Industrial Peace Research Articles

Report: German Federal Labour Court orders compensation for illegal strike

In its ruling of 26 July 2016, the German Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) held1 that the Air Traffic Controllers Union (Gewerkschaft der Flugsicherung, GdF) has to pay FRAPORT AG high compensation (possibly euro 5 million) for the strike action it organised at Frankfurt Airport in February 2012. The exact amount of damages will now be determined by the Regional Labour Court of the State of Hesse (Landesarbeitsgericht Hessen, LAG). Contrary to the previous instances ruling in the principal proceedings, the BAG found the strike action to be illegal, as the obligation of the collective agreement to keep the industrial peace still applied to some of the union demands. The BAG did however dismiss the damage claims brought against the GdF in the same proceedings by third-party aviation companies for flights cancelled as a result of the collective action. In the previous instances, the Frankfurt/Main Labour Court (Arbeitsgericht Frankfurt am Main, ArbG) and the LAG had ruled that FRAPORT did not have any justified damage claims. Both previous instances were convinced that GdF would have undertaken the strike action at the same place, the same time, and with the same extent even without the ancillary demands violating its obligation to keep the industrial peace, so that the damage would also have occurred with a lawful alternative action by the GdF. Because of this lawful alternative action, GdF would therefore not be liable for the damages claimed by FRAPORT. In the principal proceedings, the previous instances had also dismissed the action insofar as it concerned the damage claims of thirdparty aviation companies, because – as the BAG afterwards confirmed in its final ruling – third parties may not claim damages from the trade union undertaking the strike, even if the strike was unlawful, as it did not constitute a direct intervention in their business activities. The BAG ruling of 26 July 2016, which has only been released as a press statement, constitutes another restriction of the unions’ right to collective action, insofar as it concerns the damage claims awarded to FRAPORT. According to the BAG press statement and contrary to the previous instances, the BAG did not uphold the principle of lawful alternative action, as it did not follow the GdF view that the same damages would have occurred in a strike action without any demands violating the obligation to keep the industrial peace2. The BAG decision is negative for the trade unions and illustrates the risk unions are exposed to in all their strikes. To enforce their bargaining claims and to exercise their right to free collective bargaining enshrined in Article 9 Section 3 of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz), trade unions depend on strike action. Even now, the German unions’ right to strike is subject to multiple restrictions starting with the rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the cases of Viking/Laval3, on the employers’ option to be members of an employers’ association without being committed to a collective agreement (OT Membership)4, or the legitimacy of so-called ‘flash’ resignations/changes of membership to an OT membership5, or the requirement that a legitimate strike must have an objective which is suitable for regulation by collective agreement. Furthermore, the coverage of collective agreements has registered a downward trend for years; just short of one third of all companies in Germany are bound by collective agreements (West Germany: 31 percent; East Germany: 21 percent); these same companies employ close to 60 percent of all employees (East Germany: 49 percent)6. Further restrictions of the right to strike are therefore highly problematic. The BAG must be commended for confirming an earlier ruling of 2015 saying that third parties not involved in a strike action cannot claim damages from the striking trade union, as there is no relation of their intervention to the business of said third party. This means for the present case that there was no direct intervention in the business activities of the aviation companies suffering cancelled flights7. Background to the strike The BAG decision of July 2016 was based on the following events: the claimant company FRAPORT AG and GdF had concluded a bargaining agreement for the employees working in apron control and central air traffic...

Trade Unionism on Academic Performance and Development of Nigerian Universities: A Comparative Study

Labour disputes have become regular occurrences in Nigeria and the right to trade unionism has been constantly abused. Such unionism abuses and disputes often results in low productivity, which in turn affects the demand and supply chain of the economy. The laws in the country are always not abided by, so rather than bargaining, unions embark on strike as first resort, thereby constantly disrupting industrial harmony and academic activities in Nigerian Universities. The objective of this study is to make a comparative assessment of both Nigerian Private and Governments owned Universities and determine whether there is any relationship between non trade unionism and industrial peace, academic performance and productivity in these institutions. The study is a descriptive research designed in line with empiricism case study, and secondary data were mainly applied and were analysed by content analysis. The findings of the study revealed that There is a significant relationship between non trade unionism and industrial peace, academic performances, productivity and development of Nigerian Private Universities unlike the Government owned Universities; and that unionism in Nigerian private universities don’t disrupt students academic activities, which enhances student’s performance. The study draws its conclusion on the fact that regulated or Non trade unionism will always result to industrial peace which is necessary for high academic performance and productivity in Nigerian Universities, and therefore recommends that even though the right of association is a fundamental one, private universities in Nigeria should continue to recognize staff associations but such associations should be regulated and should not be allowed to join the national unions to avoid incessant strike actions; also Labour management dispute committees should be established in all Nigerian universities to handle all union matters internally to further increase productivity.

Maruti Manesar lockout: the flip side of people management

Subject area Human Resource Management (HRM), Industrial Relations, Labor Law (Indian business context), Organizational Behavior, Trade Union and Employer-Employee Relationship. Study level/applicability Academic students (MBA and BBA), management trainees, HR managers and top management of organizations interested in understanding the importance HRM practices. Case overview This case describes an Industrial Relations situation in an automobile company in India. It begins with the mention of Maruti Suzuki India Limited's (MSIL) brush with an unprecedented labor violence that rocked its Manesar facility on July 18, 2012, eventually leading to the lock out of the same on July 21, 2012. Further, it describes the background of the company, employer-employee relationship, a series of strikes experienced by the company, incidents that led to the violence, incidents that happened on the day of violence and finally actions taken after the violence by the company, the government and the union. With such details, the case raises questions on the prolonged people management issues afflicting MSIL. It endeavors to educate the discussants on the specifics of an industrial relations system and the role of each actor toward maintaining industrial peace. Expected learning outcomes Understanding the role of actors of industrial relations toward effective HRM in the organization. Analyzing the compliance of the actors under the existing labor laws as applicable to the organization. Comprehending the attitude of employees, employers and industry toward each other and also toward the job. To understand the nuances of people management function and its contribution toward the violence that eventually resulted in lockout. To comprehend various organizational behavior concepts that shall help synergize the employees' objectives and employer's goal. To analyze the complete incident with relevant organizational and industrial relations (IR) theories. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Spartengewerkschaften, Statuskonflikte und Gemeinwohl: Gesetzlicher Ordnungsrahmen statt Laissez-faire

Abstract In December 2014, the German Federal Government adopted a draft law on the exclusive applicability of collective agreements - the so-called Tarifeinheitsgesetz. Critics see this as an unacceptable interference to the freedom of association. They point out, that despite multi-unionism you can neither observe a substantial increase in new trade unions being set up nor an increase in labor disputes. Proponents of the legal regulation argue that the industrial peace obligation would be jeopardized by competing unions. Craft unions negotiated twice as intense as industrial unions. In industries with union competition, risk of conflicts would accumulate. In addition, the public interest would be harmed if unions battled out their rivalries during collective bargaining negotiations. The proposed law tackled these problems by providing stronger incentives for cooperation between competing unions.

Influence of Communication on Industrial Harmony in the Civil Service of Delta State Nigeria

The issue of communication, especially effective communication is very important in any organization. For any organization to succeed, there must be effective communication – either between top-down (from management to subordinate) or bottom-up (from subordinate to their superior officers). The study tries to establish a link between communication and good industrial relations and industrial peace. The study focused on the Delta State Civil Service and attempted to find out the role that effective communication had played in ensuring industrial peace since the advent of the state. Questionnaires were administered to 325 civil servants out of which only 299 were useful. One of the research questions was whether there is any relationship between industrial harmony and effective communication. The study showed that while effective communication may not necessarily lead to good industrial relations but it may engender industrial peace. Keywords: Communication, Industrial Relations, Industrial Peace.

Contributing Factors to Long Working Hours: Case Study of Waiters in Dire Dawa Administration

The need to create and maintain industrial peace, in one hand, protect the fragile interest of workers on the other side to boost economic development have been critical issues which have attained significant consideration from states. To that end, they introduced at international and national levels different set of legislations regulating employment relations. Among other things, working time limit has meticulously been introduced to safeguard the rights of workers, who are generally with the lesser bargaining power, and make the labor more productive. Ethiopia has accepted this notion of delimitating working hours, and adopted legislations. However, it has become a public secret that such rules have not been maintained in practice and that the enforcement mechanism appeared meager. Though researches have been made in different part of the world; in Ethiopia, particularly in Dire Dawa, the factors contributing for long working hours have not been addressed. There are, however, indicators that particularly waiters are working for longer hours than what the law stipulates. In a town dubbed as industrial corner, this factor should not be left unconsidered if the aspired objective of the labour regulation is really to be met. This research, hence, took the first step in studying the existence of this violation, and investigating the contributing factors. The data were collected through structured questionnaires and interviews, and samples were taken using stratified systematic sampling method. Data were analyzed through quantitative (descriptive analysis and logistic regression model) and qualitative techniques. Then, job insecurity, lack of legal awareness, culture of the work, salary, tips, dependents, and level of education have been found out to be contributing factors, and their level of significance has also been established. It has also revealed that the absence of strong enforcement mechanisms contributed for the apparent non-adherence to the rules so delimiting working hours.

“Industrial Peace through Arbitration”: George Taylor and the Genius of the War Labor Board

Thirty years ago Lichtenstein, Stone, Lynd, et al. accused the National War Labor Board (NWLB) of pursuing policies that crushed worker militancy during World War II, with dreadful long-term consequences. Critiquing that view in this article, Ronald Schatz offers a new interpretation. First, the board contributed to the production of goods essential to the war by mediating between unions and corporations, which in turn helped forestall a “labor draft.” Second, it trained a corps of capable arbitrators acceptable to both unions and management who went on to become the principal intermediaries in American industries for decades. Third, the board required corporations and unions to accept binding-arbitration clauses that over time tended to be more beneficial to workers and unions than to stockholders and management. Finally, the system constructed in 1942–45 served as a model when government and service workers organized in the 1960s. The article is based on close examination of meetings of the NWLB and the regional war labor boards as well as the background and perspective of George Taylor.

Relationship between Labor and Management: A Study on Parkul Tea Estate at Chunarughat in Habiganj

Tea industry is the most important industry in our country. The study attempted to explore the actual condition of labor and management in the tea estate. Simply the relationship between employer and employee is called industrial relation. But it is also covers the relation between employer vs. employer and employee vs. employee. To safeguard the interests of all parties, harmonious relationships necessary for both employers and employees of production. In order to maintain good relationship with the employees, the main functions of every organization should avoid any dispute with them or settle it as early as possible, so as to ensure industrial peace and harmony with higher productivity. The industrial relation also called as labor-management, employee-employers relation. The study searches how the labor management relationship in the Parkul tea estate is.

The Collective Transformation of Labor Relations and Improvement of the Government’s Labor Policy

China is currently undergoing a transition from individual to collective labor relations. The enactment of the Labor Contract Law marks the initial completion of adjustments to individual labor relations in terms of legal construction, as well as the starting point for the adjustment of collective labor relations. The construction and regulation of individual labor relations is not sufficient to resolve the conflict between labor and capital or to maintain industrial peace. In the shift toward collective labor relations there are two complementary forces and paths: the government-led top-down construction process, and the workers’ spontaneous bottom-up mobilization. The shift from disputes over rights to disputes over interests is an important characteristic of the transition toward collective labor relations. Chinese labor policy urgently needs to be reconstructed and refined. Its content should include the guiding role of labor relations theory and choice of adjustment models, sound collective labor law, recognition of the collective rights of workers, handling of the relationship of labor’s two forces, etc.

The Evolution of Labour Law in India: An Overview and Commentary on Regulatory Objectives and Development

AbstractGenerally speaking there has been a relative dearth of serious scholarship focusing on the evolution of Indian labour law in its economic, social, and political contexts. Such work as there is tends to be constituted of fragmented and short journal articles and notes, including those by labour economists and industrial relations scholars. The present work undertakes a survey of the literature in the field, examining first the various periods through which Indian labour law has evolved up to the present time, and second the extent to which the labour law system can be seen to have fulfilled its two core objectives: the protection of labour and the maintenance of industrial peace. The survey reveals that Indian “labour law” in the formal sense has very little purchase in terms of its application in pursuit of its objects. This, in turn, suggests that some other approach is required to reach a more grounded and accurate understanding of how, and to what effect, labour is regulated in India.

Strike Wave in Vietnam, 2006–2011

Vietnam has witnessed more strikes than any other Asian country in the past decade, despite its vibrant economy. However, this regular industrial action has not deterred foreign investors from setting up manufacturing facilities in the country, as wages are about half those of China. Beneath the wildcat strike culture lies a deterioration in living standards to the extent that some Vietnamese workers have to conserve energy due to inadequate food and malnutrition. The article presents an analysis of more than a decade of strikes in Vietnam, moving from a period of relative industrial peace to a strike wave. Using statistical data, it argues that the Vietnamese state’s macroeconomic policy and inability to control inflation are partly responsible for the country’s deteriorating conditions, as is capital exploitation. Foreign investors are increasing impatience with these labour disturbances and are relentlessly pressuring the Vietnamese government to suppress strikes, but thus far the Vietnamese government has shown no signs of doing so.

Barriers to Herbal Medicine Research in Nigeria; Researcher’s Perspective: A Review

This paper presents the barriers to herbal medicine research in Nigeria. This is with a view to formulating appropriate strategies that would be deployed to overcome the identified barriers to herbal medicine research. The paper therefore identified and discussed some of these inherent barriers such as the standardization of herbal medicines according to western pharmaceutical clinical standards which is anchored on a single-active-ingredient approach; attitudes and perceptions of agonists of orthodox medicine; influence of traditional medicine practices on herbal medicinal products; problem of patenting inventions by researchers; lack of linkages between universities, research centres and the industries; decay of research and development (R&D) infrastructure; and government under-funding of R&D activities. The paper concluded that research in herbal medicine in Nigeria needs to be improved upon. In order to do this, herbal medicine researchers should make deliberate effort to choose, acquire, adopt, use, adapt, manage and master foreign technologies to suit local use (indigenous technology) which would enable the mass production of herbal medicines that will meet internationally acceptable standards. Government should increase R&D funding, encourage patency, and encourage the facilitation of effective linkages and partnerships between the universities, research centres and the industries. Finally, government should ensure industrial peace, and a sound educational system imbued with congenial intellectual capacity and salubrious environment.Key words: Herbal medicine, research, barriers, Nigeria.

NLRA Values, Labor Values, American Values

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was drafted to be far more than a technocratic exercise. The NLRA's policies do play the role - or should play the role - of any legislative policy: providing guidance in interpreting and applying the law. However, the important social, justice, and economic values expressed in - and underpinning - the NLRA's policies found in sections 1, 2(3), 7, and 13 means the policies also provide a means for transforming the fundamental values of this country. My book, Taking Back the Workers' Law, presents a comprehensive program for using the NLRA's policies - and its values - as part of a litigation strategy to restore its power to promote worker collective action. But, more important, it emphasizes that enforcing the law is but one part of a broader educational and litigation strategy to create a more just and democratic society. In other words, Taking Back the Workers' Law is more than a manual for smart litigation. Its basic premise is that unions cannot survive - and certainly cannot thrive - in a country whose core values are inhospitable to the essence of what unions as worker representatives are and do. Taking Back the Workers' Law urges taking a fresh look at the NLRA, seeing it as the Workers' Law with a potential for reinvigorating the labor movement and saving the soul of this country. That potential springs from the NLRA's policies - not as a list of simple statements of purpose, but, rather, as mapping to values of industrial and social democracy, solidarity, social and economic justice, fair wages and working conditions, equality, and industrial and social peace. The NLRA itself and its policies embody values that were intended to, and still can, transform our workplaces and our society.

A Study of the Best Labor Practices in Selected Tourism-Oriented Establishments in the National Capital Region, Philippines

The philosophy that human resource is a company’s most valuable asset holds true in a service-oriented industry like tourism. However, this resource cannot be fully maximized towards the company’s growth when labor-related issues that deter a good work performance are mishandled.This descriptive and exploratory study primarily aims to provide information on how selected Metro Manila-based companies from five tourism-oriented sectors handle or manage labor issues through expert interviews with purposively sampled human resource managers and other human resources personnel handling supervisory positions in the following sectors: hotel, restaurant, transport, travel trade, and tourist sites.The research paradigm of this study shall be illustrated as follows:A labor problem starts from the relationship existing between management and employees/workers. It is given that there always exist gaps between management and labor. These identified gaps give rise to a lot of labor-related problems. Hence, there is a need for management to provide creative, proactive and effective intervention measures to minimize gaps, increase productivity and eventually promote industrial peace. These intervention measures may be considered as the best labor practices being utilized by selected companies within the tourism-oriented sector. Possible outcomes by reason of these intervention measures may yield to higher productivity, employee morale, and high savings.Data reveals the following as the leading problems encountered by the selected tourism-oriented establishments: absenteeism/tardiness, illegal dismissal/illegal suspension, pilferage/theft, dishonesty. The top critical factors that give rise to the above labor problems are as follows: Personal/Family/Health problems, Poverty/Economic Reasons, Lack of discipline, Weak Human Resources Department/Lack of support of management with the Human Resources Department. In summary, the following are the schemes employed by the selected tourism-oriented establishments in handling labor problems: Labor Management Council; Unions; Written reports/Incident Report/Committee Investigation; Grievance Machinery; Counseling/Coaching; Constant Dialogues with the Human Resources Department; General Assemblies/Departmental Meetings/Meetings with the President or General Manager; Employee councils to handle cases.In conclusion, ninety percent of the key informants agreed on the imperativeness of having a proactive and supportive Human Resource Department and an open-door policy with the company’s General Manager or President. A comprehensive background check before employment, a two-week orientation, training and immersion, regular performance evaluation, incentives based on merits, due process in cases of termination, strict adherence to civil service laws, rules and regulations, are among the other “best labor practices”.

State Intervention in the Settlement of Interests Conflicts

The Author first describes the « contradictory values » which surround collective bargaining and industrial peace, going through a brief analysis of various industrial relations theories: those of Market, Government and Union Participation in Management. He then goes on to distinguish between various manifestations of industrial conflicts—one of which being the strike, which is not necessarily a symptom of « unhealthy » industrial relations. The Author states that government intervention in conflicts of interests must be the exception and must have their justification in each case. He founds his thesis on the on-the-spot study of numerous data collected from the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and, Sweden.

Can Occupational Predation Buy Labour Quiescence? The Case of the Public Sector in Zimbabwe

Occupational crimes and industrial conflict remain one of the most complex challenges confronting both industrial relations scholars and practitioners. Buoyed by postmodern thinking the paper examines the extent to which the dynamics and patterns of occupational predation is wickedly traded-off for labour quiescence. It focuses specifically on a selected Zimbabwean public sector organisation that is responsible for the administration and monitoring of revenue collection for the State. The paper advances that although some organisational settings are more structurally ‘criminogenic’ and providing more opportunities for occupational crimes than others, this one is a ‘wicked’ case in which occupational crimes have been institutionalized and systemically transformed into a form of calculative or ‘fractional’ collective bargaining. Both primary and secondary data is collected from two of the organisation’s largest stations using a qualitative research approach and analysed by a combination of thematic and domain data analysis techniques. Twenty participants from each station were selected by both simple stratified and purposive availability sampling designs. It is observed that occupational crimes in this organisation have taken a predatory character and invariably acting as a buffer inventory that insulates the organisation against unfavourable macro-economic environment. While alternative conventional theories of worker mobilization or resistance would have viewed this situation as a sufficient condition and opportunity for employees to engage in collective action, evidence suggests otherwise. The paper concludes that predation in the public sector levels the ground in the management of industrial conflict as it is traded-off for industrial peace or labour quiescence.

The Industrial Peace: International Conflict and the Investment-War Tradeoff

Drawing on the writings of Joseph Schumpeter, we develop a theory of international conflict that challenges proponents of the liberal peace research programs. We outline a simple mechanism whereby industrialization fosters peaces, suggesting that industrialized states are more peaceful because they can gain more by investing at home than by pursuing foreign military conquest. We borrow from Schumpeter to argue that our mechanism is distinct from traditional measures of liberalism. Empirically, we propose a measure of industrial development, based on the size of a state's industrial GDP. Using World Bank sector-specific economic data, our analysis shows that a large industrial GDP significantly reduces the likelihood that a state will be involved in a fatal military conflict. We show that this result is robust across a number of model specifications, holds at both the monadic and dyadic levels, and suggests a larger substantive effect than either democracy or capitalism.

Indigenous Conflict Management Traditions and Industrial Peace: A Leveraging Model

Industrial peace benefits business, government, and society. Cooperative relations between management and labor provide a stable operating environment for business, greater harmony in society, and a greater capacity by government to attract and retain foreign direct investment. Building industrial peace, however, is said to be one of the most challenging aspects of globalization, particularly for emerging economies, since market opening pressures create or exacerbate confrontational employment relations. We propose that businesses can foster industrial peace while simultaneously promoting their own effectiveness by leveraging indigenous conflict management traditions for use in the firm. Drawing on management, industrial relations, anthropology, and international development literature, we present a leveraging model with brief case studies from Sri Lanka. This model illustrates the systematic surfacing, applying and mainstreaming of indigenous conflict management traditions at the enterprise level in orde...

The Evolution of Labour Law in India: An Overview and Commentary on Regulatory Objectives and Development

Generally speaking there has been a relative dearth of serious scholarship focussing on the evolution of Indian labour law in its economic, social and political contexts. Such work as there is tends to be constituted of fragmented and short journal articles and notes, including those by labour economists and industrial relations scholars. The present work undertakes a survey of the literature in the field, examining first the various periods through which Indian labour law has evolved up to the present time, and secondly the extent to which the labour law system can be seen to have fulfilled its two core objectives: the protection of labour and the maintenance of industrial peace. The survey reveals that Indian 'labour law' in the formal sense has very little purchase in terms of its application in pursuit of its objects. This, in turn, suggests that some other approach is required to reach a more grounded and accurate understanding of how, and to what effect, labour is regulated in India.

Industrial Disputes in the Construction Sector

The Cole Royal Commission enquiry into the building and construction (abbreviated to ‘construction’) sector recommended controversial workplace-relation reforms for that sector. The recommended changes are likely to be enshrined in legislation within the year. The Commission drew on analyses of industrial disputes that focused, in the main, on quite recent experience. This paper attempts to give a broader historical perspective on disputes in that sector by considering the pattern of disputes for the entire post-World War II period. Accordingly, data on disputes and employees during the entire period are gathered from Australian Bureau of Statistics current and archived sources. These data are classified according to sector (construction versus non-construction) and analysed. It is found that the strike rate has, on average, been greater in the construction sector than in the non-construction sector. However, there have been periods during which disputes in the construction sector have been relatively low. The most recent period was during the period of the Accord (1983-96), during which the strike rate in the construction sector fell relatively strongly. The analysis of this relatively broad historical period draws attention, among other things, to the possibility that the sort of strategies employed during the Accord years – strategies of cooperation and consensus building – may provide a more effective means of bringing industrial peace to the workplace relations scene of the construction sector than policies that are relatively confrontational.