Collective Bargaining Concept - Essay Example

Collective bargaining is the bargaining or negotiation taking place between an employer and a group of workers so as to determine the circumstances of employment. These negotiations occurring, results in a collective agreement. The employees are represented by the union leaders at the negotiation. Federal and state laws govern collective bargaining. When federal and state law overlaps, state laws are enforced. (collective bargaining)Collective bargaining can also be defined as a tool used by people to end a conflict, in a way that both parties can have the benefit from negotiation.

It is widely used in organizations to settle various issues between the employee and the employer. It is a technique in which the negotiation taking place between two parties, resulting in an official or unofficial agreement. It is a process of the human resource system in which the employee or their representative take part in the discussion with the higher authority or the employer and put forward the claims and the demand of their co-workers.Collective bargaining has served as an important apparatus for providing a democratic organization to the employees where they can barter with the employer for their basic needs.

It has helped to solve many organizational issues like reducing inequality, increasing the pay rate of employees and improving the organizational environment for employees. It is the system that gives them authority to a skilled worker to put forward his demand at the industrial level. This system was the result of the influence of the rapidly advancing organizational structure, which also illustrated the importance of the rights of labor.TYPES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAININGCollective bargaining can be of two types:• Periodic: happens at a regular interval, when the need for bargaining arises.

• Continuous: happens all the time in organizations. The employer and the worker are continuously putting an influence on their demands on each other.EXAMPLE: Some workers or employees have to carry pagers during the off-duty hour, in order to respond to emergencies. As the result of collective bargaining agreements, all the employees carrying pagers during the off-duty hours were given extra pay of five weeks, whether they are paged or not. If an employee is earning an average salary of $50,000 per year, he can get about $6000 of extra compensation.

(Professor Mark J. Perry, 2011)EXPLANATION TO THE EXAMPLE: The example gives us a clear view of what collective bargaining is. In the mentioned example there has been a formal agreement that took place between the workers and the management is said to be the result of collective bargaining. The agreement somehow fulfills the conditions of a collaborative agreement. The agreement works as an advantage for the employees as they are getting paid extra pay whether they are on-duty or off duty during emergency hours.

This agreement does not fully illustrate a good negotiation. The employees carrying a pager but are not on duty are even getting the same benefits as the ones responding to the emergency call and giving extra time to their job. We can say that the employees have misused the right of collective bargaining.RULES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAININGThere are two types of rules that govern the agreement between the employer and employee. These are:• Substantive rule: these rules legalize the term and conditions of employment.

• Procedural rules: these are the rules which are kept in mind while making negotiation.FUNCTIONS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING Collective bargaining has various functions. They are;• Market or economic function: In this function, the management or the employer decides the wages of employees and they have to agree on that. • Decision-making function: This function gives the right to the employee to participate in the decisions making process regarding the policies of the organization.

• Governmental function: it gives the right of collective bargaining to both the employer and the employee. This gives both of them the authority to control the actions of each other through negotiation.ADVANTAGES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAININGThere are many advantages of collective bargaining. It acknowledges the employees about the rights they hold and provides a means to them through which they can put forward their demands. When the employee is dealing with the whole workforce, he can’t afford to mislay them all.

Therefore, he looks forward to satisfying the demands of the workers. The most important advantage of collective bargaining is that it provides a legal platform for the workers and the employer to sit down and solve the problem. The terms and conditions used in solving the problem should be reasonable to both the party. At the end of the negotiation both the parties come to a formal agreement, to which they both agree. In collective negotiation mostly it’s a win/win situation.Collective bargaining also provides a means of communication between the employer and the worker.

It promotes both upward and downward communication. Downward communication takes place in a formal manner through reports or employee journals. The employee can be made aware of organizational policies, important decisions, etc. through this channel of communication. In upward communication, the workers can put forward their demands before the management.DISADVANTAGES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAININGThere is some drawback of collective bargaining. The most important one is that in collective bargaining the majority rules.

Few people who hold power over others suppress the opinion of others. Sometimes it can be a costly and timely process. Not always the goal of achieving a collaborative agreement is accomplished.