One of the most prominent forms of legislative and institutional frameworks within NZ include Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA). The establishment of ERA is considered a shift towards decentralization of E.R in New Zealand. The main objective of E.R is to promote trust-building and goodwill at workplace to improve the E.R. Hence, it encourages productive E.R relation by promoting collective bargaining. Furthermore, it recognises the inherent inequality of power between the employer and the employee. Moreover, mediation is encouraged as a primary source of conflict resolution in ERA (Rasmussen, 2009). Additionally, it provides institutional framework for the collective employment agreements (CEAs) and individual employment agreements IEAs …show more content…
Subsequently, ERA faced diverse reactions from the key actors in E.R. In contrast to Employment Contracts Act, ERA was welcomed less enthusiastically by the employers. Therefore, employer groups reacted strongly to show their resistance towards the establishment of ERA. As noted by Independent (cited by Rasmussen & Ross, 2004) the headlines in media stated Unionism as the enemy of the freedom and free speech and that ERA would take NZ back to the 1930’s. Yet, Proponents of ERA argued that the employer groups were scared of opposition rights to be given to the unions and employees (Rasmussen & Ross, 2004). However, the resistance dwindled soon as ERA proved to be of little or no good to improve the power imbalance between the employees and the employer (Geare, Edger & Honey, 2011). Furthermore, the years that followed the establishment of ERA saw a sudden decline in union membership. Thus, ERA was not being very successful in promoting Collective bargaining (Thickett, Walsh & Harbridge, 2004).Therefore, when the 2004 Amendment Act was passed, these groups resisted again but this time in favour of keeping the original form of …show more content…
Additionally, the Amendments Act gave automatic coverage to the union members under the CEA and promoted multi-employer collective bargaining by increasing employee’s rights to strike (Blumenfeld et al., 2011). Despite the theoretical accuracy of ERA, its practical achievements are criticised as the employers still enjoy more powerful position than the employees under the ERA (Geare et al., 2011). For instance, the Amendment of 90 days trial period to ERA, offers the employer with the power of dismissing the employee without having the risk of taken to court for personal grievances. According to New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) (2010), there are many cases where the employees were terminated unjustly during the 90 day trial period. For example, a worker at the take note stationary at Waikanae was fired 5 minutes before the end of the 90th day of her job. Moreover, the employer’s power to influence the employee in opting the individual bargaining under ERA hinders it from making prominent positive changes in E.R in
Sloane. A. A., Witney, F. (2010). LABOR RELATIONS (13th editions). Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ
Union efforts to improve the lives of workers consistently met with resistance, oftentimes violent, from businesses, police and the government throughout their turbulent history; and yet unions have persevered and were able to improve working conditions. The National Labor...
This essay examines both the advantages and disadvantages of unions and non-unions in the organizational environments. It discusses the differing effects unions and non-unions have in regards to communication, morale, productivity, and employee management relations within the workplace. It also looks at the role unions have in private industry and how the changing plane of their respective industries impacts them. In addition to this, it looks at why these big changes are taking place and the numerous reasons for them. The landscape of unions and non-unions is shifting and this research essay looks at the overall effect the corresponding changes will have in the future of Canada.
Employment Relations in Australia and New Zealand?, 24th conference of the Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand, Auckland, February 2007, pp 1-14.
The theoretical frameworks are Unitarist, Pluralist and Marxist/Radical which is proposed by Alan Fox in 1966. The employment relationship will be conceptualised by these theories so that these will improve the understanding of the concept of employment relationship within businesses. Although Unitarist, Pluralist and Radical/Marxist by Alan Fox are the most used theories, individualism and collectivism by Purcell in 1987 can also conceive the topic of employment relationship.
The 21st Century has witnessed Asia’s rapid ascent to economic prosperity. As economic gravity shifts from the Western world to the Asian region, the “tyranny of distance [between states, will be] … replaced by the prospects of proximity” in transnational economic, scientific, political, technological, and social develop relationships (Australian Government, 1). Japan and China are the region’s key business exchange partners. Therefore these countries are under obligation to steer the region through the Asian Century by committing to these relationships and as a result create business networks, boost economic performance, and consequently necessitate the adjustment of business processes and resources in order to accommodate each country’s employment relations model (Wiley, Wilkinson, & Young, 2005). Cognizant of the fact that neither Japan nor China has given up on its external (protectionism or parity) adjustment tools, it is posited that they can nonetheless coexist since both “produce different things and in different ways” and as such avoid the cited perilous US and Mexico competition; but due to globalization, the operating environment portends a convergence or divergence of Industrial Relation (ER) strategies between China and Japan (Lipietz, 1997; Zhu & Warner, 2004).
In 1959, the PAP introduced the Trade Unions Amendment Ordinance as a basic law to promote responsible trade unionism and reduce union rivalry. Furthermore, the government was set up the industrial arbitration court (IAC) as a formal arbitration body to resolve industrial dispute. In the 1960’s...
Following the institution of the 1990s trade reforms it was obvious that competition had increased and the current employment levels were too high. Following the laws had to be amended which would give employers the power to terminate employees easier. This occurred as a result of firms saying that it was necessary that they have the power to “restructure their operations in response to economic adjustment taking place in the country (Essay).” It was a system quite similar to employment at will in the United States. Instead of notifying the minister to labor when they terminate an employee, they only have to notify the district or regional labor office.
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.
Since the 2008 global financial crisis, managers in the capitalists United States and the UK have been keen on increasing productivity while suppressing employment-creation resulting in work effort intensification and stronger managerial prerogative (Gregory & Harary, 2012, p.508). In these two countries, the emphasis since the financial crisis has been that operational and financial productivity in an organization can be improved by increasing employer involvement and individual bargaining (Morgan & Zeffane, 2003, p.544). Australia has also been seeing a transition inclined towards modern and individualized employment relation system instead of a collective traditional one. According to Campbell & Brosnan (1999), these changes are to blame on the involvement of the two main political parties in Australia in satisfying the needs of big corporations and foreign private investments through widening the wage gap between employers and employees, and
In the theory and practice of industrial relations, it is pertinent to note that it arises from employment relations. Hence, it highlights the dual nature of industrial relations and the constant actions by the two sides attempt to control power in the relationship (Block, Berg & Belman, 2004). Therefore, what is central to industrial relations is the employment relationship between an employer and employee as it gives raise to the bargaining agenda in the pursuit of power. As a result of common practice of bargaining in the employment relationship, some three major dimensions can be identified. These are: economic, legal and social; this paper will thus seek to show how the three interact and posit that the economic dimension is most influential in employment relationships.
Over the past thirty years or so, we have seen a great transformation in the world of work all over the world. Manufacturing as well as nationalization of industries and private sectors have largely expanded and employment has become more and more diverse. Memberships of trade unions has collapsed, for much of the private sector, collective bargaining has disappeared, as well as strikes. With these changes came a high rise in new human resource management and new employment practices too. The law that was once absent and in the background has now become increasingly dominant and influential. And the experience in the work place has now become even more pressured.
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).
Employment relationship is the relationship between the employers and the employees within an organizational setting. An employment relationship comprises of an economic exchange, power relationship and an open-ended contract. Broadly employment relationship is part the industrial relationship; which it is not just confined to the relation between the employees and the employers but also contain other major stake holders. “An industrial relation framework is a concept used to describe the arrangements by which the terms and conditions of work and the employment relationship are determined” (Nankervis, 2011). The stake holders in the Australian Industrial Relations are the state and federal government, industrial tribunals, state and federal employees, employer associations, trade unions and the employees. The “Fair Work Act (2009)” is the piece of legislation that regulates employment and other Industrial Relation parties’ disputes. The goal of Industrial Relation system is to safeguard the right of the employees and management, minimize conflicts, increase productivity, and to improve the economic conditions of workers in the existing state of industrial managements. For many HR professionals IR is employment relationship but with unionized work force. There are three perspectives to the Industrial Relation; Unitary perspective, Pluralistic perspective and Marxist perspective.