Labour Related Issues Research Articles

Role Occupancy and Attitudes toward Labor Relations in Government

Occupants of five local government roles-legislators, elected executives, appointed executives, labor representatives, and arbitrators-were questioned on their attitudes toward labor-management conflict in government. The relation between different role occupants and attitudes toward conflict, bargaining, authoritarianism, delegation, strikes, forms of conflict resolution, and critical services was examined. Although accustomed to bargaining and compromise among themselves, occupants of elected roles were found to be less prepared than appointed role occupants to negotiate productively with labor. Also, the views of role occupants toward specific labor relations issues were more a function of role occupancy than their attitude toward general issues.

Selective Retirement and Preretirement Counseling in the TVA

Under the impact of the marked increase in the number and coverage of public and private pension programs, retirement policies and practices are beginning to occupy a place in the front rank of current personnel and labor relations issues. Two such issues are whether retirement should be mandatory at a fixed age and whether employers should be obligated to assist in preparing employees to meet the social and psychological as well as the financial problems of the retirement period. The recent experience of the Tennessee Valley Authority with selective retirement and a preretirement counseling program is described and evaluated in this article. (Author's abstract courtesy EBSCO.)