2.6 Industrial Employee Relations
(HL ONLY)
Agents: Lawyer or trade union → representative on their behalf
Collective Bargaining: The process by which pay and conditions of work are settled by negotiations between employers and a group of employees
Individual Bargaining: Negotiating bargains between an employee and their employers
Negotiations: A bargaining process whereby 2 or more parties attempt to achieve a mutually acceptable result
Focuses more on terms and conditions
Extreme actions taken by disgruntled workforce include strike or rioting.
Employee and Employer representatives deal with sources of disputes on behalf of their members and conflict resolutions
Labour Unions: Organizations whose members unite to protect their rights and welfare
What do Labour Unions do?
Negotiate wages
Improve conditions
Support members with legal advice
Strength of Bargaining Factors:
Level of experience and skills of the negotiator
Media and public opinions → support on either side can determine the stronger
negotiating power
Government involvement → Government rules and regulations
Employee-Employer Relations
Employer Representative → Employer’s associations
Employer’s associations: Organisations that represents the management team in the collective bargaining process
Represents the general view and interests of all businesses
Industrial/Employee relations methods used by employees
Workers have mixed objectives that they wants to achieve:
Increase pay/ preventing pay cuts
Improve remunerations i.e fringe benefits and paid holidays
Better working terms and conditions i.e working hours and rest breaks
Employer - Employee Relations Objectives:
An employers objectives are:
1. Lower productions costs to remain competitive
2. Improved productivity levels
3. Lower absentee rate
4. Higher staff retention
5. Lower labour turnover
Conflicts & Resolutions
Conflict: Refers to a situation of friction or mutually exclusive goals between two or more parties
Conflicts can cause a major problem because it can:
Hinder productivity
Reduce level of staff morale → added stress and anxiety
Inappropriate conduct → unethical behaviour
Fuel internal politics
Hamper opportunities for collaborative teams
Conflict Resolution: The course of action taken to resolve conflict and difference in opinion
Reasons why people are resistant to change:
Self interest takes priority over organizational objectives
Low Tolerance of change happens because people prefer familiarity
Misinformation causes misunderstanding because purpose isn't communicated properly
Trade Unions
A trade union is an organisation which represents the interests of the workers who are its members.
Tactics employed by employees:
Collective bargaining
Slowdowns
Strike action
Tactics used by Employers:
Collective bargaining
Threats of redundancies
Changes of contract
Closure
Lock-outs