Issues on Employment Relationships in the Organization - Essay Example

Employment Relations al Affiliation: Employment Relations Employment relationship is one of the most important elements in anyorganization. It is one of the factors that facilitate smooth running of activities in any organization. Employment relationships also ensure there is a good working relation within the business environment. Some of the actors involved in employment relationship are employers, the state, employees and their unions. Some of the actors have transformed in a remarkable way over the past few years in most countries of the world.These relations fall in where factors such as wage levels, work hours, job security and job autonomy.Australian employment structure has changed in various ways recently. Unlike in the years beyond 1990, the recent years have seen decline in Australian full time permanent employment and shifted to part time temporary jobs. Similarly, there has been remarkable expansion of other types of work to temporary jobs and casual jobs. There has also been use of agencies to provide services and outsourcing of labor.These changes have caused a change in employment relations in a big way as discussed in this paper The state is one of the key actors of employment relationships. In defining employment relationships, the state encompasses different actors as it is comprised of different agencies that get in the relationship. It is therefore hard to describe ‘the state’ when we are talking about employment relationships. In this case, the state can be described as the elected government. It intervenes in employment for economic benefit of the whole country. The state plays various roles in employment. Among the roles include protecting exchange rates, ensuring price stability, maintaining balance of payments surplus, and maintaining high levels of employment. While the state intervenes employment relationships for the purpose of enhancing the welfare of the society, it also does that for the sake of establishing its political ideology, especially where the government is multi party. Australia has been characterized by federation government since 1901.This is a system of government with other federals; central and regional federals. In section 51, act xxxv of Australian constitution this government is limited to make laws relating to industrial relations. However with time the interpretation of the laws has seen the government indulging deeply into making laws concerning industrial relations. For instance The Conciliation and Arbitration Act created in 1904 regulated industrial relations until 1988 when it got limited within state boundaries. Similarly, changes were made in 1993 in the introduction of Industrial Relation Reform Act 1993 which provided certification of collective agreements by federals. Employers are the second actors of employment relations. These are individuals or organizations that mutually relate with the employees to achieve their objectives in employment industry. The employers benefit from the employees manpower while the employees benefit from the wages paid to them by the employer after they have served them (Kalleberg, 2009). Employers have changed with time, from a pool of employers to individuals who employ manpower and pay them (Wilkinson, 1999). This has promoted capitalism, whereby employees pay is determined by the nature of work they are doing. Job schedules have changed. Employer Associations in Australia have been on the rise. This has been speeded up by fast growth of unions in Australia. The first association was formed in 1977.However; there has been noticeable fragmentation of these associations. For instance, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry was formed after Confederation of Australian Industry broke up. Several mergers also emerged from the split of previously existing associations. A good example is Australian Industry Group, Business Council of Australia of 1983 and other associations. These have caused change from pluralism to Unitarism by changing advocacy that previously existed to fee-based services for association members. Employees, as the other employment relations, also play a major role in employment relations. The ways in which employees relate with employees are treated in any institution or firm determines their output in that institution. Most of the employment relationship is built on the relationship between employees and their employers.in most cases, the wages which the employees get, and the fundamental rules that govern their working conditions, are the main factors that facilitate relationship (Kersley et al, 2013). Employee to employer relationships has changed with time. In the period between 1982 and 1983, the relationship between employees and employers was altered through introduction of employment act of 1982 gave more freedom to employers to dismiss employees deliberately (Hyman, 2001). The act increased fair dismissal claim from one year to two. It only placed burden on the shoulders of the employees.Employees were not consulted in decisions making previously. However, in 1990s, however, there has been an increase in work councils that can be consulted in decision making process. However they have been deteriorating and need to be addressed because there has been some concern about the lack of employee consultation in declining unionism. Trade unions as the other actor of employment relations have changed with time, in the past two decades. Unionism is a situation where firms or employers collaborate and operate under a common platform. Most of the trade unions exist between states to state. Australian Trade unions have changed with time. By 1961, everything was unionized. However, between 1930 and 1953, their density fluctuated between 40% and 65% .As of 2007 the density of unions in public sector was high than that in private sector. Their decline has been attributed to change in economy, decline in full-time employment and growth of non-standard employment, emergence of pluralism, decentralization of arbitration system and change of union policies. In 1927, Australian Council of Trade Unions was formed. Its main mission was to counter the decline of Australian trade Unions. Work autonomy has also changed with time. Work autonomy refers to the degree in which the work any employee is engaged with satisfies those (Brown et al, 2009). It mostly refers to the degree of freedom in employees work. It has changed with time, with most of the jobs being defined as strict, requiring all employees to adhere to the rules set by the management regardless of whether they favor them or not. Work autonomy also changed in terms of the responsibilities assigned to the employees (Hyman, 2001). The change has encouraged wage hikes. However, it has also discouraged people searching for jobs as not many people like responsibilities. Change in work autonomy has also contributed to change in employment agreements. Employment agreements are the conditions set by the employer, to which the employee must adhere. Unlike during industrial Relations, the employment agreements in employment relations are supposed to be in written form. The agreement should include conditions for work, wages and circumstances under which employees will be granted permissions to be out of work. Wage levels have been a main issue in Australia. Since 1906the federal government in Australia set the minimum wage for all workers. However from 1986 to 1996, ‘the accord’ was formed. The accord allowed the government to present a joint submission to wage bargaining. It also acted as an intermediary between workers and trade unions where it offered increases in ‘social wage’ if the unions promised not to see extra claims to wage bargains (Sisson, 2007).However,change in government saw changes in determination of minimum wages.For instance,when Howard Liberal Government was elected, it ended the accord. Consequently, the minimum wage panel, whichsets minimum wages, was formed. Working hours have changed in the past few decades. Employment rates have also changed considerably. For instance, unemployment rates have risen from4.3% to 5.3% between 2008 and mid-2009, and have been increasing. Working hours have also been on the rise. In every five individuals employed by Australian government works for more than fifty hours per week. Workers are also allowed to request for flexible working hours under Fair Work Act 2009. In this act, employers do not have a right to deny the workers the wishes of their requests. Work autonomy has also changed in relation to gender equality at work. Previously, males were earning higher wages than women for the same type of work. However, Fair Work act of 2009 protected the workers from discrimination based on their gender as it advocated for ‘equal pay for equal value’. All changes that have existed in the last two decades have at least traced a source from the state. For instance, change in employee and employer relations, work autonomy, employee and employer unions as well as the employees themselves, have the state as one of the actors of their change (Dundon & Rollinson, 2004). It is therefore sufficient to say that these changes have given a proof that among all other actors’ employment relations, the state is the most powerful compared to all other factors. It is therefore sufficient to assume that change in employment relations fully or partially depends on if the state is willing to change them or not. In conclusion Australian industrial relations have significantly changed in the previous two decades. As a result, they have seen a significant change in structural, legislative change and significant decline in the power of trade unions. There has also been a significant decline in other forms of employee representation.All changes that have existed in the last two decades have at least traced a source from the state. For instance, change in employee and employer relations, work autonomy, employee and employer unions as well as the employees themselves, have the state as one of the actors of their change. It is therefore sufficient to say that these changes have given a proof that among all other actors’ employment relations, the state is the most powerful compared to all other factors. It is therefore sufficient to assume that change in employment relations fully or partially depends on if the state is willing to change them or not.Most of the actors of employment relations have changed due to change from pluralism to Unitarism. The change marks transition of traditional industrial relations to employment relations. During agrarian revolution, pluralism was common. However, with the emergence of new capitalistic society, relations in employment sector changed. As mentioned earlier, most of the changes occur due to change of ownership of a given institution or firm. Pluralism in this case means multiplicity of stakeholders, interests and all other factors involved in employment relations. References Brown, W., A. Bryson, J. Forth and K. Whitfield. (2009) The Evolution of the Modern Workplace,Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Dundon, T. and D.J. Rollinson. (2004) Employment Relations in Non-union Firms, Routledge, London. Hyman, R. (2001) Understanding European Trade Unionism: Between Market, Class and Society, Sage: London. Sisson, K. (2007) ‘Revitalising industrial relations: making the most of the “institutional turn”’, Warwick Papers in Industrial Relations (85), University of Warwick: Coventry Kalleberg, A. L. (2009). Precarious work, insecure workers: Employment relations in transition. American sociological review, 74(1), 1-22. Wilkinson, A. (1999). Employment relations in SMEs. Employee relations, 21(3), 206-217. Kersley, B., Alpin, C., Forth, J., Bryson, A., Bewley, H., Dix, G., & Oxenbridge, S. (2013). Inside the workplace: findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. Routledge. Read More