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Collective Bargaining

Collective Bargaining
Collective Bargaining is a process in which the representatives of a

labour organization & the representatives of business organization meet and attempt to negotiate a contract or agreement, which specifies the nature of employee-employer union relationship.

Process involving discussions and negotiations collective group 'bargaining' proposals and counter proposals to reconcile their conflicting interests is a flexible approach

Evolution Of Collective Bargaining


Coined by Sydney and Beatrice Webb
Industrial Revolution Great Britain The Indian Scenario: Gandhiji - the leader of the Ahmedabad textile workers Idea gathered interest only after the Second World War GOI took steps like setting up of machinery for negotiations, conciliation and arbitration.

Collective Bargaining
Commonality of interest as a basis for bargaining:
Bargaining would not take place if there was no common interest

to bargaining Parties work together to produce goods and services Together they work for the long term future of the of the company Bargaining is based on pluralism Both parties recognise each others right to exist

Collective Bargaining
Sources of conflict
Most important over: wages and salaries Management has to see to shareholder profits and

workers want more money Productivity needs may force the firm to operate flexible work practices and the unions might resist this Companies might want to dismiss inefficient workers and the union would resist this, demanding job security

Collective Bargaining
Employees might demand shorter working hours,

longer vacation leave and more time off for training Employees might insist on stricter health and safety controls which would be expensive for the company Employers demand loyalty to the firm whereas employees see it as the individual right to change jobs when the opportunity arises

Types Of Bargaining
Conjunctive/Distributive

Bargaining - zero-sum game; win lose

Co-operative /Integrative

Bargaining - more open to coming down from their high horses; win win.

Levels At Which Collective Bargaining Is Undertaken


Enterprise Or Plant Level

Industry-Cum-Region wide Agreements

Sectoral Collective Bargaining At National Level

1. National Level Agreement Bargaining between one or more employers/companies/corporations or one or more employers association on one side and one or more unions established at national ,industry,nation,region or plant level on the other.
E.g. Indian Banks Association : negotiate long term

settlement with bank employees

2. Industry cum region wide Agreements Bargaining between one or more employers/companies/corporations or one or more employers association on one side and one or more unions established at industry,region or plant level on the other.
3. Firm/plant level agreement
With unions established at plant,locality level

Collective Bargaining Process


Prepare Discuss

Propose
Bargain Agreement

Legal Framework of Collective Bargaining


Freedom of Association: Article 19(c)
1. Determination of Collective Bargaining Agent i. Secret Ballot

ii. Check off system iii. Membership verification

Agreement : Collective agreement is binding on

workers who have signed and not on other unions


Settlement : written agreement between employer

and workers arrived during Conciliation proceeding is applicable to all the present and future workers.
Award : when Agreement and settlement fail.

Award(final determination of industrial dispute ) given by Arbitration and adjudication-binding on parties

Bipartite agreements which are totally voluntary for the purpose of implementation
Bipartite settlements negotiated and settled primarily by the parties but registered before a conciliator Consent awards-when the parties have a dispute pending before a tribunal, but yet negotiate a contract, which is recorded by the tribunal, the contracts so negotiated acquire legal status

2. Unorganized Sector :
CB is rare ,low wages, benefits 3. Unfair labor practices i. refusal by the employer to bargain collectively in good faith with
recognized trade union
ii. Refusal by a recognized trade union to bargain collectively in good faith with the employer iii. Workers and trade unions of workers indulging in coercive activities against certification of bargaining representative.

Collective Bargaining Agreement


Written document regarding working

conditions and terms of employment


Legally, a CBA binds only the parties to

it.
In India, there are three types of

agreements, namely
voluntary agreements, settlements, and Consent awards.

Procedural ( interpretation and

implementation of agreements &resolving conflicts) agreements or substantive (substance of agreement) agreements

Contents of Collective Bargaining Agreement


The date of commencement of the

agreement

Its duration

A definition of terms
The procedure for settling disputes

regarding interpretation, as well as other disputes. The consequences in the event of breaches of the agreement
As regards wages, exactly how conversion

of employees' wages to the new scales is

Conditions For Successful Collective Bargaining


Trade Union Recognition
Knowledge , awareness and skills of workers

Support of Labour Administration

Authorities
Good Faith : transparency
Proper Internal Communication

Why has collective bargaining not flourished in India


Excessive dependent on compulsory adjudication for

settlement of industrial dispute Reduction in the area of Collective Bargaining Weak trade union movement

Suggestions to make CB more effective


Compulsory adjudication should be used as last resort
TUs should be strengthened Workers education should be intensified Idea of one union for one plant Legal provisions to be made

Negotiation techniques and skills


Negotiation is a process in which two or more parties

who have common and conflicting interests come together and talk with a view to reaching an agreement.
Purposeful persuasion or constructive compromise

Stages of negotiation
Preparation
Collecting info, setting objectives, Establishing priorities , Assessing other party and its case, noting details

Discussion Bargaining
Willingness of parties to compromise , focus on problem rather than person

Agreement

Negotiation points
Focus on interest ,not take positions
Be creative Focus on problem not the person Invent multiple solutions Expand the pie Discuss more..

PERCEPTIONS ON COLLECTIVE BARGAINING


CB essentially means negotiations between the labour and

management CB should just not stop at the negotiations but also go on to be implemented; otherwise the entire process of CB will be rendered futile. It is mostly the formal sector that benefits out of the CB process. The parties have to adopt a flexible attitude throughout the process of bargaining It is based on give and take approach and take or leave approach. Once both the parties know what they want, negotiations become easier and better. Obviously all the above mentioned conditions are required successful for CB but the most essential among them is the good faith

CB agreement is a written format and it is essential

because that acts as a legal framework and as a guide to their relationships on certain matters for a specified period of time. Collective bargaining is not highly practiced in India, several factors are responsible for this: Multiple unions Defective laws Mediation by political leaders Organisations understand the importance of human resources hence they take care of the workers well enough so that collective bargaining is not highly required. It is also because most MNCs are setting up their plants in India, because of which compensation levels have gone up so also the terms of employment has become favourable in most parts of the country. It is necessary to create a win win situation for both the parties, if this is not done, the process of CB just acts as a temporary solution. Also, if CB is used as a temporary solution, it would infact create an environment of distrust.

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