Industrial Relations Essay

Introduction

Industrial relations is defined by Salamon as cited in Wallace (2004) as "a set of phenomena, operating both within and outside the workplace, concerned with determining and regulating the employment relationship." Industrial relations in the workplace covers everything from human resource management, employee relations and labour relations. It refers to the relationships between employers and employees (LRC, n.d) .

The last thirty years have seen many changes in Irish Industrial Relations in Ireland. The timing of this essay coincides with a changing economic climate as Ireland emerges from a period of recession. Significant changes have occurred in Irish industrial relations over the last thirty years and major influences include the Industrial Relations Act 1990, the change in union density, social partnership crashing to a halt, human resource management, European Union influences and the increase in multinational companies setting up in Ireland. A highly educated population with well developed technical skills has also impacted on the industrial relations landscape. The major influences will be discussed throughout the essay.

Industrial Relation Act 1990

The industrial Relations Act 1990 represents the most inclusive revision of industrial relations. This legislation is described by Gunnigle (1999) as "an important benchmark in trade union law". The Act marked a huge change to the collective institutional arrangements since the 1946 Act. This Act looks at trade disputes, secret ballots, trade union rationalisation, immunities, injunctions and picketing. The Act provides protection for people who get involved or organise trade disputes from civil liability. The Act also provides protection for Trade Union fun...

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...t is weakening. The Global Financial Crisis may have impacted the decline in union power in MNC's (Gunnigle, 2013) .

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the Industrial Relations Act 1990, the change in union density, social partnership, human resource management, European Union influences and the increase in multinational companies setting up in Ireland have all impacted the changes in industrial relations over the last thirty years in Ireland. The collapse of social partnership in 2009 has been disorienting for trade unions and it is not clear how they will go on from here. Trade union membership has declined sharply since the 1980s. Their members are aging and they are failing to encourage young people to join. Because of the recession, which occurred since the establishment of the LRC, trade unions are forever going to be facing changes in the Irish workforce.