Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The role of labor unions
The role of labor unions
The role of labor unions
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The role of labor unions
[LAW 337(LABOUR RELATIONS LAW] “Critically discuss the above statement, taking into account the current situation in Botswana and determine whether or not you agree that trade unions should participate in the political affairs of the country.” INRODUCTION The main focus of this paper is to make a critical analysis of the statement made by the late President Sir Seretse Khama when he spoke about trade union in his country in the 1971. This paper will therefore attempt to highlight the role of trade unions in Botswana the concept of labour and democracy. We will look at two issues, the first being; whether trade unions in this country (Botswana), have been given freedom to represent their members and the second being whether trade unions have not been given freedom to promote the interest of political parties or external power. Following through, we shall look at the current position of trade unions in regard to their ability to express their views “freely” on a number of social and economic problems. Lastly, the issue that will be discussed is whether or not trade unions should participate in the political affairs of the country. TRADE UNIONS IN BOTSWANA Botswana became independent in 1966, of which there were only four registered trade unions; the Bechuanaland Protectorate Workers Union (BPWU), the Francistown African Employees Union (FAEU), the Bechuanaland Trade Union Congress (BTUC) and the Bechuanaland General Workers Organisation. After independence, the government introduced the Trade Disputes Act and the Trade Unions Act in order to control and regulate labour in Botswana. The two Acts were enacted to “make provision for the registration and control of trade unions”. One could say that since the year 1971 wh... ... middle of paper ... ...icity and government departments and parastatals of which the end result has been the dominance of government in the economy. Trade unions together with the government have to come together and evaluate negotiation measures and the way in which the procedure of implementation will transform. We need good governance; we need the late President’s speech to come alive in our country Botswana. REFERENCES 1) Monageng Mogalakwe,The State and Organised Labour In Botswana, ‘Liberal Democracy’ in emergent capitalism- 1977 2) Louis A. Picard, The Politics of Development in Botswana: A model of Success? 3) The Role of Trade Unions in Developing Societies, International Institute for Labour Studies Geneva 4) R. Nengwekhulu, Political Parties as Facilitators of Politics in Botswana, 4 August 1988 5) Trade Union in Botswana Country Report 2003 & 2008
Despite attempting to predict the eventual outcome of the negotiation, I did not anticipate the confrontations between Local H-56 and the management of Hotel Zinnia. Although they initially agreed to engage in integrative bargaining, the union and management subsequently entered an intense negotiation. When Local H-56 presented its proposal of wage increases and health insurance, management immediately responded with a counterproposal that surprised the union. Both the union and management eventually behaved confrontationally, accusing each other of bargaining unreasonably and focusing on the trivial aspects of the negotiation. Moreover, as the union and management felt increasingly frustrated, they suffered from a lack of unity in their teams. The union could not fulfill its objectives because its lead negotiator prevented other team members from contributing to the negotiation. On the other hand, several team members of management struggled to assert their authority as the lead negotiator. After observing these issues, I ultimately believe that the union and management failed to achieve their individual objectives. Moreover, by approaching the negotiation with a zero-sum strategy, I assert that the union and management failed to reach a mutually beneficial contract. At the same time, both sides of the bargaining table lacked cohesive teams and therefore struggled under the pressure of the negotiation.
David Brody argues that the rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships during the post WWII era formalized the relationship between employers and unions, but simultaneously began to put a break on shop floor activism. Explain Brody’s argument and, where relevant, incorporate Weber’s theory of bureaucracy.
The primary objective of a trade union is to improve the well being of its members. They were formed to counter the superior economic power of the employers. It has long been recognised that the market dominance of employers could onl...
The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease, starting in the 1960’s on to today. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries. The objective of this paper is to shine light upon labor unions, taking a closer look at the disputed issues of union ethics, concerns of union diversity, and the opposing viewpoints of labor unions.
To conclude this analysis on the basis of the labor’s extensive history, Sloane & Witney (2010) propose, “it is entirely possible that labor’s remarkable staying power has been because of the simple fact that to many workers, from the nineteenth century to the present, there really has been no acceptable substitute for collective bargaining as a means of maintaining and improving employment conditions” (p.80). In the end, it is important to anticipate unions and employers presently work together to find solutions that will enhance collective bargaining strategies and practices to serve the interest of both parties.
... of Labor Unions in Labor Markets. In R. C. Free (Ed.), 21st Century Reference Series. 21st Century Economics (Vol. 1, pp. 163-172). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.library3.webster.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX1700400026&v=2.1&u=edenweb_main&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w
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.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze a specific, hypothetical employment situation encountered and to include the information regarding employment conflicts, questions, grievances, lawsuits, etc., in terms of how the situation was handled or resolved. Employment conflicts are a constant issue everyday in any organization; it is how you handle them both legally and professionally that counts.
Unions traditionally were “a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the condition of their employment” (Webb & Webb, 1894, as cited in Bryson, 2011b, slide 7). Their function was to campaign for compassionate management procedures, equivalent bargaining power between employers and employees, and for fairness and democracy to be initiated into the workplace (Bryson, 2011a). Union activity at this time tended to focus on nationwide bargaining for industrial groups (Geare, 1983, as cited in Haynes, 2005), with their role seen as wage bargainers and in...
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, overemployment and restrictive employment conditions such as the all union “closed shop”. These rules were dictated by union contracts and served to tie the hands of managers and the government alike. Mrs. Thatcher’s greatest grievance concerned the powers union leaders had over strikes ( Moskin 100).
Dolvik, J. and Waddington, J. (2004) 'Organising Marketized Services: Are Trade Unions up to the Job.' Economic and Industrial Democracy 25(1): 9-40.
The pluralistic approach accepts the legitimacy of workers forming themselves into trade unions to express their interests, influence management decision and achieve their objectives. The pluralistic approach sees conflicts of interest and disagreements between managers and workers over the distribution of profits as normal and inescapable. The role of managers/management would lean towards enforcing, controlling, persuading and coordinating. Trade unions play an important role in this approach, being that employees can join unions to protect their interests and influence decision making by the management. Trade unions balance the power between management and employees, hence its an important factor in this approach and industrial
Trade unions are important in the working environment, they organize and represent the interests of the employees and also ensure that their employment relationship is regulated through processes of collective bargaining (Venter & Levy, 2009). The interests of trade unions are also considered to be of importance because they look after the interests of those in the production processes. As a result models of behavior and collective bargaining were developed by Hicksian.
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...
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).