Industrial Relations Essay
The role of the government on industrial relations is very important as it sets the legal framework that industrial relations operates in. Appropriate industrial relations legislation should recognize the requirements of both employers and employee’s. Both the employee and the employer want to profit from each other but are also reliant on each other. This means that the equal bargaining power of employers and workers must be recognized (Peetz, David. 2006). Appropriate industrial relations laws should address any imbalance of power and give both groups an equal degree of control. Appropriate industrial relations should not only allow a mixture of both collective and individual bargaining but also facilitate employee participation in day to day workplace decisions. After all it’s the structure and framework of the employment relationship, which is governed by legislation that leads to good Industrial Relations.
One of the main debates concerning industrial relations in Australia is the method used to organise and manage labour. Although both the current government and the opposition share differing opinions on the current industrial relations laws, most of the issues concern the use of third parties or unions, individualist and collectivist frames of reference and individual vs. collective bargaining. According to Accel-Team, appropriate industrial relations laws are there to protect both parties by protecting the weak (hence minimum wage); outlaw discrimination (race, sex, etc); determine minimum standards of safety, health, hygiene and minimum employment conditions (sick leave, annual leave, etc) to prevent the abuse of power by either party (Accel-team. 2005). If all these areas are addressed in the best interest of both the workers and managers, then this has the potential to lead to good industrial relations.
When considering good industrial relations it is important to note both perspectives of the relationship want different outcomes. Workers want good conditions and a wage which adequately reflects their efforts and ability. Employees also want a voice in the organisation and want to be able to play a role in making decisions particularly those that have a direct impact on their ongoing employment (company takeovers eg Qantas or outsourcing arrangements). On the other hand employers want the workers to be productive and efficient for the least amount of financial sacrifice (Trish Todd. 2006). A common element that both parties want is control and power. I believe appropriate industrial relations laws should offer equality and fairness to both the worker and the employer. These laws should protect workers by giving them adequate wages and conditions.
Dabscheck, B. , Griffen, G. and Teicher, J. (1992), Contemporary Australian Industrial Relations, Longman Chesire, Melbourne.
Marshall, Shelley, 2004. Enterprise Bargaining, Managerial Prerogative and the Protection of Workers Rights. An Argument on the Role of Law and Regulatory Strategy in Australia under the Workplace Relations Act 199, Vol.22(3), , p.299.
Factories were known for their ill treatment of their employees, long hours and dirty and unsafe conditions. In 1866, unions started to form to improve working conditions for the workers. A fundamental problem faced by democratic societies is as long as people live their lives individually and go their separate ways and be selfish individuals, they are unlikely to meet collectively to resolve issues. There needs to be meaningful unity among people to alleviate this problem to get people obliged to one another, so there is a willingness to sacrifice for shared goals. Bonding of its citizens creates a democracy. Unions seemed to offer the middle class a chance to become a crucial part of fostering institutions of constitutional democracy. The unions have went through several transitions, but have always worked for the working force. I will discuss the history of the various unions, their wins and losses, and the struggle of the employee to achieve democracy in the workplace.
When Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister the first thing she wanted to do was limit union power. She felt that union power applied to nationalized industrial monopolies resulted in poor service at exorbitant cost to the taxpayers. She pointed to inefficient work practices, over employment and restrictive employment conditions such as the all union “closed shop”. The Thatcher government declared its unwillingness to put further public money into an industry which had little chance of being able to recover its place in a competitive market.
How employers and workers represented by unions, in both the private and public sector, agree on the terms of work is determined by provincial and federal laws and regulations. This encompasses rules that govern how unions operate, work stoppages, and the process of collective bargaining.(Dachis & Hebdon, 2010,p. 1)
The above figure shows the inter-linkages and features of laws governing industrial relations practices in
An “industrial relations systems” refers to the rules, regulations and institutions that govern the employment relationship and which set the terms and conditions of work and employment. From 2009, Australia had a new industrial relations framework that created a “truly national system in the private sector, the statutory framework and processes have been simplified and the governing legislation had been completely rewritten to reflect the new Constitutional basis for the system”.
The Qantas ‘engineers workplace dispute’ of 2011 was the result of workers demanding an increase in remuneration, the diversification of employment and an increase in job security in sight of Qantas’ cessation of workers for capital-labour substitution, and rising inflation. Which required Qantas to utilise negotiation of contractual conditions, grievance procedures for employee complaints, and tribunals for legislative arbitration. The engineers demanded a 4% annual pay rise (remuneration), new classification levels i.e. employment diversification, job security pay claims and to not be outsourced in a new EBA (Enterprise Bargaining Agreement) [1]. They pursued Qantas to achieve this log of claims, through the ALAEA (Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association) union in proposing that contractors be restricted, access to productivity improvements in technology be restricted, and that Qantas build a fully tooled and staffed heavy maintenance facility. These demands were what Qantas’ engineer labour argued as vital in being able to earn a sustainable long term income, as recruitment and selection processes in the modern era are extremely difficult and require
Traditional literature in the field of labor relations has focused immensely on its benefit towards the employer and in the process equating it to working rules. This has been so despite the field being expected to cover the process of, labor management, union formation, and collective bargain; all which are anticipated to create a positive employer-employee relationship. This relationship is said to be positive if there exist a balance between employment functions and the rights of the laborer. Also important to note, is that this relation is equally important to the public sector as it is to the private one. Therefore, to ensure a mutually conducive labor environment exists, effective labor management process and inclusive negotiation program should be adopted (Mulve 2006; Walton, 2008).
The concept of industrial relations involves the interaction of employers and employees, for that reason without power and authority will be a lack of direction and control over the system of industrial relations. Authority frequently comes from the duties and responsibilities delegated to a position holder in a bureaucratic structure whilst Power is the possession of authority, control, or influence by which a person influences the actions of others, either by direct authority or by some other, added intangible
A collective bargaining agreement collectively sets the terms on which an employer offers individual work contracts to each of its employees in the bargaining unit. A bargaining agreement, also herein referred to as a labour agreement, is a legally enforceable written commitment, which states the rights and duties of all parties involved. The labour agreement should be made in good faith and is intended to be observed and not violated. The National Labour Relations Act obligates employers and unions to bargain in good faith concerning terms and conditions of employment, including hours and wages. Like any normal contract, competent parties must enter into a labour agreement. However, a labour agreement is unique from other legal contracts in that there is no consideration involved and nothing tangible is exchanged. Many, but not all, unions require formal ratification of a new labour contract by a majority membership acceptance, which is determined through vote by the members. Until majority approval of those voting in a ratification election is received, the proposed labour contract is not final. While each labour agreement is unique to the needs of an organization and its employees, most agreements include five issues: (1) Management Rights, (2) Union Security, (3) Wages and Benefits, (4) Individual Security (Seniority) Rights, and (5) Dispute Resolution. Management Rights “Management” is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals by making the best possible use of money, time, materials and people. The management process, when properly executed, involves a wide variety of activities including planning, organizing, directing and controlling. It is management’s role to perform all of these functions in order to maximize results.
Industrial Relations is a multidisciplinary field dealing with the study of employment relationship in union and non-union organizations. There have been various theories of industrial relations in place, but the first and most influential theory was put forward by John Thomas Dunlop. Dunlop, as a labor economist, remodelled the work of sociologists and developed a framework of industrial relations system. He developed the System’s Theory which stressed on the interrelationship of institutions and behaviors that enables one to understand and explain industrial relation rules.
The laws and regulations surrounding Industrial Relations since the 1900’s have, at each reform, placed tighter constraints on the amount of power unions are able to exert. The reforms have also radically increased managerial prerogative, through an increased use of individual bargaining, contracts and restrictions imposed on unions (Bray and Waring, 2006). Bray and W...
Dunlop(1958) argues that in the system of industrial relations, there are 3 major components in the system. There are the actors, the context and the common ideology. The actors consist of the employers and their organizations and employees and, if present, the groups that represent them and the state or government agencies. The second major component, the context, is the situation or environment that influences any decision or activity, this is usually technology, market constraints or distribution of power in the wider society. The common ideology, under which the purpose of this essay falls, can be seen as a binding idea or theory which the actors share for the purpose of stability in the system. Under the common ideology component, there are various conflicting theories or frames of reference.
There are many different approaches and theories regarding industrial relations nowadays. In order to mount an opinion on which is the ‘best’ or most appropriate theory of industrial relations, each theory will have to be analyzed. The three most prevalent theories of industrial relations which exist are The Unitarist theory, The Pluralist theory and The Marxist theory. Each offers a particular perception of workplace relations and will therefore interpret such events as workplace conflict, the role of trade unions and job regulation very differently. I will examine each of these theories in turn and then formulate my own opinion regarding which is the ‘best’ or most appropriate theory.