Collective Bargaining and Trade Unions

Employment relations do not happen in a vacuum, but in an organizational setting, where the involved parties act within the constraints created by organizations that are external to the organization in question (Gennard and Judge, 2010). International Labour Union (2021) state that collective bargaining is a right of the workers. Armstrong (2014) describes collective bargaining as a negotiation of terms of employment between employers and groups of workers where the workers are generally represented by the trade unions. Musson (2006) points out that “collective bargaining,” as a recognised term, originated in Britain amidst the industrial revolution and this is because of the rapid expansion of industrialization and the introduction of new technology in the production process. ILO (2021) state that through collective bargaining, trade unions and businesses can reach a consensus on fair wages and working conditions. CIPD (2021) further elaborates that discussions in this regard usually involve negotiations on pay, working hours and holidays.

“Trade Unions are the best-known form of employee representative organization. They were formed to protect and advance the interests of their members against employers and members of other trade unions (Gennard and Judge, 2010).” Various forms of collective actions against employers by workers have happened throughout history for thousands of years. However, the rise of the modern trade union happened towards the end of the 18th century (Musson, 2006). This was mostly aided by the industrial revolution, which brought about massive changes to otherwise labour intensive production processes (Gore, 1978). Due to the feudalistic mentality that existed at the time, and the mostly militant nature of the labour union actions of the period, collective bargaining or any such trade union activities were mostly banned in Europe. However, due to the widely-felt sympathy towards the plight of the workers, trade unions were decriminalised in 1824 in England. This could be deemed the beginning of the modern trade union (Musson, 2006).

The key objective of trade unions is to act as a bargaining agent for the workers in order to improve the wages and working conditions (Gore, 1978).

The matters that fall in the purview of trade unions are as follows (Gore, 1978).

- Minimum wage levels

- Skill differentials

- Piece rates

- Productivity schemes

- Training and apprentice arrangements

- Overtime working

- Shift working

- Craft demarcation

Trade Unions, from the days of their inception, remiained rather popular and a staple element in the blue collared worker communities (Musson, 2006). Despite the immense popularity of trade unions amongst workers in the early 20th century, there has been a steady decline in trade union memberships over the past five decades (Nowak and Hodder, 2019). This could be due to the below reasons (mostly in the European context) (Nowak, 2015)

- Decline of manufacturing and the rise of the service sector in most developed countries

- The rapid expansion of globalisation

- International competition

- Technological change

- The private sector gradually becoming bigger force in the delivery of of public services

- More women and migrants entering the workforce

- The gradual erosion of mid-level jobs, with an increase in upper management jobs and lower level jobs.

- The development of a more individualised approach towards employee relations.


References

Armstrong, M. (2014). Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice. 13th ed. London: Kogan Page, p.426.

CIPD. 2021. Trade Union Recognition & Industrial Action Q&As | CIPD. [online] Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/employees/trade-unions-questions#gref [Accessed 22 December 2021].

Gennard, J. And Judge, G., 2010. Employee relations.. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, pp.10-39.

GORE, T., 1978. Aspects of collective bargaining. Industrial and Commercial Training, 10(3), pp.107-111.

Kaufman BE(2004) The Global Evolution of Industrial Relations: Events, Ideas and the IIRA. Geneva: International Labour Office.

Ilo.org. 2021. Collective bargaining and labour relations (Collective bargaining and labour relations). [online] Available at: https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/collective-bargaining-labour-relations/lang--en/index.htm [Accessed 22 December 2021].

Musson, A., 2006. Trade union and social history. Oxon: Routeledge, pp.65-80.

Paul Nowak , (2015),”The past and future of trade unionism”, Employee Relations, Vol. 37 Iss 6 pp. 683 – 691

Paul Nowak, Andy Hodder, (2019) “150 years of the Trades Union Congress – reflections on the past and challenges for the future”, Employee Relations: The International Journal, Vol. 41 Issue: 2, pp.270-278


Comments

  1. Ijaz FaizDecember 26, 2021 at 2:39 AM

    Hi Divakar,
    Agreed, Typical issues on the bargaining agenda include wages, working time, training, occupational health and safety and equal treatment. The objective of these negotiations is to arrive at a collective agreement that regulates terms and conditions of employment. Collective agreements may also address the rights and responsibilities of the parties thus ensuring harmonious and productive industries and workplaces. Enhancing the inclusiveness of collective bargaining and collective agreements is a key means for reducing inequality and extending labour protection. (Allen 2007)

    ReplyDelete

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