Trading Units and The Government at the UK - Essay Example

Industrial Relations Theory generally recognizes 3 main categories of actors involved in employee relations: the employees, the employers and theState. The employees are generally organized in trade unions or other forms of work organization in order to obtain better working conditions in negotiations with the employer. Better working conditions sum up a large number of variables, including a better pay, better work hours, social and medical security etc. The employer will look for two main objectives in a negotiation with the employees. First of all, he will look to obtain the maximum efficiency from his employees and, second of all, he will want to obtain these at the lowest possible cost. The State intervenes both as a regulator and legislator (creating the legislative framework in which employee relations evolve) and often also as a mediator, in the case of work conflicts and disputes. (2) The development of UK trade unions after 1970 is marked by the ascendance to power of Margaret Thatcher, in 1979, and the subsequent period of Conservative rule in Britain, referred to as Thatcherism. 1979 can be considered the culminating point of trade union influence and power in the UK. According to sources, by that time, more than half of all British employees belonged to unions, with more than 4/5 included in different mechanisms of collective bargaining1. Margaret Thatcher and her three consecutive Conservative governments from 1979 to 1990 introduced a series of measures to liberalize and decentralize the economy, measures that relied on the role of the market in creating business rules. The market required competitiveness, both in terms of efficiency and cost issues, so the role of the trade unions were fought off and marginalized in the 80s. The accession to power of the Labour Party, with Tony Blair as Prime Minister, in 1997, had rekindled some of the trade unions hopefuls, given the history of tight relations between the Party and the trade unions. However, many of the reforms that Margaret Thatcher had adopted during the 80s remained and the results saw the trade union movement in one of the weakest positions in its history: trade union density has halved and collective bargaining mechanisms are at the lowest levels in trade union history2. In many cases, individual industrial relations have developed. (3) Collective disputes can take several forms, differentiation following the severity of the dispute in question. They can take any form, from "silent or indirect protest (absenteeism, lack of motivation, rejects) to open strikes"3. Obviously, the most radical of these measures refers to the collective stoppage of work in an organization. Nevertheless, this is always a head-on game and will turn out on the side of whoever of the two parties involved will be able to hold its position. The management will look out to force union members back to work with punitive measures, such as salary deductions for each period of time that is not spent on the job. On the other hand, it is to be discussed how long the management can support an organization that is not properly functioning due to the strike. It is probably best that this type of recommendation from the UK union will come only after negotiations have not proven useful and after other forms of tacit disputes have been tried before hand. (4) Following the definition of International Labour Organization Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention in 1949, a collective bargaining is a "voluntary negotiation between employers or employers' organizations and workers' organizations, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by collective agreements"4. In terms of scope, we can refer to several important advantages that the collective bargaining mechanism brings about. First of all, it aims to level a differing position of two parties (management vs. work organization) through "dialogue and consensus"5 rather than a conflicting situation. Another scope we need to mention is the implication of the parties involved, a level of participation that is bound to result in the best agreement for all parties. It is believed that a collective bargaining mechanism will (1) produce the best outcome for the workers, since the worker organization representing them in negotiations also best represents their interests and (2) produce the best result for the management, since a negotiation and settlement with a worker organization or trade union leads to a compromise with all the workers represented by the respective organization. A collective bargaining process may lead, in the case of a positive outcome, to a settlement satisfying all members involved in the organization. Employee Relations (1) In many ways, industrial democracy can be assimilated with political democracy, the insurance that every member of the industrial organization is properly represented and that his opinions and necessities are taken into consideration in the life of the organization. Many have seen that powerful trade unions were the best mean to ensure this6. The impact of the European Union on the industrial democracy in the UK can be established especially in terms of legislative directives laid out by the European Commission. A good example in this sense is the two European Works Council Directives of 1994 and 1997, that required the establishment of a European Works Council in all larger enterprises7. These directives were implemented by December1999. In many ways, the European Works Council contained functions of trade unions, without actually taking them over. Mainly, the European Works Council, as an association of employees, has the right to meet with the management and discuss economic, financial or strategic developments within the company. Given such examples as the one previously mentioned, it is obvious that the UK will not be able to remain out of a process of industrial democratization imposed by the EU. It may also be probable that other such directives will follow in the future. (2) In my opinion, the main factor that human resource management controls and that greatly impacts employee relations in the UK is motivation. A big salary is not the only factor that will motivate a worker to perform as efficiently as possible. There are many others to be involved and the role of the human resource management is to identify those motivating factors and apply them accurately in the organization. This can range from personal motivations, as previously mentioned, to direct involvement in the company. The example laid out by the two European Union directives would point towards such a policy: involve the employee in the life of the organization, make sure he is informed about what is going on, strategically and financially, and there is a higher chance he will perform well. Otherwise, the selection and training process is also similarly important for human resource management in employee relations. The employee needs to work on a position where he gives the best return and be motivated to perform well by the nature of the activity. Training and constant improvement can help the performance process as well. Bibliography 1. Howell, Chris. (2005). Trade Unions and the State: The Construction of Industrial Relations Institutions in Britain, 1890-2000. Princeton University Press. Chapter 1. On the Internet at http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/titles/7964.html. Last visited 26/01/2006 2. Cezard, Michel, Dayan Jean-Louis. (1999). Industrial Relations in the Process of Transformation. Donnes sociales, INSEE, 1999 edition. On the Internet at http://www.insee.fr/en/ffc/docs_ffc/ds9927.html. Last visited on 26/01/2006 3. De Silva, Syiran. (1996). COLLECTIVE BARGAINING NEGOTIATIONS. International Labour Organization ACT/EMP. On the Internet at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/papers/1998/srscbarg.htm#CB. Last visited on 26/01/2006 4. Ackers, Peter. (2005). Collective Bargaining as Industrial Democracy: Hugh Clegg and the Political Foundations of British Industrial Relations Pluralism. Occasional Papers Series Paper 2005: 4 ISBN 1 85901 196 9. On the Internet at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/bs/research/2005-4.pdf. Last visited on 26/01/2006 5. Patmore, Glenn. (2000). Industrial Democracy for Australia. Workers Online. Issue No 72. On the Internet at http://workers.labor.net.au/72/c_historicalfeature_patmore.html. Last visited on 26/01/2006 Read More