Industrial Employee Relations - Essay Example

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (EMPLOYEE RELATIONS) INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (EMPLOYEE RELATIONS) The Industrial relation is the study of employment relations. It involves the study of how employers and employees relate to each other. The concept of industrial relations governs how employers and employees relate so as to avoid issues of exploitation and abuse of workers’ rights. Industrial relations nurture productivity of the organisation and productivity of management. The following is a discussion of employee voice and its effects in the industry (Dabscheck, 1980). The concept Employee Voice, Traditional Forms of Indirect Representation and Direct presentation Employee voice is a term used to refer to the concept of employee participation in the decision-making in the organisation or place of work. However, it might mean different things to different people with some referring to the concept of trade unions that represent the rights of employees and protect the workers from violation by employers. Some view employee voice as necessary primarily for the purpose of motivation and promote the adherence of employees to the goals of the organisation (Spencer, 1986). Employee voice may include the following: Exchange of ideas between the management and employees and the management through collective representation and individual basis. The involvement of the employees in the decision-making process of the organisation. Employees should also be allowed to have said on issues, not only should they be allowed to comment but should know that what they say has a chance of being implemented. Contribution to managerial decision-making is crucial for employees as they express their ideas for the better of the organisation. Traditional forms of employee representation include trade unions. Trade unions emerged in the 19th century they are a form of indirect representation. In most cases, only one trade union was present in an industry. Trade unions had to protect employees and inform them about their rights and obligations. They also consult with the employer in relation to measures affecting a group of employees. Direct representation is particularly important as the employees are in the managerial team. Direct representation may be in the form of work councils and human resource management team. Work councils represent all employees in the company and are constituted by statute. Work councils have right for participation in the business operational issues (Dundon, and Gollan, 2007). The significance of the Decline in trade union Representation in Australia and move by employers for alternative representation Twenty years ago, 50 percent of workers in Australia were members of a union. Today union membership is just below 25 percent. Australian has seen the lowest number of members in trade unions so far. In 1920-1990 trade unions controlled the employment relationship. Control was done through bargaining with employees in terms of employment, conditions of employment and bargaining over workers pay. For a long period, there was a decrease in the number of employees in the trade unions. The manifestation can be in the decline in the number of industrial strikes that is observed yearly. Previously many labour days were lost to strikes and industrial actions by trade unions. Inequality in wage rate between people is to the decline of unionism; it is because the union is no longer available to fight for the increase in wage rates. It means that employees have to rely on the internal mechanism for setting of wage rates and fight against right violation. The shift from manufacturing to service based industry has led to a decline in the number of people joining trade unions. Extensive privatisation of the public sector also led to a decline in trade union memberships. With the all of the trade unions came other methods of fighting for employee rights like the growth of Non-unionism through Human resource management practices that are offered welfare services, and proper channels of communication. Anti-union firms also exist and enforce suppression is the primary mechanism for avoidance. The practice tends to characterise firms that compete for cost and are in high staff turnover. Council of workers in the workplaces are as the voice of employees. They encourage employee participation in managerial decisions and even facilitate the interaction of employees and the employer on issues that affect them in the workplace (Spencer, 1986). The changing nature of employee voice in Australia over the last decades In the previous couple of years, Australia has seen a decline in the union membership. However this was not the case and most Australians had joined the union. The following is a trend analysis of the past few decades of the nature of employee voice. Employee representation had embraced an upward problem-solving strategy. This mechanism was highly integrated with terms of employees having a say. It was prevalent in the service sector because white collar workers formed the majority of employees. Employee voice in Australia has changed in nature to companies forming employee councils. A good example of Subgroup over the years the union membership for the group had fallen from 13% to 4%. The company made a group employee council that meets quarterly to promote employee views, opinions and talk to management on behalf of employees. The presentation of employees in Australia has significantly shifted throughout the years. In the 21st century, employee representation is done through employee councils and human resource management. These two are responsible for the setting up of standards which the employer needs to adhere. They work as a means of communication between employer and employee. It is in contrast to the 19th century where employee representation was through labour unions that represented the workers. The labour unions called for industrial strikes as a means of protesting against exploitation. Nowadays employee voice is heard through court action, and legislations are there to defend the rights of workers. However, employee representation is crucial and continual representation ensures that employees are against exploitation by employers (Turner, and Sandercock, 1983). The importance of employee voice to employer and employees in the workplace Employee voice is particularly important in the work place. The following are the reasons why. Employee voice leads to employee contributions, which has a positive impact on the management decisions that are. There is an increase in commitment when employees are allowed to participate in management. Involvement of employees in management makes them feel a part of the organisation thereby increasing commitment. There are management systems that arise from contributions of employees. The willingness of employees to challenge decisions and issues in the management will lead to increased productivity of the managerial system. The organisations also report improved organisational performance. The measure of improvement in corporate performance includes productivity improvements and low turnover rates. Various ideas contributed by employees are accountable for improvements in the organisation performance. Businesses can make well-informed decisions when employee voice is available. Since employee, voice enables employees to communicate information to the management; the business will be able to make well-informed decisions. Employees can actively communicate their ideas and relevant information that is useful for informed decisions. Making of fast and timely decisions also guide the presence of employee voice. Employees also benefit from the employee voice this is because they can be able to air out their plight to the management. Organisations that lack a mechanism where employee voice can be are dictatorial, and most employees feel oppressed by such. The employees can also benefit from communication with the management as they can solve issues early enough through dialogue. Employee voice is beneficial to both the employer and employee and gives the organisation a safe working condition that does not have the tension that comes with an organisation where employee voice is not allowed. The Australian federal government and establishment of mechanisms for employee voice The Australian federal government has faced a number of decades where the employee voice, mode of transmission has changed from trade union representation to the present work council and human resource management system. These systems have made the number of people joining trade unions to decrease throughout the years (Turner and Sandercock1983).The federal government should consider the setting up of other organisations that can enforce employee voice. The human resource management and workplace unions are no enough to cope with the issues emanating from the workers’ rights and obligations that employers should meet. The emerging modes of employee voice do not handle the employee needs as the unions did in the past, and employees’ plight may go unheard. Trade unions have a specialised task of handling matters pertaining to employee rights and full time handling capabilities of the issues that might arise (Dundon, Wilkinson, Marchington, and Ackers, 2004). Conclusion Employee voice is a crucial part of any organisation. Communication in an organisation is two way traffic and is necessary for the growth of the organisation. Employee voice will ensure that there is a free flow of ideas; such communication helps the organisation to increase productivity. Australia has a trend of decline in union memberships and an increase in the number of non-union organisations. However, the government needs to strengthen the employee voice in Australia through the setting up of structures that can utilise their full capability. References List Changing patterns of employee voice (1998) Journal of Industrial Relations. Et al. Gill & Krieger, Dabscheck, B. (1980). The Australian system of industrial relations: An analytical model. Journal of Industrial Relations, 22(2), 196-218. Dundon, T. and Gollan, P.J. (2007) Reconceptualising voice in the non-union workplace: The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(7):1182–98. Dundon, T., Wilkinson, A., Marchington, M., and Ackers, P. (2004). The meanings and purpose of employee voice. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15(6), 1149-1170. Spencer, D. G. (1986). Employee voice and employee retention. Academy of Management Journal, 29(3), 488-502. Turner, I., & Sandercock, L. (1983). In Union is Strength: A History of Trade Unions in Australia 1788-1983. Melbourne, Vic.: Nelson. Read More