needs include job security and stability
• As well as opportunity for advancement and self-improvement
• Understanding, fair, and tactful supervisors contributes to satisfying personal needs
• Sympathetic assistance plays a role

Complaints

• A complaint is a spoken or written expression of dissatisfaction.
• Complaints disturb a worker which may prompt a negative reaction.
• Complaints are brought to the attention of a supervisor or management.
• It is a feeling of dissatisfaction, either expressed or suppressed
• Valid or not, it involves some matter or situation at work

Grievances

• Grievance encompasses any dissatisfaction, complaint, irritation, or misunderstanding.
• Grievances arise from job-related issues or relationships with the employer.
• A violation of the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) or Labor Code can cause grievances.
• They are based on the belief of being wronged or treated unfairly.

Settling Disputes

• Mediation involves negotiation where disputing parties discuss differences under a mediator's supervision.
• Mediators can be court-appointed or chosen jointly by the parties.
• Conciliation is similar to mediation and often used by government agencies or tribunals.
• Industrial disputes involving employers and employees may be referred to conciliation.
• Arbitration resembles a court hearing, with disputing parties present with or without lawyers.
• An impartial arbitrator, possibly court-appointed, determines the dispute.
• Arbitration is cheaper than court and has less rigid rules.

Discrimination vs. Prejudice

• Prejudice is an unjustified or incorrect attitude, typically negative.
• It is directed toward an individual based on their membership in a social group.
• Discrimination involves behavior or actions, often negative.
• It is directed at an individual or group based on sex, race, or social class.

Discrimination: Adverse Impact, Unfairness, and Differential Validity

• Adverse impact in discrimination cases is based on the 80% (or 4/5ths) rule.
• Unfairness occurs when minorities and non-minorities score differently on a predictor test but perform similarly on the job.
• Differential validity happens when criterion-related validity varies significantly for different groups on the same test.
• In simpler terms, the test predicts one group's performance better than another's, e.g., male vs. female.