8/20/2013

What is Collective Bargaining?

8/20/2013

Collective Bargaining
Concept was first given by Sidney and Beatrice Webb and also by Gompers in the USA The ILO Workers Manual defines Collective Bargaining as: Negotiation about working conditions and terms of employment between an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers organizations, on the one hand, and one or more representative workers organizations on the other with a view to reaching agreement.

8/20/2013

Salient Features It is a group process It contains a number of steps Negotiations form an important aspect in the process It is a bipartite process

8/20/2013

Salient Features It is a continuous process. It is a flexible and dynamic process. It is a method of partnership of workers in management

8/20/2013

Importance to society
Collective bargaining leads to industrial peace in the country. It results in establishment of a harmonious industrial climate which supports, which helps the pace of a nations efforts towards economic and social development since the obstacles to such a development can be reduced considerably. The discrimination and exploitation of workers is constantly being checked. It provides a method or the regulation of the conditions of employment of those who are directly concerned about them.

8/20/2013

Importance to employers It becomes easier for the management to resolve issues at the bargaining level rather than taking up complaints of individual workers. Collective bargaining tends to promote a sense of job security among employees and thereby tends to reduce the cost of labor turnover to management. Collective bargaining opens up the channel of communication between the workers and the management and increases worker participation in decision making. Collective bargaining plays a vital role in prevention industrial disputes.

8/20/2013

Importance to employees
It increases the strength of the workforce, thereby, increasing their bargaining capacity as a group. Collective bargaining increases the morale and productivity of employees. It restricts managements freedom for arbitrary action against the employees.. The workers feel motivated as they can approach the management on various matters and bargain for higher benefits. It helps in securing a prompt and fair settlement of grievances. It provides a flexible means for the adjustment of wages and employment conditions to economic and technological changes in the industry, as a result of which the chances for conflicts are reduced.
8/20/2013 8

Collective Bargaining Process

8/20/2013

Prepare
This phase involves composition of a negotiation team. The negotiation team should consist of representatives of both the parties with adequate knowledge and skills for negotiation. In this phase both the employers representatives and the union examine their own situation in order to develop the issues that they believe will be most important. Both management and union go through several intraorganisational bargains.
8/20/2013 10

Discuss

The parties decide the ground rules that will guide the negotiations. An environment of mutual trust and understanding is also created so that the collective bargaining agreement would be reached.

8/20/2013

11

Propose
The process usually starts with a Charter of demands being presented to the management by the union on behalf of their constituent members. A fresh charter is submitted upon the expiry of an earlier agreement. In recent times management also put forth counter demands regarding certain workplace rules.

8/20/2013

12

At the Bargaining table

Item by item various demands are taken up, each side presenting its case to the best of its ability. Some alternatives that initial rounds of clarifications and explanations can provide are given below: a) Total rejections of all demands as unreasonable, and therefore a deadlock. b) Rejection of some and offer to consider some others.

8/20/2013

13

c)Management to work out cost and other implication of demands and restart negotiations. d) While agreeing to consider union demands, management puts forth counter demands of its own.

8/20/2013

14

Settlement
Once the parties are through with the bargaining process, a consensual agreement is reached upon wherein both the parties agree to a common decision regarding the problem or the issue. This stage is described as consisting of effective joint implementation of the agreement through shared visions, strategic planning and negotiated change.

8/20/2013

15

Variations of collective bargaining

Intraorganisational Bargaining Distributive Bargaining

Attitudinal Structuring

Integrative Bargaining

8/20/2013

16

Levels of Collective Bargaining

Plant Level

Industry Level
National Level

8/20/2013

17

Prerequisites of Collective Bargaining

Careful thought and selection of negotiation team is imperative. It is necessary for the management to recognize the union and to bargain in more good faith in unionized situation. It is necessary to have open minds to listen appreciate other concerns.

8/20/2013

18

 Trade union should encourage internal union democracy. Strikes and lockouts should be restored to in the ultimate analysis. There is a need to do homework on the demands proposed. Both parties should be able to identify grievances, safety and hygiene problems on a routine basis and take appropriate remedial steps.
8/20/2013 19

Problems of Collective Bargaining Due to the dominance of outsiders in trade unionism in the country, there is multiplicity of unions which are weak and unstable, and do not represent majority of the employees. Moreover, there are inter-union rivalries, which further hinder the process of collective bargaining between the labor and the management. Trade unions are having political affiliations, they continue to be dominated by politicians, who use the unions and their members to meet their political ends. There is a lack of definite procedure to determine which union is to be recognized to serve as a bargaining agent on behalf of the workers There has been very close association between the trade unions and political parties. As a result, trade union movement has leaned towards political orientations rather than collective bargaining

8/20/2013

20

8/20/2013

21