Labor Relations - Article Example

Labor Relation and Human Resource Managers Labor relations According to (Ackers & Adrian, 2003), labour relations also referred to as industrial relations is a system in which the government either indirectly or directly interact with the workers and workers representatives together with their employers to set fundamental rules that govern work relationships. A labour relation is also a study that investigates relationship in workplace. Labour relation emergence opened doors to trade unions which could speak on behalf of workers. It also led to initiation of common guiding public relations. Labour relation system gives a blue print of how its main actors are related; the employee participating as individual not in unions, trade unions and the employer (an employers association). In addition, labour relations are used to refer to how workers participate; such as individual employment relationship employer and worker. Both public and private interests have a role to play in any system of labour relations. A system of labour relation if underdeveloped lacks democracy; the employee does not have the opportunity to voice on rules that the employer puts forth except when the employee is accepting employment terms. A valid system of labour relations includes values of the society such as group solidarity feelings, freedom of association and search for modes of maximizing profits and techniques for example, dispute resolution, consultation, work organization and negotiation methods (Neumann, Eklund, Hansson & Lindbeck, 2010). However, labour relations do vary from a nation to a nation, but the main aim of labour relation is to ensure that both the employer and employee have a smooth working environment (Ackers & Adrian, 2003). Human resource management According to (Ramstand, 2009), human resource management (HRM) is the practice and science that deals with the nature of relationship in employment as well as issues, actions and decisions related to the relationship. It encapsulates employer-formulated practices and policies that see the management and utilization of employees as resources to the business in an organization to enhance competitiveness and productivity. HRM is used to describe an administrative strategy used by an employer to examine involvement of an employee either in union or not in union with an aim of enhancing productivity through workers motivation. Hence, HRM puts emphasizes on the employee communication and participation, career development and skill upgrading, training, performance appraisal, selection and recruitment and work organization techniques. Some forms where employee are highly involved include; task forces, quality circles, working-life programmes worth, empowerment and team-working schemes, job enrichment schemes, attitude surveys and suggestion schemes. Human resource management is carried by a human resource manager. In any organization, attracting and matching the highly qualified employees is fundamental. However, some organizations are too large such that employee at the bottom do not get a chance of meeting the top management. Therefore, specialist, labor relations, training and human resources offer the link. The human resources today is mandated with carrying out strategic planning in consultation with the executive, handling benefits of a new employee like hiring new employee and interviewing. In human resource management, most organizations have a relations manager. This is because the field of the human resource is quite wide with several disciplines. The primary discipline in HRM include employee relations, human resource development, selection and recruitment, training and development, safety and risk management, compensation and benefits. The relations manager plays a vital role of strengthening the relationship between the employee and the employer. Due to the weighty and requirement of relations manager an employee who executes this job with ease is the generalist human resource. This is because he has sufficient and reliable knowledge and competencies regarding all disciplines in human resources. Significance of labor relations to HRM Employee-employer health and safety Occupational health and safety (OSH) emphasizes that both the employer and the employee have a role to play in promoting fair safety and health at work by preventing causes. OSH supports that high level of performance leads to reduced accident and absenteeism rates which in turn improve human performance. Further, OSH includes all factors that may lead to injuries and disease related to place of work like participation and management- learning opportunities, work-related stress risks reduction and labour cooperation Organizations where working conditions are governed by law ensure the workers interest and health safety is protected (Pot, & Koningsveld, 2009). By doing this, disease, injuries and co-morbidity prevalence related to work place are controlled. Moreover, HRM plays a vital role in the organizations such as developing cost-analysis benefits on employing OSH guidelines, staff motivation, innovative capacity and showing shareholder value who wish to support, implement and uphold OSH guidelines. Work relationship contributes highly on the health and safety of the employees and the employer. A good labor relationship between the employer and employee promotes a smooth operation and a positive working social climate which in turn improve on the productivity. Hence, HRM that employs good labor relation with workers builds a safety culture (Tompa, Culyer, & Dolinschi, 2008). Improve workers performance Any organization with a good relationship between the employees and the employer is well placed in employees’ job satisfaction, high employees’ morale, low turnover and enhanced employees engagement. E-E relationship is also important in carrying out performance management in matters concerned with performance. Such include the ability of the supervisor to carry out an effective job evaluation and do appraisals for the employees (Neumann, Eklund, Hansson & Lindbeck, 2010). In an organization, the relations manager plays a significant role in ensuring the performance management system in a given organization is well developed as she has a comprehensive understanding of the workforce. Quality talent maintenance of employees Training of employee is costly. Hence, most organization likes to retain the old employees as long as possible. This is because the old employee have a know how out of experience on how to carry out some duties. On the other hand, regular ongoing trainings and workshops as well as refresher courses help in upgrading the knowledge of the existing employee. Understanding the kind of employee in an organization is important. This helps in saving cost during training and retrenchment. In this case, the relations manager is mandated with designing opinion surveys of the employees, results analysis and come up with action plans that looks into the responses of the survey. Such form of interaction in labor relations helps the HRM understand each employee in a better manner. In addition, the relations manager being closer to the top management interact with them to find out long term goals that can ensure talented employees are retained. In addition, the relation manager organizes such social events like recognition events and award dinners. This not only improves the reputation of the managers but also the organization name in turn improving productivity (Tompa, Culyer, & Dolinschi, 2008). Litigation management Disputes in organizations are inevitable. Disputes can cost an organization a great deal of money; tint the organization’s good name and lower productivity due to low market sale. Hence, where a good E-E relationship exist workers and employers can either informally or formally negotiate on disputes directly and indirectly involving the firm. Such forms of disputes handled within the organization include complaints of employee in reference to practices of discriminatory in an employment. The relations manager in-conjunction with law expertise work together to resolve such cases. Therefore, in resolving the employee’s disputes the expertise should be well conversant with investigative technique know how, employment and labor law understanding and skills of negotiations. Consequently, the employee relation manager ensures that liabilities are reduced and the employer’s interest is safeguarded. The relations manager frequently represents the firm during legal proceedings encompassing the organization, litigation and mediation. This saves the firm the wrath of loosing good employees as well as maintaining the good name with its competitors. In labor relations, therefore, trade unions play a great role both to the employer and the employee. Trade unions Trade unions they are basically defined as wage associations for workers with main purpose of improving and maintaining employment condition. Trade union began by involving with employee from private firm but, today they even encompass the public firms as well. On their view, trade unions believe that workers can only improve their working condition if they speak in one voice. However, initially, the rights of trade union arose from political and economic struggle benefiting both short term employee and long-term. These unions have played a great role in the world of politics nationally. They have also influenced international and regional level growth in work environment. Trade unions fulfill several functions such as promoting the interests of the employers and defending them in the employer’s organization, service provision to its members and political representation. They can control (exert discipline among its membership) for example call or call off strikes for its members. The progress of members depends on density of members, financial contributions by individuals. Trade union unfortunately speaks strongly for their members unlike non-members despite having the same problem. In addition, trade unions are defined by occupation, enterprises, blue-white collar workers, or branch of an industry. Most big unions do form subunits to represent workers defined by a region or an area. Globally, trade unions generally have fought for workers to ensure their legislative protection. This has paved their way to being involved in social policy and labour affairs in different economics and political sceneries such as Australia, Netherlands, France, Senegal etc. For example in South Africa trade union helped in fighting some injustices mutilating workers such as the apartheid struggle. However, sometimes trade unions can be used by political interested parties to their own interest, but this will only depend whether the government protect labor or not and the relationship between political parties and the union. For example in Australia and UK labor movement are interdependence with a political party (Neumann, Eklund, Hansson & Lindbeck, 2010). Trade unions play another major function of service provision to its members; they achieve this by focusing on the workplace. The employer’s whose employee are in a trade unions looks to ensure the working conditions are favorable for their workers according to the outlaid guiding laws. The main job of the union officer includes protecting their individual interest mostly referred to as vis-à-vis management. They do this either by taking grievances of an individual like dismissal or indiscipline, working together with the management in safety and health committee. These roles played by the trade unions are significance to the HRM in labor relations. Trade unions, not only help the management lay a comprehensive strategy for setting and improving wages, but also maintaining a cohesive working environment (Ackers & Adrian, 2003). This improves customer satisfaction quality-of-life and satisfaction of both workers and employers in turn improving productivity, innovation and invention. Organization’s stability and shareholder’s equity Where good labor relations exist workers are protected and organized without fear from the employer’s and guarantee workers the liberty to bargain together with good heart with their employer rather than downing tools and going on strike. In addition, employers can assess and measure their relations stability with workers in union without affecting the economy. For example unresolved disputes spread and fester discontent infection. These disputes cry for resolution. Labor relations disputes are sensitive. Labour disputes deal with job seniority and classification, overtime, working hours, to working conditions and wages benefits. Most of labor disputes are volatile and emotional. If the disputes are not resolved timely they can result to violence, hostility and frustration. Workplace disputes are inevitable. In addition, goods and services provision can be interfered with within the complex society we live by long-running labour strikes and disputes. Therefore, labor relations helps in bringing both the employees and the HRM to reason together and come into consensus of solving labor disputes amicably to ensure excellence performance of the employee which in turn increase profitability within an organization (Nielsen, Taris, & Cox, 2010). Discipline resolutions In workplace, discipline is core if an organization should progress. The human resource managers are mandated with keeping discipline among workers. It is the mandate of the HR manager to review and write actions on disciplinary by ensuring that the mode of discipline is within the legal standards as portrayed in labor laws of the country or a specific workplace and as per union guideline without imposing issues of liability on the company. This ensures that a specific employee involved in disciplinary act is accorded a uniform predicament as the one in another area within the same docket of labor relation. In addition, the disciplinary posed on an employee is documented and kept for reference in case there may arise need in the future. Therefore, labor relations makes it easier for employer’s to impose fair and guided disciplinary action among employee (Ramstand, 2009). This ways the HRM gains a good reputation and respect both within and among trade union. Grievances and labor management The grievances outlaid by the union are forwarded to the human resource manager who receives and processes them, monitors and ensure they meet timelines. The human resource manager represents the organization where the grievances reach to a point of arbitration. HR works hand in hand with employee’s union to solve their differences and misunderstanding preventing them from reaching formal stages. In addition, labor relation is vital as it encourages the HR’s to coordinate and carry management representative and union labor management meetings in discussing the day-to-day issues on labor relations. By doing this the HRM gets to understand employee better and the union also understands the organization in a better way. Also during grievances and labor management meeting, the HRM can review the working capacity of a particular employee and evaluate on whether is fit for a certain faculty or what can be done to improve his performance he/she wants to do better or come up with a justifiable need for deployment of a particular employee. This ways unfair treatment among employee is avoided and the organization gains reputation of its working and workers (Nielsen, Taris, & Cox, 2010). Act of National Labor Relations The Board of National Labour Relations enforces the NLRA which protects employees’ rights for example demonstration to bargain for workplace changes. In addition, the act protects the employers from incurring unnecessarily losses through strikes or employee stoppage or other actions hindering the rights of the management. Hence, not only the NLRA developed in 1935 protects the workers but, also the employer giving room to common ground bargaining. In addition, it helps in cutting down some practices carried in the private sector management and labor which may harm the national economy, businesses and that of the employees (Ackers & Adrian, 2003). Employment at-will doctrine This section in the legal system is quite misunderstood. In employment at-will means either the employee or the employer can terminate work with or without giving notice. In addition, different legal system adds that the employer or the employee should pay either party equivalent amount of his salary for sometime specified in different national labor laws. However, caution to the employer is that discriminatory factors cannot be used to terminate workers employment. Therefore, both employees and labor relations are vital to human resource managers for effective and efficient workplace development and maintenance. References Ackers, P. & Adrian, W. Understanding Work and Employment: Industrial Relations in Transition, OUP, 2003. Neumann, W. P., Eklund, J., Hansson, B. & Lindbeck, L., ‘Effect assessment in work environment interventions:A methodological reflection’, Ergonomics, 2010, Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 130-137. Nielsen, K.M., Taris, T.W. & Cox, T., ‘The future of organizational interventions: addressing the challenges of today’s organizations’, Work and Stress, 2010, vol. 24, pp.130-137. Pot, F.D. & Koningsveld, E.A.P., ‘Quality of working life and organizational performance-two sides of the same coin?,’ Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 2009a, Vol. 35, No.6, pp.421-428. Ramstand, E., ‘Promoting performance and quality of working life simultaneously’, Internal Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 2009, vol. 58, No.5, pp. 423-436. Tompa, E., Culyer, A., J., & Dolinschi, R., Economic Evaluation of Interventions for Occupational Health and Safety: Developing Good Practice, Oxford University Press, 2008. Read More