2.7 Industrial/employee relations

sources of conflict in the work place

sources of conflict in the work place

pay, working conditions, culture clash, poor quality, hours

employee approaches to conflict in the workplace

use of trade union, collective bargaining, work-to-rule, strike action

employee - collective bargaining

All coming together to bargain and change something

employee - work-to-rule

working your contract and no overtime, means employers have to hire another employee

employee - strike action

2/3 of members of union has to vote, of that 60% must say they when they are going on strike. You have to advertise the dates of the strikes 2 weeks in advanced. May be changed that you have to have legislation, any trade union that goes on strike must leave a minimum service level

why employers may be unhappy

not working hard enough, working from home and refusing to come in, refusal to modify jobs due to new technology

employer approaches to conflict in the workplace

collective bargaining, threats of redundancy, change contracts, closure an lockout

employers - collective bargaining

all coming together to bargain and change something

employers - threats of redundancy

take pay cut or 20% of redundancies

employers - change contracts

take all benefits away

employers - closure and lockout

more for factory - shut the gates

types of resolution

conciliation and arbitration, employee participation and industrial democracy, no-strike agreement, single-union agreement

conciliation and arbitration

• In conciliation, a third party acts as a go-between and attempts to listen the demands of both sides and reach a compromise that is satisfactory to both parties.

• in arbitration: both parties agree beforehand that they will abide by the third party’s decision. the arbitrator listens to both sides The decision by the arbitrator is legally binding and both parties must do what has been decreed by the arbitrator.

employee participation and industrial democracy

• These involve workers making decisions and sharing responsibility and authority in the workplace. Workers can participate in running the business

• Employees may feel more motivated and empowered, democratic leadership model, organisations with greater participation tend to have fewer strikes.

• Democratic systems with greater employee input can delay decision-making, employees may not agree on a strategic direction, management expertise may be overlooked

no-strike agreement

• Many unions include a no-strike clause in their contracts to combat negative publicity from stoppages. Workers will not strike

• Reduces the risk of disruption, reduces the possible risk of poor public relations created by strike action

• May limit bargaining power of the union, employers may use their power and force unions to sign agreements that may be less favourable than outcomes caused by strikes

single-union agreement

• the employer will only negotiate with a single recognised labour union.

• Avoids wasting time with negotiations with multiple unions

• Some workers may feel the negotiating done by done union is ineffective with their interests, may limit unions power