Negotiation Plan for a Dairy Workers Union - Essay Example

?The Dairy Workers Union Negotiation Plan Some negotiations have already gone down, but there remain key issues that need addressing before reaching a consensus and get down to work. The union will have the final sitting with the company and should arrive at an agreement. The group is comfortable with the previous discussions, although several other issues require special considerations. These are what the union refers to as crucial concerns and some other which are a bit lighter. This paper addresses all that and more. The Most Prioritized union’s Issues The Future Wage Increment The earlier negotiations established relativities on different categorizations on the wage issue. However, the Union still needs to agree on the matter concerning the wage increases during the existence of the agreement (Guasco, 2007). This matter is very important to the workers, as it one way or the other shall determine their productivity and effectiveness. The union requests an award for the workers that will help cover the past 3% inflation and a 2% salary increment for previous contributions towards productivity. The union requires the agreed disbursements made right after the agreement commences, and not on any conditions whatsoever (Bond, 1999). The union workers will be more than willing to look into productive bonuses in addition to this increment, as long as it agrees to measures of productivity. Where a mistake come from one individual, the rest workers should not suffer. The union demands an even distribution of bonuses to all hourly paid employees (Guasco, 2007). The workplace Arrangements It is important and right of the workers to attend premium training when they get the need to progress, and not when there is a vacancy in the company. When employees who reach a higher level that demands a higher salary cannot find a position within the company, an allowance for such training is to be awarded which, is a half the difference between the grade they trained for, and the one they are now in. The trained employees are would promoted, before advertisement is considered whenever there is a higher vacancy in the company. Hours Roster, Shifts and Overtime Implications The workers union has set forth these three working arrangement options, a shift pattern, making one work for 76 hours over two weeks. There is also a monthly arrangement cycle of 152 hours, or an annual cycle of 1976 hours. An employee should work for an average of 8 hours overtime weekly on summer and at least two in the winter. The union demands that the company rewards the overtime hours double the amount paid on normal hours and compensation arranged to the employees who in some cases might find themselves sitting in for others, hence breaking the usual roosters routine. The Duration of the Agreement The workers union intends to make this the only negotiation they would have with the Dairy Company, where proper assessments are required to make sure that no contradicting loopholes left through successive plans such as in the case of future salary increments. This will see an improvement in the productivity of the employees via time conservation. It will also convince the employers that the hearts of the workers are at what they do, and not for destruction of the firm in any way. Workplace committee The Union will take the workplace committee as a consultative body since as said in the above point; this is a onetime negotiation only. The committee formed from the collaboration of the employers and the employees will only be set to resolve any arising issues within the company, and act as a uniting code between the workers and the company. The Union understands that other light issues also need redress, but since the agreement is a unifying dialogue leaves them open for employers suggestions. Such concerns are sick-offs and day-offs (Eden, 2010). The workers intend to build a relationship with the Dairy Company, and that is why the employers have a room to air their views on some issues. The Union, therefore, resolves on adopting the integrative strategy when handling the negotiations. The worker would like to affirm that the aim of the talks is not to divide the working process within the company, but to strengthen the bond between the employers and the employees. The strategies are applicable when the negotiations are over and upon arriving at a consensus (Eden, 2010). The Union is anticipating on using a few tactics to pursue the company in arriving at an agreement. One tactic is the legitimacy power (Sharman, 2010). The documents appear to be more serious than words of mouth, and that is just what the Union plans to do, to draft their ideas, concerns and conclusions before presenting them to the other party. This would help keep them busy and in check hence asking few questions, therefore, giving the Union plenty of time to ask heavy questions (Pienaar, 1999). Although the Union describes that the workers aim is to build a bond with the company, it also understands that the other party might use this as a loophole for making unimaginable demands. This reason, therefore, makes the Union apply the low-key tactic, by not being too enthusiastic about the bonding part. This tactic creates a need that is two-way traffic, hence presenting a win-win situation (Sharman, 2010). In addition, the workers will apply the open-ended question, which place both the parties in a conversational mode rather than an interrogation one. With the tactic, parties agree much faster. Lastly, the union anticipates on applying the effective pauses approach. This enhances a proper flow of words and points in a dialogue, often exhausting a party’s ideas. The Union chose these tactics because they are all relating to a good dialogue, and are aiming at strengthening the relationship between the two parties (Eden, 2010). The possible conflicting issues that might arise could be a misconception of the union’s desire for bonding. To resolve it, the workers would apply the above-mentioned enthusiasm tactic. The company might decline to increase the salary as per the Union’s scale (Pienaar, 1999). To deal with this, the workers are ready to renegotiate persistently until the company understands their arguments. However, given the tactics the Union will apply, the conflicts are minimal. References Bond, P. (1999). An RDP policy audit. Pretoria: HSRC. Guasco, M. P., & Robinson, P. R. (2007). Principles of negotiation: Strategies, tactics, techniques to reach agreements. Irvine: Entrepreneur Press. Workshop on E-Business, Sharman, R., Rao, H. R., & Raghu, T. S. (2010). Exploring the grand challenges for next generation e-business: 8th Workshop on E-business, Web 2009, Phoenix, Az, USA, December 15, 2009 : revised selected papers. Berlin: Springer. Eden, C., & Kilgour, D. M. (2010). Handbook of Group Decision and Negotiation. Berlin: Springer Netherland. Pienaar, W. D., & Spoelstra, H. I. J. (1999). Negotiation: Theories, strategies and skills. Kenwyn: Juta. Read More