Collective Bargaining & Negotiation Skills PDF

Collective Bargaining & Negotiation Skills Dr. N. Y. Oppong  Lecture 1 Introduction to Employee Relations  Industrial relation vs employee relations Employee Relations (ER) also known as Industrial Relations (IR) – may be slight difference IR is conce...

Collective Bargaining & Negotiation Skills Dr. N. Y. Oppong  Lecture 1 Introduction to Employee Relations  Industrial relation vs employee relations Employee Relations (ER) also known as Industrial Relations (IR) – may be slight difference IR is concerned with the interactions between the employer (represented by management) and employee (represented by trade union) IR associated with negative sense with conflict between trade unions and employers in creating bitter strikes and walkouts (MaKenna & Beech, 2008)  Industrial relation vs employee relations ER concerns understanding the nature of the relationship between employers and employees, and how this relationship is regulated, experienced and contested (Gilmore & Williams, 2009) ER differs from IR in the sense of emphasis on direct communication with employees and at individual level, an approach that reduces interaction with trade unions  Perspectives on Employee Relations Theories or perspectives to study and interpretation of IR/ER These are important as they express different assumptions that academics and practitioners have about management/union relationship and workplace conflicts Two relevant ones (to our course) are UNITARISM and PLURALISM  Perspectives on Employee Relations Unitarism: “Managers holding a unitarist frame of reference believe the natural state of organisations is one of harmony and co-operation. All employees are thought to be in the same team, pulling together for the common goal of organisational success. The employee relations task of management is to prevent conflict arising from misunderstandings that result if they fail adequately to communicate organisational goals to employees. Any remaining conflicts are attributed to mischief by troublemakers.” (Bacon, 2001)  Perspectives on Employee Relations The unitarist view has the following features: – Management is the only source of authority and power – The view that everyone pulls in the same direction, united by common goal – Conflicts and opposition are abnormal and dysfunctional (caused by trouble makes & failed system) – Trade unions are viewed negatively and are discouraged  Perspectives on Employee Relations Pluralism: “A pluralist frame of reference recognises that organisations contain a variety of sectional groups who legitimately seek to express divergent interests. The resulting conflict is inevitable and the task of managers is to establish a system of structures and procedures in which conflict is institutionalised, and a negotiated order is established. Bacon (2001)  Perspectives on Employee Relations The pluralist view has the following features: – Organisations are expected to contain groups with divergent interest and perspectives – Each group (union and management separately) have power bases from which they can operate – Conflict occurs naturally as there are clash of interests – Management does not have sole authority but must compete with other sources of leadership – Legitimate role for trade unions Student Activity (Individual) 1. Which of the two perspectives do you recommend for your organisation? 2. Does your recommendation differ from the prevailing situation in your organisation? How? 3. What business case can you make for your choice? Managerial Objectives in Employee Relations Reducing unit labour costs Achieving greater stability in employee relations (channelling discontent through procedures) Increasing productivity and the utilisation of labour Increasing co-operation and commitment and the acceptance of change Increasing control over the labour process Minimising disruption at work and the likelihood of conflict The Context of Employee Relations Decline of highly unionised sectors Recession of early 1980s and 1990s Growth or a more flexible workforce Growth of public sector pay review bodies Spread of HRM systems and PRP The declining size of firms  Management-union partnership Recent development for cooperation as defining feature of contemporary organisations instead of the traditional union agitation This partnership agreement generally comprises these key elements: – Shared commitment of management and union to improving business performance – Guarantees from the company about job security – Union acceptance of more flexible working arrangements – New form of info and consultation, sometimes including non-union arrangements for employee representations  Student Activity (Groups) A comparison between a trade union and a staff association The activity involves reflections on your current workplace, former workplace or organisation(s) you are already conversant with. In groups, consider people who are members of any of these types of representative bodies. Groups can concentrate on either trade union or staff association, or both, but the idea is to produce presentation that address the following issues: The benefits behind joining trade union rather than staff association Management’s attitudes to the bodies Advantages and disadvantages they offer employees and managers  Management & union activities Guidelines for management (or its representatives) on union activities – If employee asks your opinion on unionisation, respond in a neutral manner – You can prohibit union-organising activities in your workplace during working hours only if they interfere with your operations – You can prohibit outside union organisers from distributing information in your workplace – Employees have the right to distribute union information to other employees during breaks  Management & union activities – Don’t question employees publicly or privately about union-organising activities (but if freely given you may listen) – Don’t spy on union activities – Don’t make any threats or promises related to the possibility of unionisation – don’t discriminate against any employee involved in unionisation efforts – Look out for efforts by the union to coerce employees to join its ranks. This is unfair labour practice  References MaKenna Gilmore & Williams Bacon, N (2001) ‘Employee Relations’ in Redman, T and Wilkinson, A (Eds) Contemporary Human Resource Management’ Pearson, Essex