PM4064 Employment Relations: Collective Representation and Trade Unions

Only "authorised" trade unions with negotiating licences can engage in collective bargaining.
Excepted bodies (e.g., Irish Hospital Consultants Association, Irish Dental Association) can negotiate but must be independent of management per the IRAA 2015.
Employment density is the percentage of employees in unions; workforce density includes those seeking employment.
Between $1994$ and $2011$ , union membership increased by approximately $20\%$ , but density dropped from $45.8\%$ to $29.6\%$ —impacted by cyclical, structural, and institutional factors.

Craft Unions: Restricted to specific skills (e.g., electricians).
General Unions: All categories of workers (e.g., SIPTU, the largest union).
White Collar Unions: Professional and clerical workers (e.g., FSU, INTO).

Recognition: Management prerogative; no statutory right to recognition in Ireland (D’art and Turner, 2008).
Closed Shops: (defined by McCarthy, 1964) requires membership to obtain or retain a job. * Pre-entry: Join before employment. * Post-entry: Join within a specific period after starting work.
Constitutional Status: Post-entry closed shops are unconstitutional under Article 40.6.1 (Right of Association).
Closed shops remove the "free rider" effect but infringe on individual liberty.

Employee Voice: Defined by Wilkinson et al. 2014 as how employees have a say over work activities.
Employee Involvement: Managerial schemes aimed at enhancing commitment through information.
Employee Participation: Involving employees/representatives in decision-making.
Partnership: Problem-solving and consensus-based arrangements between management and representatives.

Conflict arises when one party perceives their concerns are being frustrated.
Individual Expressions: Absenteeism, sabotage, turnover, gossip, and reduced productivity.
Collective Expressions: Go-slow, work-to-rule, overtime bans, mass sick leave, and strike action.
Strikes: Defined by Griffin (1939) as temporary work stoppages to enforce demands. Rare in Ireland due to institutional and economic factors.
Strikes are measured by frequency, breadth, duration, and Working Days Lost (WDL).

The primary legislation for collective industrial relations in Ireland.
Section 8: Defines employer, trade dispute, and strike.
Section 11: Limits picketing to the place where the employer carries on business.
Section 12 and 13 (Golden Formula): Provides union immunity from tort when acting "in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute."
Section 14: Mandates secret ballots for industrial action; immunity is withdrawn if a ballot is not held or if the majority votes against action.

Roy (1980) categories: * Fear stuff: Intimidation and reprisals. * Sweet stuff: Union substitution via alternative voice mechanisms. * Evil stuff: Regarding unions as destructive. * Fatal stuff: Complete refusal to deal with unions.