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Definitions
The phrase collective bargaining is made up of two words collective which implies
group action through its representatives; and bargaining which suggests haggling and
/ or negotiating. The phrase, therefore, implies collective negotiation of a contract
between the management’s representatives on one side and those of the workers on the other. Thus collective bargaining is defined as a process of negotiation between the employer and the organized workers represented by their union in order to determine the terms and conditions of employment.
Stevens: Collective Bargaining as a ‘social control technique for reflecting and transmitting the basic power relationships which underlie the conflict of interest in an industrial relations system.’
Prof. Allan Flanders: Collective Bargaining is primarily a political rather than an economic process. He describes collective bargaining as a power relationship between a trade union organization and the management organization. The agreement arrived at is a compromise settlement of power conflicts. Collective Bargaining has also been described as “the great social invention that has institutionalized industrial conflict” Dubin Richardson says, “Collective bargaining takes place when a number of work people enter into negotiation as a bargaining unit with an employer or a group of employers with the object of reaching agreement on conditions of the employment of the work people”. The ILO has defined collective bargaining as "negotiations about working conditions and terms of employment between an employer and a group of employees or one or more employees' organizations with a view to reaching an agreement wherein the terms serve as a code of defining the rights and obligations of each party in their employment relations with one another; fix a large number of detailed conditions of employment, and derivatives validity, none of the matters it deals which can in normal circumstances be given as a ground for a dispute concerning an industrial worker". A collective bargaining process generally consists of four types of activities- distributive bargaining, integrative bargaining, attitudinal restructuring and intra-organizational bargaining.
Distributive bargaining:
It involves haggling over the distribution of surplus. Under it, the economic issues
like wages, salaries and bonus are discussed. In distributive bargaining, one
party’s gain is another party’s loss. This is most commonly explained in terms of a pie. Disputants can work together to make the pie bigger, so there is enough for both of them to have as much as they want, or they can focus on cutting the pie up, trying to get as much as they can for themselves. In general, distributive bargaining tends to be more competitive. This type of bargaining is also known as conjunctive bargaining.
Integrative bargaining: This involves negotiation of an issue on which both the parties may gain, or at least neither party loses. For example, representatives of employer and employee sides may bargain over the better training programme or a better job evaluation method. Here, both the parties are trying to make more of something. In general, it tends to be more cooperative than distributive bargaining. This type of bargaining is also known as cooperative bargaining. Attitudinal restructuring: This involves shaping and reshaping some attitudes like trust or distrust, friendliness or hostility between labor and management. When there is a backlog of bitterness between both the parties, attitudinal restructuring is required to maintain smooth and harmonious industrial relations. It develops a bargaining environment and creates trust and cooperation among the parties. Intra-organizational bargaining: It generally aims at resolving internal conflicts. This is a type of maneuvering to achieve consensus with the workers and management. Even within the union, there may be differences between groups. For example, skilled workers may feel that they are neglected or women workers may feel that their interests are not looked after properly. Within the management also, there may be differences. Trade unions maneuver to achieve consensus among the conflicting groups. Characteristics Of Collective Bargaining
The collective bargaining process comprises of five core steps: 1. Prepare: This phase involves composition of a negotiation team. The negotiation team should consist of representatives of both the parties with adequate knowledge and skills for negotiation. In this phase both the employer’s representatives and the union examine their own situation in order to develop the issues that they believe will be most important. The first thing to be done is to determine whether there is actually any reason to negotiate at all. A correct understanding of the main issues to be covered and intimate knowledge of operations, working conditions, production norms and other relevant conditions is required. 2. Discuss: Here, the parties decide the ground rules that will guide the negotiations. A process well begun is half done and this is no less true in case of collective bargaining. An environment of mutual trust and understanding is also created so that the collective bargaining agreement would be reached. 3. Propose: This phase involves the initial opening statements and the possible options that exist to resolve them. In a word, this phase could be described as ‘brainstorming’. The exchange of messages takes place and opinion of both the parties is sought. 4. Bargain: negotiations are easy if a problem solving attitude is adopted. This stage comprises the time when ‘what ifs’ and ‘supposals’ are set forth and the drafting of agreements take place. 5.Settlement: Once the parties are through with the bargaining process, a consensual agreement is reached upon wherein both the parties agree to a common decision regarding the problem or the issue. This stage is described as consisting of effective joint implementation of the agreement through shared visions, strategic planning and negotiated change. Functions Prof. Butler has viewed the functions as:
1. Collective bargaining as a process of social change
2. Collective bargaining as a peace treaty
3 Collective bargaining as an industrial jurisprudence Collective bargaining creates a system of “Industrial Jurisprudence”. It is a method of introducing civil rights into industry. It establishes rules which define and restrict the traditional authority exercised by employers over their employees placing part of the authority under joint control of union and management. In addition to the above, its functions include:
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Sunday, June 29, 2014
What do you mean by collective bargaining?
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