Industrial Relations Environment Research Articles

The Future of Fixed-term Employment in India

The industrial relations (IR) environment in India and its labour market, have been undergoing significant transformations in multiple domains for around two decades after the economic liberalization. Gillan and Lambert (2013) observe several restructurings at the workplace level in the country. These include, among others, farming out job functions or services to any third party through outsourcing, engaging contract labour in the organized sector, the tendency among managers to avoid acknowledging the right of trade unions to collectively bargain and the prevalence of voluntary retirement schemes for having numerical flexibility of the workforce.

Rethinking the Robe River dispute 1986-7 – de-unionisation in Australia’s Pilbara iron ore industry in the early neoliberal period

ABSTRACT The Robe River dispute of 1986-7 was the anti-union New Right’s first attempt to defeat union power at a large workforce in Australia. This occurred during an industrial relations period of ‘cooperation’ between unions, employers and government under Australia’s social contract – the Accord. The dispute was also the first successful attack of its kind in Western Australia’s highly strike-prone Pilbara iron ore industry. Despite its subsequent victory, Robe River management was in a weak position during the dispute, and successful industrial action was a viable prospect. Unionists at the Robe River company were the most militant in the industry. Yet after a six-month dispute, union power was no longer. This article argues union officials’ strategy of avoiding industrial action at all costs led to defeat. This strategy was adopted in the context of firstly, the social contract promising peace between unions and employers, secondly, the Pilbara industrial relations environment of strong localised grassroots networks of union power, conflict with metropolitan-based union officials, and worker encroachment on managerial prerogative, and thirdly, the contingent conservatism of the trade union bureaucracy. Union power in the Pilbara had underlying political weaknesses, meaning that an alternative strategy to that adopted by the union bureaucracy did not win out.

Collective bargaining complexity in Vietnam

8 | International Union Rights | 27/4 FOCUS | TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN ASIA In 2018, Vietnam ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade agreement1. It is said this marks a paradigm shift for Industrial relations development in the country. Trade unionism will be competitive as a result of provisions that require State Parties to permit independent workers’ representatives. In Vietnam this means, for the first time, the prospect of unions operating outside of the VGCL umbrella. How will this affect the landscape of trade unionism? Will strengthening collective bargaining agreements lessen wildcat collective actions? Will the model prove to be adversarial, or anarchical, or highly interventionist, while the overarching governing principle of social and political stability is the focus of the nation? Will the model of Work Councils support stable, sound industrial relations? It is undeniable that the CPTPP brings pros and cons for Vietnam’s industrial relations system. On one hand, a more competitive trade unionism brings more information flow, and thus real possibilities of for challenging what the philosopher Habermas called the ‘colonised life world’. This comes from the legitimacy pertaining to independent workers’ representatives who are acknowledged by law. On the other hand, with competitiveness set up, it is a challenge for seeking agreement from what is likely to be a prolonged decision-making process. Especially where unions are not on the same frontier, this could make up the risks of fallacious arguments against the worker’s representatives and jeopardise a sound industrial relations environment, creating additional costs for running the system and chaotic challenges for business. The challenge is the need to set up a viable social dialogue platform that facilitates negotiations, which could be expressive and factual while heading to substantive outcomes, maintaining a certain unity and enforcement of agreements, while reducing unnecessary costs to the social partners. Vietnamese Culture of dialogue The legislation provides mechanisms for participation in social dialogue and negotiations, but it is worth noticing certain cultural distinctions of the Vietnamese that determine certain social interactions in practice. It is commonly known that in direct dialogue, any disagreement shall not be shown on the face – at least not in a direct way – but will rather be disguised by silence and or a diluted smile; this is misunderstood as ‘agreement’ by opponents2. In such a context, procedural talks or negotiation is a burden if workers have to take follow up dialogue or actions to get what they want. However, one should not infer from this that people are mostly not in favour of disputes. Another matter is that the Vietnamese have a pragmatic and purposeful mindset, and tend to want to achieve and solve things quickly. This leads to what is at face value a seemingly contradictory fact; that collective actions - like wildcat strikes - are quickly launched and solved, whereas cooperative joint problem solving is beset by impatience and hesitancy over face-to-face dialogue that can easily fall into ad-hominem arguments, which destroy collaborations and relationship in the long run. This challenge for a trade union officer is to develop a sensitive capacity to guess people’s ideas, summarise them, and take important practical tactics to get things done in favour of workers without involving too many stakeholders on joint-decision making. Versatile Trade Union Officers In Vietnam, it is by law the responsibility of business owners and the upper level trade union to encourage workers to establish a trade union in any new business entity with more than five workers. The interim trade union was commonly formed based on the lists of personnel selected and proposed by management and approved by the upper-level trade union for a maximum of 12 months. Following this, every five years the trade union must approve a grass-roots officer nominated and selected in a workplace, with three conditions: credits from stakeholders; votes by workers; and authorisation by the upper-level trade union. The workplace trade union chairman thus plays a ‘3 in 1’ role of company mediator officer, state policy executor, and representative of workers. It is assumed that in this particular design, the grassroots unions are given the responsibilities of harmonising relationships and have access to knowledge that...

Effectiveness in Following Eco Friendly Production Techniques by Large Scale Industries

This paper examined the impact of industrial relations environment on organizational resilience, with special interest on its implications on managers in Nigeria workplaces. Some industrial relations environments such as economic, socio-cultural, legal-political, technological among others were identified and discussed. Organizational learning, adaptive capacity and dynamic capabilities were the measures of organizational resilience considered in this paper. The paper notes that the resilient ability of an organization develops over time from an organization’s continual adjustment to its environment and adjustment to current adversities affecting it, as well as adapting to recover from pre-perturbation state as much as possible. The paper concludes that for an organization to develop effective resilient ability, management must anticipate disturbances and develop the ability to restore to original state, and to develop new skills in disruptive conditions. Additionally, industrial relations demands managerial ability to successfully scan, understand and interpret the environment which an organization operate in order to develop advantage in building resilience. It recommends that organizations should embrace technology with open arms. Managers and employees should pay greater attention on scientific and technological development, and research as a means of improving their innovative abilities, and generation of new ideas and thoughts in order to successfully adapt to the changing environment in order to develop strong resilience ability. Additionally, managers should ensure that they develop their conceptual and technical skills and knowledge so that they can be able to understand and interpret their operating industrial environment and also use such knowledge to encourage organizational learning, and to develop adaptive abilities, as well as dynamic capabilities in their organizations. Governments should encourage through her agencies, a good industrial relations policies which are capable of encouraging industrial harmony among the parties in industrial relations, as well as providing policy stability for organizations to operate with

THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE SETTLEMENT MECHANISMS IN NIGERIA

Disputes and dispute resolutions are part and parcel of any functional industrial relations system. Therefore, the need to resolve them equitably, efficiently and effectively for the benefit of the actors is of paramount importance. The objective of this study is to examine the State intervention in dispute settlement and its contributions in peaceful resolution of disputes in Nigeria. The paper adopted the qualitative research approach. Relevant data were collected from the Lagos offices of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Industrial Arbitration Panel and the National Industrial Court. The study found that the various pieces of legislation enacted by the State have positively impacted on the settlement of Industrial Disputes in Nigeria. However, it was observed that despite the positive contributions, there are still some areas for improvement. The study therefore made the following recommendations; that the powers of the Minister of Labour and Employment should be restricted to create an enabling industrial relations environment for the actors and that the parties to disputes should be allowed the choice of which method of disputes settlement to use among other recommendations.

Flexible scheduling, degradation of job quality and barriers to collective voice

This article examines the operation of flexible scheduling in practice through a case study of a large retail firm in the United Kingdom. It includes analysis of 39 semi-structured interviews, participant observation of shop floor work and non-participant observation of union organizing as well as analysis of key documents. The findings highlight the high level of generalized temporal flexibility across employment statuses. This temporal flexibility enables firm flexibility without necessitating a reliance upon contingent workers. Temporal flexibility is found to entail manager-control of flexible scheduling and is shown to be damaging to perceptions of job quality as it acts as a barrier to work-life balance. Union presence and collective bargaining at the firm are found to be ineffective at influencing flexible scheduling so as to improve job quality. This ineffectiveness can be explained by the union operating in an employer-dominated industrial relations environment in which its associational power is unable to compensate for a lack of institutional and structural economic power.

Workers in the Vanguard: the 1960 industrial relations ordinance and the struggle for independence in Aden

The promulgation in 1960 of a new industrial relations ordinance in Aden was a singular event in the history of British decolonisation because it made many forms of strike action illegal. Earlier initiatives to liberalise trade union law in the colonies were intended to channel and manage the discontent of workers; but for nationalist movements, the new order in industrial relations provided an opportunity to mobilise workers in the cause of independence. Aden, which was the location of a significant British base, a major oil refinery and a key commercial port, became the site of a bitter confrontation between the nascent trade union movement and the colonial administration. Three aspects of the conflict were of particular significance. First, Aden’s unique political status as a British colony in the Arab world and its strategic and economic value, contributed to the fractious industrial relations environment. Secondly, conflicts between workers and the colonial government demonstrate continuity with wider British efforts to suppress anti-colonial dissent and demonstrate that charges of appeasement in the last years of empire are not well founded. Lastly, the exceptional nature of the new legislation attracted the critical attention of the ILO and the major international trade union confederations, which internationalised the dispute over the IRO. An examination of the manner in which the British Government sought to regulate its relations with various labour organisations, including the British TUC, the colonial ATUC and the two rival international labour confederations of the WFTU and ICFTU, demonstrates that the conduct of industrial relations in Aden was significant in the context of both the cold war and decolonisation.

Sources of occupational stress in NSW and ACT dentists.

This study aimed to identify and understand the chronic sources of work stress in the NSW and ACT dentistry context. Further, the study examines whether Australian dentists are exposed to similar sources of work stress as dentists internationally. A purposive sample of registered members of the NSW Branch of the Australian Dental Association (ADA) were interviewed. Participants were selected because they represented the key characteristics of the broader ADA population. Interviews were recorded and fully transcribed. Themes were identified, developed, refined and clarified using established and rigorous methods of interview investigation and analysis. A total of 18 dentists participated in the study. Inductive content analysis was used to develop six main categories of chronic sources of stress. These groupings were time and scheduling pressures, professional concerns, patient/public perceptions of dentists, staffing problems, pressures associated with treating patients and business process stressors. Like their international counterparts, Australian dentists are subject to a variety of job-specific stressors. However, the most notable difference between Australian and international dentists relates to the business side of dentistry. It would appear that the Australian statutory, regulatory and industrial relations environment place unique and profound pressures on Australian dentists.

Relationship of Parties to Collective Bargaining and Industrial Relations Environment in Public Universities in Kenya

This article examines the effect of relationship of parties to collective bargaining on industrial relations environment in public universities in Kenya. The data used in analysis is based mainly on stratified probability sample of 322 respondents interviewed in 2012 in the three public universities in Kenya. Expert judgment was used to determine the validity while Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to determine reliability of research instruments. Qualitative and quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to reduce large number of variables for further analysis. Linear regression analysis was employed to determine the effect of relationship of parties to collective bargaining on industrial relations environment. The result revealed that relation of parties to collective bargaining had a significant effect on industrial relations environment (β=0.531, p DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n11p705

English

  Generally speaking, employees in all kinds of work organizations (private or public) exchange work for rewards, which take many forms (that is, material and non-material rewards). However, one of the most important of such rewards and invariably the most obvious is the money paid to workers either as salaries, wages or monitored fringe benefits. The importance of this group of reward lies in the fact that it constitutes the regime of benefit which impacts most greatly on the employees’ motivation to work and on their propensity to cooperate with the management thereby creating a stable industrial relations environment. Its management thus becomes an important issue in all manners of industrial relations system. In Nigeria, the administration of industrial compensation is always associated with a number of industrial relations related problems, the most important which are income inequality and industrial conflicts in form of labor strikes. This paper suggests some ways forward which include: the adoption of job-evaluation system in the fixing of salaries and wages; adoption of the principles of Human Resource Management (HRM) in the management of workers; and introduction of welfare schemes for workers to reduce income inequality.   Key words: Material and non-material rewards, wages.

Effect of Collective Bargaining Process on Industrial Relations Environment in Public Universities in Kenya

This article investigates the effect of collective bargaining process on industrial relations environment in public universities in Kenya. The data used in analysis is based on stratified probability sample of 322 respondents interviewed in 2012 in the three public universities in Kenya. Expert judgment was used to determine the validity while Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to determine reliability of research instruments. Qualitative and quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to reduce large number of variables for further analysis. Linear regression analysis was employed to determine the effect of collective bargaining process on industrial relations. The result show that collective bargaining process has a significant effect on industrial relations environment (ß=0.495, p

Deep rooted conflicts and Industrial Relations interface in Botswana

Conflict is inherently part of any industrial relations environment. With the advent of employee – management relations, conflict is bound to be and has always been present. This paper looks at conflict as it occurs in an organisation between employees and management and also government. Botswana has of recent witnessed a series of industrial relations conflict that can be categorised into three areas; union to union conflict; and union – management conflict and union - government conflict. Desktop methodology was used to collect information for this paper and some of the major events that have occurred in the Botswana industrial relations are referred to in this paper.

Regulation, Managerial Discretion and Family-Friendliness in Australia’s Changing Industrial Relations Environment

This article examines how managers grant employees access to family-friendly work conditions and the institutional, organization and individual-level factors affecting their decision-making processes. This research question is addressed by comparing family-friendly conditions in collective agreements in the Australian retail and public service sectors. An analysis of interviews with management staff in the two sectors then explores how access to these family-friendly conditions works in practice. We found that at an institutional level, the different collective agreement conditions in each sector enabled or constrained managers’ ability to create family-friendly working arrangements for employees. Industry-specific pressures and workplace ‘cultures’ also shaped the ease with which managers could grant employees access to conditions. Most importantly, managers’ discretion operated on the basis of a cost–benefit analysis, where managers weighed up the benefits of retaining an employee’s skills and knowledge against the costs of implementing a particular family-friendly arrangement. The article concludes by considering managerial discretion in relation to recent reforms to Australia’s industrial relations laws.

Power Sharing in Progressive Discipline: New Rules of Engagement Arising from an Australian Perspective

The aim of this exploratory study is to apply the lens of power to the understanding of progressive discipline in Australian workplace contexts. Using data from the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, we analysed the outcomes of 78 unfair dismissal cases across 17 industries over a four-year period (1997-2000). We found that the application of progressive discipline on employees is concentrated around industry and occupational class. Specifically, it shows that occupational classes such as unskilled, skilled, and sales staff are more susceptible to disciplining by employers. It raises the awareness of the immense power the employer derives from the use of progressive discipline over employees and implications in the new environment of on-going labour deregulation and the lack of statutory intervention to ameliorate the growing power imbalance. Given that the research focuses on progressive discipline, the data provides strong grounding for theory building and telling a story on the industrial relations environment where power is becoming increasingly oriented towards employers, especially as union density declines. As such, we hope the simplicity of our research inspires further research that uses more advanced statistical analysis and modelling. The paper has implications for managers/supervisors involved in formulation of progressive discipline policies and for employee advocates who champion employee welfare. It demonstrates that power determines employee performance outcomes, which may not necessarily be in the interest of the employer and to a greater degree the employee. When applying current theory in power, one can challenge the relevance of archaic progressive discipline practices in the context of today’s economic realities. We offer some insights into improving progressive discipline as a tool of managerial control. Our recommendations in this paper will also be relevant to countries with labour legislation and human resource practices similar to Australia such as U.S.A., United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand. Keywords: Progressive Discipline, Power, Australian Arbitration, Governmentality

Governance Processes, Labour-Management Partnership and Employee Voice in the Construction of Heathrow Terminal 5

The Major Projects Agreement (MPA) is a framework collective agreement designed to enhance performance outcomes in large mechanical and electrical engineering projects. It includes the trade union as a partner in strategic, organizational and employment decisions. The agreement was recently implemented in the construction of Heathrow Terminal 5 (T5). We look at factors in the corporate governance and industrial relations environment that led to the use of the MPA at T5, and assess its contribution to the completion of the construction project there. That the MPA has not been more widely adopted since the completion of T5 is indicative, we suggest, of wider constraints on labour-management partnerships in Britain

National and Provincial Influences on Public Sector Pay: Northern Ireland after 1945

This article examines the national and regional pressures in Northern Ireland in the post-war period for parity in public sector pay with the rest of the UK. Northern Ireland had a devolved legislature and government within the UK from 1921 and was constitutionally in an essentially federal relationship with the rest of the UK. However, the Stormont Government chose to use legislative devolution to minimize policy differences with the rest of the UK. The article highlights the national industrial relations environment as the backdrop for provincial developments in pay setting. It establishes the important role played by the Social Services Agreement negotiated with the Labour Government at Westminster in triggering the principle of parity in public sector pay in the early post-war years. The principle of pay parity subsequently became a benchmark for regional trade union coercive comparisons in collective bargaining across the devolved public sector. The article highlights the policy relevance of these developments both to the UK Treasury and to devolved Governments in the UK, as they address the issue of regional public sector pay.

Aligning Industrial Relations Risk, Budgetary Participation, and Budgeting Measures of Performance: Impact on Managerial Performance

While previous contingency studies in managerial accounting conceived environmental or contextual factors as affecting control systems design such as budgeting in terms of markets, technology, or task environment, not much prior empirical research considered the industrial relations environment as an important contextual factor affecting the design and functioning of organizational control systems. In this study, industrial relations is a type of organizational risk arising from industrial relations related actions such as employee work stoppages, actions of trade union officials, conflicts between trade unions, and linkage of trade unions with national political parties, which could be expected to play a significant role in an organization's control systems design and use. Using Lawrence and Lorsch's (1967) contingency theory of Organizations and Environment, we extend the contingency management accounting research literature by empirically assessing the performance consequences of the fit or alignment between industrial relations risk, budgetary participation, and budgetary measures of performance. More specifically, drawing from Drazin and Van de Ven's (1985) Alternative Forms of Fit in Contingency Theory this paper seeks to achieve two goals. First, we examine whether greater use of budgetary information for performance evaluation is likely to be dependent on the positive association between industrial relations risks and budgetary participation. Second, we assess whether managerial performance enhances when there is an alignment or fit between industrial relations risk, budgetary participation, and budget use. The results from a sample of 55 Australian coal mining companies provide strong support for the hypotheses developed. The results suggest that managerial performance improves with increasing use of budgets in performance evaluation under increased industrial relations risk only when there is a provision for high levels of employee budgetary participation. This study adds to the limited knowledge of the interaction of accounting and industrial relations in organizations.

Implications of the EU Information and Consultation Directive and the Regulations in the UK – prospects for the future of employee representation

The EU Directive on informing and consulting employees (I&C Directive) is now established on the employment relations agenda with the provisions coming into force in the UK in April 2005. The I&C Directive potentially has far reaching consequences for the way UK employers inform and consult employees over a wide range of organizational issues, with the potential to transform the UK industrial relations environment. The initiatives contained in the I&C Directive and the subsequent introduction of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations will take place in an employment relations environment in a period of significant change. Pressures of globalization have intensified competition in product and labour markets, emphasizing the need for greater efficiency and productivity. This has led to a greater focus on the link between employee participation practices and business strategy and organizational performance in search of an elusive (or illusory) fit? This paper is a commentary on the origins and rationale of this new legislation in the UK context, drawing on existing knowledge and academic debates in the area. In addition, the paper discusses the potential implications of the I&C Directive and the likely impact of the ICE Regulations on UK representative voice arrangements.

Geographical Takes on Three Decades of Economic Reform in Australia

AbstractThe idea of an economy taking a geographical journey highlights the importance of changing spatialities and how these shape and result from economic change. It also focuses on the geographical scaling of key processes. Using these insights, this paper explores three decades of economic change in Australia in which the nation State has played a central role in the operation of markets and accumulation processes, albeit with dramatic shifts in the qualitative nature of that role. Such shifts have been crucial during the emergence of Australia's particular variety of neoliberalism. The paper explores the liberalisation of Australia's financial and corporate environment, trade policies and the industrial relations environment. The three cases suggest contradictions inherent in the State's adherence to a neoliberal reform agenda, in the name of globalisation, while facing: first, political needs to retain sovereignty over national security and tighten border protection; and second, multi‐scaled political processes including clashes with State governments grappling with regional and local impacts of change. There has been no simple roll‐out of neoliberalism in Australia since the mid 1990s. Geographical scales, constructed contingently by social and political agents, have contributed in fundamental ways to the power and direction of economic reform. Despite powerful re‐scalings to both global and local levels over the past three decades, there is no evidence of a diminished role for the nation State.

The Influence of Wages and Industrial Relations Environments on the Production Location Decisions of U.S. Multinational Corporations

Using the Benchmark and Annual Surveys of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad collected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the authors examine the operations of U.S. multinational corporations (MNCs) in seven manufacturing industries and twenty-two countries over the years 1982–91. They analyze how tariffs, wages, and industrial relations environments influenced U.S. MNCs' decisions about where to locate assets and employment. The results imply that wages and the industrial relations environment were statistically significant determinants of the extent to which MNCs located operations in a particular host country. However, while these factors were important, their impact was much smaller than that of host country market size, which was by far the main determinant of MNC location decisions. Furthermore, the authors find no evidence that tariff reductions increased the share of U.S. MNC activities located abroad. Thus, concerns that tariff reductions may lead to loss of “American jobs” appear to be exaggerated.