Collective Agreements Research Articles

Improvisation in the Time of a Pandemic: Field Notes on Resilience.

Improvisation in the Time of a Pandemic: Field Notes on Resilience.

Legal Protection for Workers for Late Payment of Wages: The Principles of Justice Perspective

This article intends to analyze and review employment agreements that protect workers from late wage payments and oversight of labor engagement over late wage payments for workers. This research is normative juridical research. Legal materials used primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials. The findings showed that the realization of the principle of justice in working relationships is created through the rights and obligations of the parties to mutual reciprocity (balanced). It contained in the employment agreement, including the imposition of fines as sanctions to avoid arbitrariness on the part of employers. The involvement of labor supervision must be optimal to realize the working relationship by the principle of justice. This research implied that it is mandatory by law in a work bond to enter into a collective agreement as a form of accountability between the entrepreneur and the workforce. It is to protect the rights of each party.

Protection of The Reproductive Rights of Female Workers

The study aims to analyze the protection of the reproduction rights of female workers through preventive and repressive legal protection facilities. This research uses empirical legal research methods by observing various facts in the field in the form of research that begins with literature studies as an initial data source. The author conducts observations and interviews to obtain data or materials relevant to the object studied. Based on the study results, it can be concluded that the protection of the reproduction rights of female workers is further regulated in employment agreements, collective labor agreements, or company regulations are still many who ignore the rules contained in the Labor Act. Employment Agreement only further regulates what is not regulated in the Employment law. When the Employment Agreement, Collective Labor Agreement, or Company Regulation rules conflict with the Law, the agreement is null and void.

A CRITIQUE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING POLICY IN NIGERIA FROM COLONIAL ERA TILL DATE

This study focused on a critical evaluation of collective bargaining policy in Nigeria from the historical perspective. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the structure and system of collective bargaining in Nigeria since the colonial period. The study adopted a conceptual analysis and theoretical explanation of the origin, development, weakness, and state involvement in collective bargaining policy in Nigeria through a critical review of extant literatures. The study revealed that collective bargaining as machinery for wage determination in the public sector is supposed to prevent the unilateral imposition of wages on the union by the government and vice versa as the case may be. However, it is not often used by the Nigerian government to determine wages rather government relied more on wage commissions, wage tribunals, and civil services administrative rules to determine wages in the public sector. Therefore, collective bargaining appears to be ineffective as a potent tool for wage determination in Nigeria’s public sector. The study also discovered that collective bargaining machinery in Nigeria is weak because of government’s direct involvement in collectivebargaining process to review, amend, even absolutely reject the collective agreement reached between unions and the government representative at the bargaining table. The study, therefore, concluded that collective bargaining is not an effective institution within the context of employment relations in Nigeria.

The effects of expanding the generosity of statutory sick leave insurance: The case of a French reform

This study evaluates the impact of the French reform of 11 January 2008 in the private sector, which modified the share of sick leave paid by the employer in addition to the social security benefit. The reform is comprised of two parts: the waiting period until complementary payment is made by the employer, reduced from ten to seven days; and the minimum required tenure to be eligible, reduced from three years to one year.In this study, we use the administrative panel data (Hygie) from 2006 to 2010 along with a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) database. The latter was constructed by the authors in order to collect the parameters of complementary benefits for sick leave. We examined separately the effects of the waiting period part and the tenure part of the reform, using a difference-in-differences strategy with matching.When the waiting period is reduced, the number of sick days’ increase significantly (+ 0.5 days). When the minimum tenure requirement is reduced, there is more impact on sick leave (+ 0.6 days on the number of sick days and + 0.9 pp on sickness probability). The effects of sick pay reform are different between men and women.

SOCIAL CONTRACT: COMMUNICATIVE AND HERMENEUTIC ASPECTS

The article discusses the validity of the contractual theory of the origin of the state. Arguments of opponents and supporters are given. Their arguments in support of the existence of this theory are expressed. It is indicated that the natural language of communication has a conventional character, and is an unmanifested collective agreement. It is indicated that new generations join this convention in the process of socialization. From this it is concluded that the idea of the state and the relationship (interaction) with it also has an unmanifested contractual nature. The content of the social contract is considered. It is proposed to use hermeneutical methodology, in particular, the principle of questioning, for the study of such a contract. It is indicated that with the help of this principle, it is possible to identify the unmanifested content of the social contract. It is indicated on the questions and answers that underlie the contract. In the course of the study, the questions that the text of the contract can answer are identified, the ideas of the members of the society about interaction with the state are established. The article highlights the issue of the subjects (participants) of such a contract. It is concluded that the main of them are social groups. The largest group is the "people", which can also be considered as a hermeneutic community, that is, a community of people united by a single picture of the world and language. It is pointed out the importance of taking into account the provisions of the social contract in lawmaking and in the interpretation of law.

Abdul, G., A., & Sehar, S. (2015). Conflict management and organizational performance: A case study of Askari Bank Ltd. Research Journal of Finance and Accounting. 6(11), 201. Adhiambo, R., & Simatwa, M. (2011). Assessment of conflict management and resolution in public secondary schools in Kenya: A case study of Nyakach District. International Research Journal 2(4), 1074-1088. Adomi, E., & Anie,

The Constitution of Kenya specifically recognizes the freedom of association to form and belong to trade unions. However, despite the adoption of the Labour Relations Act, union practice is still hampered by excessive restrictions. The EPZ companies are labor intensive requiring a large amount of labor to produce its goods or service and thus, the welfare of the employees play a key role in their functions. This study sought to determine the effect of trade union practices on employees’ welfare at export processing zones industries in Athi River, Kenya. The specific objectives sought to determine the effect of collective bargaining agreements, industrial action, dispute resolution and trade union representation on employees’ welfare at export processing zones industries in Athi River, Kenya. The study employed a descriptive research design. Primary data was collected by means of a structured questionnaire. The target population of the study was employees in EPZ companies in Athi River, Kenya with large employees enrolled in active trade unions. The unit of observation was the employees in the trade unions. The findings indicated that collective bargaining agreements had a positive and significant coefficient with employees’ welfare at the EPZ industries. Industrial action had a positive but non-significant effect with employees’ welfare at Export Processing Zones industries. Dispute resolution had a positive and significant coefficient with employees’ welfare at the EPZ industries. Trade union representation had a positive and significant coefficient with employees’ welfare at the EPZ industries. The study recommended that trade union should avoid the path of confrontation but continue dialogue through the collective bargaining process and demands should be realistic in nature with what is obtainable in the related industry. An existence of a formal two way communication between management and trade unions will ensure that right message is properly understood and on time too. Keywords: Collective Bargaining Agreements, Industrial Action, Dispute Resolution, Trade Union Representation, Employees Welfare & Export Processing Zones

African Americans and Law Enforcement: Tackling a Foundational Component of Structural Reform-Union Disciplinary Procedures.

Despite numerous high-profile deaths of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement, little attention has been paid to the issue of police reform in the social work literature. To address this gap, this article focuses on a topic that has been singled out as the most important area of potential reform: restructuring the disciplinary provisions embedded in the contracts negotiated between police unions and municipalities. These provisions frequently shield problematic officers from public accountability by hindering their identification, sanctioning, and dismissal. Given that collective bargaining agreements are typically negotiated behind closed doors, social workers can play an essential role by advocating for public negotiations between municipal and union leaders, so provisions that obstruct public accountability for unfit officers can be identified and eliminated. The article concludes by delineating three alternative models to the status quo-increased neighborhood policing, disbanding or defunding police departments, and police abolition zones-and notes that no model can be successful if those who abuse their power cannot be removed from their positions of public trust. The authors suggest that social workers collaborate with African American residents in a given community to ensure that their preferences regarding community justice are enacted in a manner that reflects their aspirations.

Unions, collective agreements and productivity: A firm‐level analysis using Norwegian matched employer–employee panel data

AbstractWhat is the role of collective agreements in explaining how unions affect firm‐level productivity? Using matched employer–employee panel data for the Norwegian labour market, comprising almost 21 million individual‐year observations in the period 2002–2018, we find that the presence of a collective agreement in a firm is associated with higher productivity. Without a collective agreement, higher union density is estimated to reduce productivity. However, if a collective agreement is implemented in the firm, not only is the estimated negative effect reduced—in some cases it becomes positive. This result remains significant, numerically and statistically, across several model specifications and different estimation methods. In particular, we provide a new source of exogenous variation in union memberships by utilizing information on intergenerational transmission of union preferences. Besides regulating terms and conditions for wage formation and working hours, collective agreements have a profound impact on how firms organize and formally recognize the voice of workers. In this regard, our finding supports the conclusion of Freeman and Medoff that the quality of institutional systems is crucial to understand what unions do to productivity.

Union membership density and wages: The role of worker, firm, and job-title heterogeneity

We examine the association between union density and wages in Portugal where just 10 percent of all workers are union members but nine-tenths of them are covered by collective agreements. Using a unique dataset on workers, firms, and collective bargaining agreements, we examine the union density wage gap in total monthly wages and its sources – namely, worker, firm, and job-title or ‘occupational’ heterogeneity – using the Gelbach decomposition. The most important source of the mark-up associated with union density is the firm fixed effect, reflecting the differing wage policies of more and less unionized workplaces, which explains two-thirds of the wage gap. Next in importance is the job-title fixed effect, capturing occupational heterogeneity across industries. It makes up one-third of the gap, the inference being that the unobserved skills of workers contribute at most only trivially to the union density wage gap. In a separate analysis based on disaggregations of the total wage, it is also found that employers can in part offset the impact of the bargaining power of unions on wages through firm-specific wage arrangements in the form of the wage cushion. Finally, union density is shown to be associated with a modest reduction in wage inequality as the union density wage gap is highest among low-wage workers. This result is driven by the job-title fixed effect, low-wage workers benefiting more from being placed in higher paying ‘occupations.’

Even employees are undertakings in the labour market, but granting social rights is not antitrust’s job

Abstract The lively debate about the right of gig workers to bargain collectively stems from the idea that European Union (EU) competition law treats this group of workers worse than it treats employees. Namely, it is common to argue that employees, unlike gig workers, are permitted to conclude collective agreements because they are not undertakings and, therefore, not subject to EU competition law. In sharp contrast, by analysing the EU notion of undertaking, this article demonstrates—and this is the first of its theses—that in the labour market, which is the market that should matter in relation to the effects of collective agreements, employees are as much undertakings as any other worker, such as gig workers or other self-employed workers. The article further maintains that the reason employees are currently allowed to bargain collectively, while other workers are not, is to be found not within competition law, but outside it. At present, employees’ collective agreements are exempt from the application of EU competition law because employees enjoy the right to bargain collectively, among other social rights, and because the Court of Justice of the European Union has (rightly) recognized that the protection of these rights must trump the protection of competition. Consequently, this article argues, as its second thesis, that if Articles 151–161 TFEU were interpreted so as to grant social rights to workers other than employees, the collective agreements of gig workers and other under-protected self-employed workers would be exempt from EU competition law, as are those of employees. At the same time, however, this paper recognizes that, in the absence of such an interpretative turn, antitrust legislators and policy makers could aid gig workers and other under-protected self-employed workers by excluding them and their collective agreements from the scope of application of competition law. This—and here is the third thesis of the article—would not force the interpretation of antitrust notions and rules and would thus not require antitrust authorities and courts to use competition law to pursue goals different from the protection of efficiency and innovation.

Why does Germany abstain from statutory bargaining extensions? Explaining the exceptional German erosion of collective wage bargaining

Against the European trend, German statutory collective bargaining extensions (SBEs) have decreased in the last two decades, contributing to the exceptional erosion of German wage-bargaining coverage. This article distinguishes between two liberalization dynamics: an intrasectoral dynamic that started with the introduction of employers’ association memberships outside the scope of collective agreements, and an intersectoral dynamic. The latter is the result of an abnormal German institutional feature, the veto power of the employers’ umbrella association in the committees that have to approve SBE applications. Activation of this veto enabled employers to promote collective bargaining erosion in sectors other than their own, in order to contain cost pressures. This intersectoral liberalization dynamic has been part of Germany’s transition into an asymmetrically export-driven growth regime and could be stopped by means of political reforms.

The social partners as actors in new labour law legislation in Sweden

This article focuses on the importance of the social partners in new labour law regulation where there is a weak parliamentary majority. The prevailing view in Sweden is that labour law regulation must be modernised as both companies and employees need improved opportunities in order to be able to adapt to changing conditions in the labour market. A Government inquiry and negotiations between the social partners in the private sector focused on these issues. The social partners reached two agreements: a Principle Agreement, including demands that the state provide new labour law regulation; and a Basic Agreement, which is a collective agreement about security, transition and employment protection. The Swedish Government decided to modernise the Swedish Employment Protection Act (LAS) 1 in line with the social partners’ suggestions. The government proposal covers three important labour law areas: (1) changes to the Swedish Employment Protection Act; (2) new state-financed public support for skills development; and (3) a new public transition organisation to provide basic transition support for employees not covered by a collective agreement. This article shows that the social partners have great power over new legislation and can create stability in labour law regulation in Sweden for the future. The government’s proposal implies that new regulation has moved from the provision of employment protection depending on length of service to better transition conditions for employees, and that the state is to take financial responsibility for the lifelong learning of professionals.

AGREEMENT AS A SPECIAL FORM OF PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEE'S LABOR RIGHTS

Despite the priority and fundamental importance of state protection in the field of labor, it should be recognized that its capabilities are objectively limited. This situation, in turn, is due to the diversity of social ties within the labor and closely related relationships, as well as the number of individual situations that occur in the field of labor. To address this issue, it was established that for this purpose and to ensure the harmonious functioning of labor relations, there is an institution of contractual protection. By its nature, such protection allows to take into account all individually specific aspects of working life in compliance with one condition – not to contradict the basic provisions of state protection and not to worsen the situation of the employee. Protection at the contractual level is implemented through one of the central and key institutions of labor law – the institution of the contract, and within the employment relationship is provided by the conclusion of collective and employment agreements. It has been studied that in the exercise of the right to protection of the employee during the performance of the labor function, the connection between working conditions, occupational safety at work and the state of health of employees should be established. Therefore, agreements and collective agreements should set out the main areas of work of the social partners in the field of labor protection, pursue a policy of safe and healthy working environment, by establishing a system of rights, responsibilities, responsibilities of government, employers and workers themselves. Protecting and prioritizing the safety and health of workers at work must be an important part of national labor policy and protection. It is established that for this purpose at the state and contractual levels it is necessary to provide for the implementation of a set of preventive measures aimed at preserving the health and lives of workers in the process of work, which will timely eliminate deficiencies in occupational safety and health and plan its development economic and social situation in the country. It should be noted that to address this issue, it is necessary to establish what factors and preconditions contributed to the emergence and active use of the contract as such in the field of labor law.

Power in a Pandemic: Teachers’ Unions and Their Responses to School Reopening

Drawing on Bachrach and Baratz’s first and second faces of interest group power, we explore the relationship between teachers’ union power and reopening decisions during the fall 2020 semester in 250 large districts around the United States. We leverage a self-collected panel data set of reopening decisions coupled with measures of teachers’ union first face power (drawn from social media postings on teachers’ unions’ Facebook pages) and second face power (operationalized as district size, whether the school district negotiates a collective bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union, the length of the collective bargaining agreement, and the amount of revenue raised by the union). We found that school districts where teachers’ unions exhibit strong second face power (but not first face power) were less likely to start the school year with in-person instruction, were less likely to ever open during fall semester with in-person instruction and spent fewer weeks in in-person learning.

PECULIARITIES OF ACCОUNCTING OF HOLIDAY PAY IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND DIRECTIONS OF ITS IMPROVEMENT

In a market economy, a salary are an important element of the labor market, formed due to the interaction of labor demand and supply and expresses the market value of the use of hired labor. Various aspects of social and labor relations affect salaries and incomes. Salaries of teachers, compared to other sectors of the publish institutions, have certain features: regulated by many special regulations, is a guaranteed amount of income, paid mainly for mental work, depending on the level of their qualifications. Holidays are payments to employees for the unworked time while maintaining a job and average earnings, ensuring the fundamental constitutional right to rest. All relations between employers and employees on issues of remuneration and leave are regulated by labor legislation: regulations, general, sectoral, and regional agreements, collective agreements. This study is devoted to the theoretical and methodological issues and problems of the organization of holiday accounting, determining areas for improvement. This article analyzes the features of the calculation, accounting and payments of salaries and holidays in general secondary education. According to the current legislation, the characteristics of different types of vacations are given. The main issues of granting and paying annual leave to teachers and determining their size, unused holiday pay cases, and payment of monetary compensation are considered. In accounting for such calculations, various transactions occur, made out by primary documents recorded in reporting forms. Failure to comply with the non-compliance with current legislation on the granting and calculating leave threatens sanctions and fines imposed on both responsible persons and the institution itself. The main elements that need to be disclosed in the Order on Accounting Policy in terms of payments to employees of educational institutions are listed. An algorithm for calculating the average daily wage with the inclusion of individual payments to the employee's total income in the calculation period by type of leave has been developed and proposed for use.

The Community Developers' Role in the Development of an Inclusive Society

Aim/Purpose: The study looks at how community developers (CD) work in society. It also define their role to educate members to change their mindsets in order to bring social and economic change by eliminate dependency and become self-sufficient. Background: The role of community developers (CD) is to build an inclusive society where a cross-section of society benefits. It is an action to transform people’s socioeconomic situation by sustainable means, not just to develop individuals. Community development is a social learning process in general where community members are brought together to take collective action and generate solution to common problem in villages that provide food security and nourish local requirements and enable all people to participate in social, economic, cultural and political life on the basis of equality of rights, equity and dignity. Methodology: Exploratory research methodology has been used to explore the role of Social Worker or Community Developers to improve the life of communities in rural India. The paper is based on personal experience working in various Indian states to analyses the new wave of social/public service that is affecting the lives of India’s weaker sections. Findings: Overall, findings of this study suggest that: -Community workers serve as a vital link between families and village development activities. -Social workers empower both themselves and their communities. -Involvement in day-to-day activities empowers the members. -Community workers can help marginalized people to tackle their problems. Impact on Society: Community developers play an important role in society's growth by fostering the development of new leaders and encouraging transformational reforms through which entire community became stronger. CD's passion and commitment to the village's development efforts are critical to the project's success. As a result, the process entails working with individuals in groups, programs that focus on women's empowerment and that assist the most disadvantaged members of society in achieving economic and social gains. Community development entails learning from others rather than pushing one's own beliefs on the rest of society. Important steps can be taken if CD can create a vision for the development of the villages in which he or she is involved that is accepted and communicated to the masses and stems from a collective agreement and provides equal opportunity for all people; respect and tolerance for other opinions, ideas, and values; promotes people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and religions to participate in local production; and continues to work on sustainable models. It is critical to foster a common purpose among all members of society, including involvement from all sectors. The program must be built on the village economy sustaining itself at a lower level of income, resulting in youth and women's employment, increased productivity, and a robust village economy.

ПРОБЛЕМИ РОЗВИТКУ СОЦІАЛЬНОГО ПАРТНЕРСТВА В УКРАЇНІ

The article analyzes the current problems of social partnership in Ukraine and examines foreign experience in the mechanisms of its implementation. Social partnership is one of the basic principles of functioning of a modern democratic society, an important tool for the implementation of social policy of the state, a means of preventing and resolving social conflicts. Its special role in the system of social and labor relations necessitates the study of the current state, trends and problems of development in order to find ways to solve them. The need to improve the domestic social partnership system is due to significant problems in the labor market facing the country, such as low employment with a gender gap, high labor emigration, high unemployment and significant skills mismatch. According to the reports of the National Mediation and Conciliation Service, an increase in the number of social and labor disputes (conflicts) in Ukraine has been revealed. An analysis of the structure of claims made by participants in labor disputes, found that 50% of them relate to non-compliance with labor legislation. The indicator of arrears of wages is analyzed, the conclusion about its active dynamics is made. The article draws attention to the existence of gender inequality in Ukraine in terms of access to decent work, analyzes the causes of discrimination against women in employment and pay. The author notes that the effectiveness of the social partnership system in Ukraine is low, it does not meet the requirements of society to address important economic and social issues. Among the reasons for this situation are the dominance of paternalistic sentiments in the minds of citizens, the weakness of trade unions, the formal nature of the collective bargaining process, the dominance of employers in social dialogue, non-compliance with collective agreements, corruption and a significant share of the shadow economy. Foreign experience of mechanisms of realization of social partnership is investigated. Foreign models of social partnership, such as Swedish and German, are singled out, their content and features are revealed. According to the results of the study, a conclusion was made about the need to use foreign experience to increase the effectiveness of the social partnership system in Ukraine.

Protection of employees from social risks as an element of personnel policy

The approach to determining the content of personnel policy, proposed in the Soviet era and supported by modern scholars, currently needs to be updated due to changes in approaches to the legal regulation of many spheres of society, including protection from social risks. This protection (first of all, through compensation for the negative consequences of such risks in the social security system) up to the end of the 20th century was, carried out exclusively by the state and was considered as care for the disabled, the elderly, and families with children, out of connection with work. Today, protection from social risks is largely due to the status of the individual, including as a person carrying out work under an employment contract. Some rights and obligations in the field of protection against social risks (payment of insurance contributions for compulsory social insurance, assignment of social benefits, establishment of additional support measures in collective agreements) are currently entrusted to employers. The article substantiates that the conscientious fulfillment of duties in this area, ensuring the employment of socially vulnerable categories of workers (for example, persons of pre-retirement age) is one of the areas of work with the collective, which becomes more stable and qualified, since guarantees of protection from social risks become an incentive for employment with this employer, including for qualified workers. Based on the analysis, it is proposed that the protection of employees from social risks can and should be considered as an element of the organization’s personnel policy, which must be given no less attention than other areas of work with the labor collective.

Occupation Health and Safety: A Failure to Protect the Right of Workers to Participate in Enforcement

Section 50 of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act prohibits an employer from punishing a worker who complains about a health and safety concern and who seeks to exercise the right to raise or report this concern. A worker who suffers such a reprisal may file a grievance if covered by a collective agreement or make an application to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB).We studied the effectiveness of this protection by reviewing 688 OLRB section 50 complaint cases that had been filed and concluded between 2006 and 2017 and by interviewing 25 workers who had suffered reprisals and completed a formal complaint or grievance.The majority of the workers had filed complaints about a physical work hazard. There was alleged harassment and/or violence in 45% of the cases. There was harassment in half of the cases involving women. Employment was frequently terminated when the complainants had exercised their legal right to refuse unsafe work, to call an inspector or to act as a worker OHS representative.Although government OHS inspectors played a key role in most cases when called to address occupational health and safety concerns, they were prevented by government policy from investigating the reprisals. There was no penalty for employers who had violated section 50.In the vast majority of cases, the complaints were settled without reinstatement of the worker and with an average settlement of $5,461. The complainant had to accept a confidentiality agreement as part of the settlement.While the current settlement system is unlikely to encourage workers to exercise their rights, it does provide some compensation for those who have exercised them. In many of the cases we examined, the reprisal victims were faced with serious risks to their health and safety. They were not faced with a choice so much as a necessity to act. Often, they used strategies that could have been more effective in a system that recognized and defended their rights. Although the settlements were inadequate in recognizing both the rights at stake and the victims’ sacrifices, many of these workers did benefit from that option. Given that inspectors had responded to most of the complaints and investigated them, there is a basis for more effective enforcement.AbstractWorkers have a right to participate in enforcement of occupational health and safety. Using a review of 688 cases submitted to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) and 25 in-depth interviews with workers who went through the process, we examined the state’s strategy to protect workers from employer reprisals when they exercise health and safety rights at work. We argue that the existing remedies are important but limited and should be enhanced by a strategy of enforcing workers’ participation rights through sanctions directed against specific employer behaviours. In particular, the state should sanction employer harassment that masquerades as supervision.