Employment Relations and Working Unions - Essay Example

? In what ways do women and minority ethnic groups seek to transform unions and how do unions respond? Trade unions are s which are constituted for the welfare and protection of employees. Such unions are needed to first identify the major issues faced by the workers and then they should work to find remedies for those problems. Women and minority groups have demands for transformation of unions so that unions incorporate their current issues and raise voice for them. Trade unions or labor unions are special organizations formed by individuals that represent people at work to strengthen the protection of their existing rights, and to raise their voice against any uncivil act. It is also constituted as the union’s duty to protect and improve upon the payment and working conditions of the employees. In addition to that, the unions also campaign for laws and policies for the betterment of the working population. The ideology of union formation is basically rooted in the concept that an individual worker has very little power to influence decisions that are made about his or her job. Hence, in order to make the workers have more control of their working conditions, the unions attempt to join them all together so that there is more chance of them having a voice (Sofia-Roth, I. 2010, p.3). Labor unions are criticized in many aspects like the ineffectiveness of their existence, raising unnecessary aggression against employers, provoking employees for unjustified demands and so on. Research has been conducted about the usability of unions and their impacts in addition to checking out the argument that unions have outlived their existence. The global environment, the diversity in the workforce, decentralized structures, flattened organizations and increased employee autonomy suggest that unions are no more required. On the other hand, the cases of labor injustices and uncivil practices are still in practice. Employees still have to face the challenge of getting justifiable wages for their skill and effort, suitable working conditions and social benefits. Therefore, it can be easily assumed that labor unions are still required and are needed to play an effective role in setting up standards and regulations fro working class. Although the unions have not become obsolete altogether, yet they require transformation and modification in many ways. Due to globalization, technological advancements and diverse, multicultural workforce the role of unions should be improved and modified according to new requirements. They need to work on building their image as organizations supportive to both the employees and employers, rather than being taken as bodies with their main focus being on strikes and riots. Women and ethnic minority groups are always being discriminated and undervalued since their introduction into employee market. Even their introduction and entry into the workforce is an issue to be considered in this modern and civilized world. These issues require consideration from legislative bodies, labor rights institutions, social welfare groups, non governmental organizations and the most relevant institution that is ‘the union’. Unions need transformation to adjust and accommodate the needs of women and minority groups in an effective way. It can be done by taking into consideration all those issues which are currently being faced by the members of minority groups and then making policies and strategies to process these issues along with the general labor policies. Although the issue is been discussed and resolved in many ways until now, but its complexity suggests that it requires further consideration in various dimensions and by different institutions. To start with the unions, they must recruit the women and minority group members. It will give a moral support and deeper penetration into the problem to be solved. When the union involves such individuals, only then they can argue that they are working in the best interests of all the stakeholders. Furthermore, it will erase the unnecessary concerns of the majority that minorities will be benefited at their expense. It is needless to say that it in today’s age and time, with the advancement in the awareness of people, it has become mandatory for the trade unions to widen their recruitment areas in order to incorporate the service sector along with also increasing the proportion of women in the union body. At the same time, it is recognized that the women are under represented in union structures and steps have been taken to redress this imbalance through various factors such as reserved seats and proportionality. Notwithstanding such potentially transformative changes, union culture has been characterized as enduringly patriarchal. It is therefore timely to reflect on the impact of senior trade union women and the part they play in union survival and revival, and how union women operate within a feminist paradigm juggling both transformative and status-quo objectives. Transformative objectives are taken to be wide-ranging strategies to build a ‘woman friendly union’. Status-quo objectives are those which focus on numerical strength and survival of the union in an essentially unchanged form (Kirton & Healy, 1999, p.1). Labor unions in general have faced several challenges and the women and minority groups need extra protection against dramatic changes in wake of the technological improvements and economic restructuring. Following aspects need special considerations a) High productivity derived from technological innovation, combined with uneven distribution of the productivity gains in favor of capital. b) Lower wages, reduced social benefits, and less protective working conditions c) Decentralization of production to regions or countries characterized by lower wages and more relaxed regulations of business activities d) Dramatic expansion of informal economy, at both the core and periphery of the system. By the informal economy is meant income generating activities that are unregulated by the institutional system, in a context where similar activities are regulated. Much of the development of informal economy has to do with dismantling in practice of many provisions of welfare state, for example, avoiding payments of social benefits and contravening the legislation protecting workers. e) A restructuring of labor markets to take in growing proportions of women, ethnic minorities, immigrants, namely those social groups which, because of institutionalized discrimination and social stigma, are most vulnerable in society and thus in market place (Castells, 1991, p.24). The aspects quoted above are the concerns of general labor force which are tackled by the unions but these are also the concerns of minorities and women also. Furthermore, the issue is that the general workforce is threatened by the incorporation of women and minority group members into the main task force. Union transformation requires incorporating this issue in policy making and creating awareness that diversity, if managed properly, is a positive thing. Union can arrange workshops and special interactive sessions to create communication and coordination between all the workers. Both movements have generated organizations within the labor movement that have endeavored to open the doors of union offices to women and minorities, encouraged them to seek office, and created greater awareness in the labor movement about civil right issue (Cornfield, 1989, p.4). Union is also required to deal with any conflict that occurs within the union. Because if the union is favoring any one group, either the minority or the majority, the overall purpose of unifying for each other will not be accomplished. In the case of unions, this minority usually asks the officers to press for stiff demands — stiffer than employers. In order to avoid trouble, the great majority of the union would settle for much less than the active minority demand. Quite naturally, the professional leader feels on the spot. If he disappoints the active minority too deeply, his leadership will be challenged. If he gets the inactive majority into too much trouble, he may provoke revolts also (Samuelson, A. &Samuelson, W. 1980, p.133). Unions should include in their agenda that they will promote the concept of adding women and minority group members in employee market. They will positively induce the idea of incorporating discriminated individuals into the workforce by demanding special quotas, reserved seats, equal pays, safe and healthy working environment, justified and crystal clear recruitment practices. Economic discrimination of women has undoubtedly contributed to an extraordinary degree to the devaluation of women. All these also have bearing on such issues as female feticide and infanticide. The new information technologies can be of great use if these are used with a view to promote a sense of multi-cultural global community. A sense of community among women cutting across cultural diversity would lead to a greater recognition of their shared bonds, shared interests despite all the divergent perceptions and conflicting opinions on various strategic issues. Eventually this would transform the way women perceive themselves and are perceived by their male counterparts in the public space (Brostle, 2001, p.69). Over three dozen authors tackle the hot-button issues of race, gender, and ethnicity in the workplace, shedding new light on the complex dynamics of diversity in business, and highlighting emerging trends, opportunities, and challenges (Karsten, 2006, p.65). The human rights organizations and employee right institutions are working for over 50 years to get the members of minority groups their rights and status but a more active role in this regard is needed to be played by the unions. Their indulgence and effort means that a part of organization itself is working on the issue and the problem is better solved when it is taken on the grass root level. Sexual harassment, which is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, is a major issue of the women employees and a challenge for management to deal with. Transformation of union can help eradicate the problem. Union must define a policy on the issue by mutual consensus of the members. The policy must identify the general behavioral patterns to be avoided and the charges one has to face in case of violation. The difference between the union control and management control is that the employees will take it as a part of self monitoring and self controlling rather than being guided and punished by management. Secondly, union must organize such activities and sessions of discussion where the members can formally raise their issues and ask for solutions. Thirdly, a platform should be established by the union on employee level to collect the complaints confidentially. This can be achieved by providing an employee drop box or any other form of confidential communication. Union can keep a thorough control as it involves employees who work together so the idea that everyone is watching and everyone has control automatically reduce the vulnerability of women to harassment in workplace. Glass ceiling is another phenomenon which creates unseen barriers for women to move to higher positions within the organization. Management does not want a woman as a boss, controlling their performance. They feel awkward in taking orders from a woman officer. Furthermore, there is still a perception that women cannot handle stressful conditions well and their decision making capabilities are less effective than their male counterparts. Women are declared to be emotionally unstable so they are thought to be going out of their mind in times of crisis. Research has proved these statements to be false. The union is required to create awareness about these myths and developing an environment which is full of justice and mutual respect for each other. The union must support a competent female employee or employee from a minority group so that their right to progress is well entertained rather than being neglected. Union must discuss the career paths and progress of individuals especially the women and minor employees so that individuals can have a clear picture of the position where they should be and where they currently are. Unions should also include the issue of equal pay for equal work and special provisions should be made for women and members of minority ethnic groups. Research and data has shown that the women get much less pay for a task requiring equal skill, effort and knowledge as compared to their male counterparts. Furthermore, many multinationals move to other countries for a lower wage rate for reducing their cost of production. This can be justified in terms of providing opportunity to a less developed country but on human level it is not justifiable. Thus, unions should focus on the fact if the MNC is exploiting their country’s human resource only or if they are also working on the overall development of the country. Although women represented at best about 20 percent of the work force during this period, they were either completely absent from most major industries, like mining and steel, or were majorities or sizable minority in a few, like the ladies’ garment industries and printing trades. For the vast majority of men, women were not likely to be co-workers or potential competition for jobs, and were therefore a negligible factor in industrial life. Only where women were a major part of the trade, or becoming so, was there likely to be any discussion at all of their "proper place". It can also be validated here that labor unions were of the view that they had more pressing problems than dealing with the issue of women. The opening of this century saw the beginning of a frontal attack on organized labor by the National Association of Manufacturers, the forceable breakup of craft unions in the growing steel industry and a decline in union membership after 1904 (Lehrer, S. 1987, p.142). Labor's racial divisions have left many black workers wary and cynical about unions, and anti-union corporations have seized on this reputation in their campaigns to deny workers their right to organize. Wal-Mart, which offers low wages and bad working conditions, discriminates against racial minorities and women, and is fiercely anti union, has campaigned successfully in poor and predominantly African-American neighborhoods to gain support for building new, nonunion superstores. Wal-Mart capitalized on the support from the black community by playing up labor’s historical treatment of non- white workers, just like what Ford Motors did decades ago (Frymer, P. 2008, p.1). If labor organization can affirmatively act to ensure equal employment opportunities for all persons regardless of their race and nationality, minority workers could become a cornerstone in the rebirth of labor movement. A recent survey disclosed that 69 percent of minority employees would support a union if they had the opportunity. This propensity should facilitate organizing minority workers in all sectors of economy. AFL-CIO affiliates should emphasize to potential minority union members that most labor organizations have historically supported equal rights for minority workers. Reprehensive labor organizations must continue to seek and enforce bargaining agreement provisions proscribing discrimination. They should continue their efforts to eliminate race-based wage and job disparities. Unions should hire more minority organizers to demonstrate their unequivocal commitment to equal employment opportunity. During new organizing campaigns, they should emphasize the fact that the average earnings of unionized minority workers exceed those of their unorganized counterparts by approximately 30 percent (Craver, C.1995, p.81-82). As studied in the main course, the employee organizations include trade unions and staff organizations, trade union congress (TUC), European trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and The International Confederation of Free Trade unions (ICFTU). Unions need to play their role in economic issues like salaries, benefits, health insurance, pension, social security and issues related termination like severance pay. Unions need to consider issues for transformation to be effective like exclusion of certain employees from training programs and promotion schedules, discrimination on the basis of class (white collar and blue collar) and marital status. The voice is needed to be raised and efforts are needed to be organized for dealing with these issues and finding the remedies. Especially for women, the unions should work for the approval of flexible work hours also known as ‘flexitime’. This will facilitates the working women and they can act as more productive workers. Part time jobs should be offered and women should be encouraged to join and avail such opportunities. In addition to that, maternal leaves are still an issue to be resolved so unions must add this in their agenda to provide these leaves and medical coverage because it is in the favor of whole society. Women should not be discriminated on the basis of their natural obligations and the emotions of motherhood. Research has shown that they are equally competent and have special areas of specialization. Succession planning sometimes involves discrimination of women and minority group members. The discriminated members are not moved to higher levels easily as compared to their counterparts and their efforts are ignored just because of their ethnic background. Unions are required to focus on this issue and proper monitoring and standardized performance measures should be emphasized. Thus, women and members of minority groups requires transformation of unions in a way that covers a wide range of issues which are currently being faced by the workforce rather than indulging in political activities and processes that favors only some of the individuals. As far as the response of unions in this regard is concerned, it can be called as a positive response. Unions are actively responding to the special class needs and they understand the importance of these minority members. Work Cited Brostle, A. 2001, ‘Human rights, minority rights, women's rights: proceedings of the 19th World Congress of the International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (IVR), New York, June 24-30, 1999’, Franz Steiner Verlag, pp.69 Castells, M. 1991, ‘The informational city: information technology, economic restructuring, and the urban-regional process’, Wiley-Blackwell, pp.24 Cornfield, D. 1989, ‘Becoming a mighty voice: conflict and change in the United Furniture Workers of America’, Russell Sage Foundation, pp.4 Craver, C.1995, ‘Can Unions Survive?: The Rejuvenation of the American Labor Movement’, NYU Press, pp.81-82 Frymer, P. 2008, ‘Black and blue: African Americans, the labor movement, and the decline of the Democratic Party’, Princeton University Press, pp.1 Lehrer, S. 1987, ‘Origins of protective labor legislation for women, 1905-1925, SUNY Press, pp.142 Karsten, M.2006, ‘Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Workplace: Legal, psychological, and power issues affecting women and minorities in business’, Greenwood Publishing Group, pp.65 Kirton, G. & Healy, G.1999, ‘Transforming union women: the role of women trade union officials in union renewal’, Industrial relations journal, 30:1, pp.1 Samuelson, A. &Samuelson, W. 1980, ‘Economics’, McGraw-Hill, pp.133 Sofia-roth, I. 2010, ‘Labor Unions: Have Labor Unions Outlived Their Usefulness in the Modern Business Working Environment?’, GRIN Verlag, pp.3 Read More