Collective Bargaining process in Industrial Relations

This is a mutual ‘give and take’ transactional relationship between representatives of two institutions that is workers on one side and the employing organization on the other to the mutual benefit of both.  In the unionized organization, the collective bargaining process can be thought of as a complex flow of events that occur in the determination of wages and fringe benefits and other working conditions.  Union bargaining is used in a broad sense to include those in professional organizations that bargain with employees over variety of matters that are the most important aspect of the collective bargaining process.

 PURPOSE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

1.  To reduce Industrial conflict as it provides understanding of each other;
2.  It facilitates flow of commerce and operations;
3.  It increases productivity and motivation;
4.  It increases responsibility and loyalty of workers.

 ASPECTS OF THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS

These include formation of unions;

• Pre-negotiations’ strategies and facts on ages, working hours and conditions of service.
• The Collective Bargaining process itself;
• Process administering of the agreement.

TYPES OF BARGAINING RELATIONSHIPS

Selekman’s Categories of bargaining Relationships

Counter Aggression (Confrontational)

This type is characterized by union aggressively trying to extend its voice in the company’s operations, with management trying hard to keep unions in check.

 Conflict Relationship (more confrontation)

This is characterized by employers who accept union and attempt to get rid of the union at every opportunity.

 Power Relationship

This type of bargaining is characterized by both parties attempting to gain any possible advantage from the situation depending on the economic conditions.

 Deal Relationship

This relationship feature secret relationship and understanding been union leader and top management with minimum involvement of rank and file workers.

 Collusion Relationship

This has much less desirable constraints than the deal bargaining relationship and it involves manoeuvers to gain or maintain mutual advantage over the public or competitors by controlling the market price or raw materials e.g. Kitwe Council and Market levies.

 Accommodation Relationship

This type is characterized by tolerance and compromise on the part of both parties but not forgetting the respective rights of their constituencies.

 Mutual Relationship

This relationship between the workers and employing organization is characterized by mutual concern over matters above and beyond ages, hours and working conditions such as matters of efficiency and technological change.  Both accommodation and mutual relationship are characterized by an avoidance of extreme display of power.

TYPES OF BARGAINING

The Authors Walton & McKenzie argued that there are 4 types of bargaining:

1. Distributive bargaining refers to the situation in which the goals of the two parties are in conflict and which is assumed that the total values to be bargained are fixed so that someone’s gain is another’s loss.
2. Integrative bargaining refers to situations in which goals are not perceived as conflicting but in which there is a problem of concern to all parties e.g. production, safety and quality.
3. Attitudinal structuring bargaining which is part of either distributive or integrative bargaining. It refers to the activities in and surrounding negotiations that serve to change attitude of relations.
4. Intra-organizational bargain refers to activities that take place within the union or within company management, to bring the expected principles into alignment with those of chief negotiators.  In short, there is a good deal of bargaining that goes on within unions and company management about the position to be taken by the chief negotiators of the two sides in actual collective bargaining sessions.

DISTRIBUTIVE BARGAINING

1. Pre-negotiation proposals from members of union and present proposals to management.
2. Management goes through the proposals rejecting some and accepting others.  Management also offers a list of their demands – counter proposals.
3. Initial discussion takes place;
4. Management presents agreements;
5. Parties proceed to hard bargaining starting with the non-economic demands with provision,  management concedes to certain items provided the union drops certain others or provided union agrees to certain management desired contract changes.
6. Negotiating the costs – items, monetary wages and fringe benefits in particular tedious with the company’s starting from the position that the wage structure is already satisfactory and that the union is asking a high increase.  Both sides face the problem the other to move in the direction of the demand and trying to make the opponent reach the final position without itself giving away its final position.
7. The procedure continues until the company has revealed the maximum amount it will grant including both wages and fringe benefits, and the union has essentially revealed the minimum it will accept if the difference is small the two parties can split into two and sign the agreement. If the difference is big and no compromise is in sight the following may take place:
8. a) a dispute will be raised
9. b)you must agree to have a reconciliatory
10. c)if this is not possible, the union must seek a strike authorization by way of secret vote from the general membership.
11. If the union resolves to go on a strike, the contest becomes one of economic pressure and willing to make a sacrifice.  One or both parties may by this time advertise its position and supporting arguments.
12. When agreement is finally reached, usually after concurrence by the union members both parties may switch from belligerent to a more shaking hands, joking and making statements about the contract being fair and just to employees and stakeholders.

INTEGRATIVE BARGAINING

This type is far less prevalent than distributive.  The integrative bargaining requires a change in attitude on both sides, i.e. management and union from an offensive-defensive position to genuine interest in and concern for joint exploration of problems, fact gathering and problem solving.  It becomes a way of life for the two parties.

Examples may be seen through:

a. Quality of work life (QWL)

Quality of work life is a systematic effort to create work situations that enhance employees’ motivation and commitment, the factors that contribute to high levels of organizational performance. QWL results (benefits) are increased output, quality products and worker participation.  These improve affecting the organization.

For QWL to succeed, the work place must be more democratic.  Committees are set up with representatives from both the workers and management to determine what work has to be done. This is called worker participation. The QWL programs support highly democratic treatment of employees at all levels and encourage their participation in decision-making

 The process of changing the way jobs are done by rest maturing to make them more interesting to workers.  This is done in two ways:-

 i).     Job enlargement (increasing the jobs).  Employees have more responsibilities and use broader skills as well as perform a wide variety of different tasks at the same level.

ii).   Job enrichment (vertical).  This design of jobs increases addition of fast employees levels responsibility and control.

 iii). Quality circles.  These are small groups of volunteers usually around ten (10) who meet regularly to identify and solve problems related to the quality of work they perform and the conditions under which people do their jobs.  Organizations may have so many quality circles dealing with specific areas.  These groups are trained in problem solving.

  Issues discussed and solved include:-

1. Reduction of vandalism or scrap or waste.
2. How to create safer working environment, developing employee skills, improving morale and leadership.
3. How to improve product quality.

 Quality circles are good and effective at bringing short-term improvements in quality of work life but less effective in creating more permanent changes.

Once the short-term problems are solved quality circles are disbanded.  Quality circles have been an innovation of the Japanese industry.

Benefits of Quality Circles

1)      Increased job satisfaction, organization commitment, and hence reduces turnover among workforce.

2)      Increased productivity as a result of reduction in cost and avoid defects.

3)      Increased organizational effectiveness e.g. profitability and goal attainment.

4)      Opportunities are provided to develop problem-solving abilities and increase job skills.

5)       Co-operative attitude and a spirit of teamwork exist between management and employees.

The requirement of successful QWL is both management and labour must co-operate in designing the program.  None of the two should take the advantage of the other.  Once agreed by all concerned, programmes must be implemented.  It is the responsibility of all employees from the highest-ranking management officer to the lowest level of employee to follow.