2.6 Industrial Employee Relations HL Flashcards
Union
The employees syndicate to protect their rights.
Causes of conflict between EE and employers
- Hours
- Communication
- Benefits
- Salary
- Personality
- ETC
Trade Union
Organization with the objective to improve:
- Pay
- Working conditions
- Legal support
Benefits of Unions for EE and Employers
EE
- Collective bargaining –> stronger together
- Legal support
Employers
- Saves time –> Not negaotiate with everyone
- 2 way communiction
Employee relations methods
- Collective bargaining
- (unions)
- Strike action
- Stop working for a period of time
- Overtime ban
- Refuse to do more than the contracted hours per week
- Slow downs/ go-slows
- Work at the minimum speed as per their contract
- Work to rule
- Refuse to do any work outside of the contract
Employer relations methods
- Collective bargaining (Unions)
-
Threats of redundancies
- Increase working hours or job requirements when contracts are renewed.
-
Lock-Outs
- Temporarily close factory so workers can’t earn money
-
Closure
- Completely close the factory –> leading to redundancies
-
Public relations
- To get public support for their side which puts pressure on Unions
Changes of contract
Increased working hours or job requirements when renew contracts
Conciliation
The use of a 3rd party to encourage communication and reach a compromise
Arbitration
The use of a 3rd party to listen to both sides and then make a binding decision
Employee participation and industrial democracy
To achieve a closer working relationship between EE and ER
E.g. Employee or Trade Union representatives on the board, where EE’s share ownership
No-strike agreement
Union members agree to not strike
Single-Union agreement
ER only negotiates with 1 union
Reasons for resistance to change in the workplace
Employee Resistance to Change
- Lack of trust of management
- Fear of the unknown
- Inertia - “we like things as they are”
HR Strategies to maintain change
- Communication
- Incremental changes over time
- Give EEs time to adapt
