WORKPLACE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Objectives of I.R (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2003)
Reducing labour costs
Achieving better stability in employee relations by channeling discontent through agreed procedures.
Increasing productivity and the utilization of labour
Increase co operation and commitment to increase likely acceptance to change
Increase control over labour process.
Minimizing disruption of work
Apart from the primary objective of bringing sound and healthy relations between employers and employees, industrial relations aim at:
i)To facilitate production and productivity;
ii)To safe guard the rights and interest of both labour and management by enlisting their cooperation;
iii)To achieve a sound, harmonious, and mutually beneficial labour management relations;
iv)To avoid unhealthy atmosphere in the industry, especially work stoppages, go-slow strikes, lockouts; and
v)To establish and maintain industrial democracy.
The objectives of an industrial organization may vary from purely economic to purely political ends. The objectives of the industrial relations can be divided into four categories:
i)Improvement in the economic conditions of workers in the existing State of industrial management and political government;
ii)Control exercised by the state over industrial undertaking with a view to regulating production and promoting harmonious industrial relations;
iii)Socialization and rationalization of industries by making the sate itself a major employer; and
iv)Vesting of a proprietary interest of workers in the industries in which they are employed.
The context of Workplace industrial relations
Internal Factors
Blyton and Turnbull (1994) identified some of the following factors;
Size of the organisation
Structure of the organisation
Technologies
Patterns of ownership and control
Character of the product market
Strategy being pursued by the organisation
Caliber of employees in terms of skills
Leadership styles, etc
External Factors
A variety of external factors which include growth in trade unionism, changing product and employment market conditions, labour law and new technology :Marchington & Wilkinson (2004)
We can summarize some of these factors as follows:
Legal factors - Employment legislation
Any form of legislation imposes responsibilities on a firm
It is likely to lead to increased costs in employing labour
This is likely to make the labour market less flexible
Some legislation could be aimed at improving information flows
Look at the massive outcry by industry for reforms with specific emphasis on areas like S12C(Retrenchment laws), S14 (Sick Leave), S12B (dismissal laws), Structure and operations of the labour courts, especially delays, Part X (S74-82B on Collective Bargaining), strike laws, consultation laws etc, also the indigenization legislation and its impacts especially with respect to issues such as capacity utilization of industry, employment creation and economic control
We also have international treaties such as ILO Conventions which impacts on our industrial relations systems
Law on discrimination, bringing such issues as HIV/AIDS in the workplace SI202/98
Labour Market Performance
There are quite a number of factors that impact on labour market performance, which, ultimately influences the management of industrial relations in the workplace. These are highlighted on the diagram above.
Geographical Mobility
The ease with which an individual is able to move from one region to another in search of work
Job opportunities may arise in certain areas,
Many things may prevent workers moving: Family ties, Different housing costs, Cultural differences, Lack of re-location allowances, Cost of re-locating, Simple unwillingness of people to leave their ‘homes’
Occupational Mobility
The ease with which an individual can move from one type of job to another
Such ease will depend on:
–The differing skill levels of available jobs
–The location of the jobs available
–The willingness of an individual to change to a different job
–The age of the worker
–The qualifications of an individual
–The degree to which an individual has transferable skills
Education and Training
Government policy on education and training aims to improve the ease with which people can access work and move between jobs
Trade Unions
Trade unions pose a significant influence on wage flexibility in industrial relations
Batstone (1988) suggests power sources of unions lie in scarcity in the labour market, disruptive capacity in the production process and political influence
Union membership therefore becomes an indicator of trade union power
In Zimbabwe they work with workers committees.
“All trade unions are involved in political activity, by virtue of necessity” Crouch (1982)
Union’s political activities take into account broad social issues such as housing, transport, education and health care.
Unions may decide to pool their resources for mutual advantage
Characteristics of a Sound IR
What are the features of a good industrial relations system?
Definitions of an IR System
A sound industrial relations system is not capable of precise definition.
However, there is a general conclusion that as a system, IR can be defined as comprising the totality of the power interactions of participants in the workplace, when these interactions involve industrial relations issues.
It is viewed as an integral and non-separable part of the organizational structure and dynamics.
The components of IR system are:
-Participants: The duly recognized representatives of the parties interacting in several roles within the system.
-Issues: The power interaction of the participants in a workplace creates IR problems. These issues and the consequences of the power interactions a find their expressions in a web of rules governing the behaviour of the parties at a workplace.
-Structure: It consists of all form of institutional behaviour in system. The structure may include the collective procedures, grievance settlements practices etc. legal enactments relevant to power interactions may also be considered to be part of the structure.
-Boundaries: In systems analysis, it is possible to find issues which one participants is totally indifferent to resolving while, at the same time, the other participants is highly concerned about resolution of the same. These issues may serve to delimit systems boundaries.
-At least there are three marked features of this systems approach;
(i)Interdisciplinary in character:some theorist regards the system approach to be universally applicable to all human relationships, insmall or large units. Its flexibility of application in the behavioural sciences has been aptly demonstrated.
(ii)Suitability to work organization and their sub-system: The adaptability of the systems approach to organization is also a frequently discussed trait. This springs from the fact of that organizations and to some extent their sub-systems, are rational and purposeful.
(iii)Dynamicapproach: A system approach is oriented towards the study of interactions and changing relations.
The following are the some of the contributors to the systems approach in industrial relations:
Robert Dubin: He used the concept such as inter-group (Union-Management) power interactions, boundaries of the social system and functions performed by the system. According to him,union militancy is greatest when the union bargains for the minimum sources of attachment to work, such as wages, hours of work and working conditions.
John T. Dunlop – introduces what he refers to a system of Industrial Relations applicable at once to three broad areas of industrial relations experiences, namely:(i) industrial relations within an enterprise, industry or other segment of a country and a comparison among such sectors, (ii) IR within a country as a whole and a comparison amongcountries, and (iii) IR as a totality in the course of economic development. He defined IR Systemas; “An IR System at any one time in its development is regarded as comprised of certain actors,certain context, an ideology which binds the industrial relations system together, and a body ofrules created to govern the actors at the workplace and work community. There are three sets ofindependent variables: The “actors”, the “context” and the “ideology” of the system”.
The Oxford approach: This approach is based on the Donovan Commission (1965–68). According to this, the industrial relations system is a study of the institutions job regulations and the stress is on the substantive and procedural rules as Dunlop’s model. it was also influenced by the works of Alan Flanders
The Industrial Sociology Approach: Mergenson hold the view of IR is the nature and development of the conflict itself. Conflict is the basic concept that should form the basis of thestudy of IR. According to this school of thought, there are two major conceptual levels of industrial relations. One is intra-plant level where as situational factors, such as job content, work task and technology, and interaction factors produce three types of conflict i.e., distributive, structural and human relations. These conflicts are being resolved through collective bargaining, structural analysis of the socio-technical systems and management analysis respectively. The second level is the outside the firm and, in the main, concern with the conflict notresolved at the intra-organizational level. However, this approach rejects the special emphasisgiven to rule determination by the ‘systems and oxford models’. In its place, it suggests amethod of inquiry, which attempts to develop sociological models of conflicts.
Fox (1973) and IR Frames of reference – brings three I.R perspectives, that is unitarism, pluralism and Marxism to explain the frames of reference that are used to conceptualise and therefore manage industrial relations.
The Human Relations Approach: The Elton Mayo, the proponent of HR School and later propagated by the Keith Davis, as “the integration of people into a work situation that motivates them to work together productively, cooperatively and with economic, psychological and social satisfaction”. This highlights certain policies and techniques to improve employee morale, efficiency and job satisfaction. It encourages the small group to exercise considerablecontrol over its environment and in the process helps to remove a major instinct in labour—management relations.
Characteristics of a Sound Industrial Relations System
A sound industrial relations system is one in which relationships between management and employees (and their representatives) on the one hand, and between them and the State on the other, are more harmonious and cooperative than conflictual and creates an environment conducive to economic efficiency and the motivation, productivity and development of the employee and generates employee loyalty and mutual trust.
Industrial relations itself may be described as being concerned with the rules, processes and mechanisms (and the results emanating therefrom) through which the relationship between employers and employees and their respective representatives, as well as between them on the one hand and the State and its agencies on the other, is regulated.
Industrial relations seek to balance the economic efficiency of organizations with equity, justice and the development of the individual, to find ways of avoiding, minimizing and resolving disputes and conflict and to promote harmonious relations between and among the actors directly involved, and society as a whole.
The rules, processes and mechanisms of an industrial relations system are found in sources such as laws (legislative, judicial, quasi-judicial), practices, customs, agreements and arrangements arrived at through a bipartite or tripartite process or through prescription by the State.
At the industry level industrial relations often takes the form of collective bargaining between employers' organizations and unions. This process may result in determining wages and other terms and conditions of employment for an industry or sector. It may also result in arrangements on issues which are of mutual concern such as training, ways of avoiding or settling disputes, etc.
At the enterprise level the relationship between employers and workers is more direct, but the interests of workers may be represented by unions. Employers' organizations, however, are not usually involved (though sometimes they are when negotiations take place between them and unions in respect of enterprise issues) at the enterprise level in representing the employers' interests with workers or their union, but this does not mean that they do not have an important promotional role at this level.
Sound relations at the enterprise level build trust and confidence between workers and management, which is the point at which the system must ultimately be effective. Effectiveness at one level would naturally have some impact on the other.
A sound industrial relations system requires a labour management relations policy (LMRP). There are many specific objectives of such a policy, all of which go to make up the policy at the national level, and may revolve around;
1)Employment and job security and increased employment opportunities.
2)Raising living standards through improved terms and conditions of employment.
3)Productivity improvement which enables employers to be more competitive and to increase their financial capacity to raise the living standards of the employees.
4)Minimizing conflict, achieving harmonious relations, resolving conflicts through peaceful means and establishing stable social relationships.
The quality of relations between employers and employees in an enterprise largely depends on the policies, practices and procedures which exist at the enterprise level to deal with both individual and collective issues, and to promote labour-management cooperation.
Nature of IR Policies (Wright, 2000)
May be defined as the institutions that are intended to govern the employment relationship, which can encompass collective bargaining or individual contracts.
Corporate Management IR Policies revolve around 5 key variables
Collective Bargaining – formal negotiations with trade unions to determine terms and conditions of employment.
Union involvement – the extent of union recognition in decision-making in organisations (Torrington,2002)
Advantages / DisadvantagesStable structure for management of employees / Perceptions that unions resisted change and take a long time to get things done
Promotion of smooth IR / Results in management not being able to respond quickly & positively / flexibly to market pressures and opportunities
Provides mechanism of upward communication
Cost effectiveness as a communication tool compared to individual approach
Consultation – management advocacy of an institutionalized form of information exchange with employees, such as joint consultative committees or briefing groups
Participation – systematic management support for a body aimed at promoting worker involvement in the work process
Individualization – management sponsorship of individualized forms of employee governance, such as personal contracts, individual performance appraisal and reward, or piecework payment
The Necessity of Procedures (Wilkinson, 2003)
A policy is normally accompanied by a procedure for putting it into action.
- Procedures help to clarify relationships between employer and employees
- Identify who in the structure should take care of certain issues
- Help ensure greater consistency and promotes rules of natural justice (tribunal – arbitration cases)
- Lead to systematic record keeping
HR Specialists are often seen as the custodians to the procedures
There are, therefore, numerous enterprise level mechanisms, whose effectiveness is to an extent conditioned by the particular corporate culture or philosophy relating to the management of people.
The development of enterprise level industrial relations facilitates adjustments to structural changes.
Indeed, it is a way of reconciling the need for enhanced management flexibility with the need to ensure that employees' concerns are taken account of and their cooperation obtained without which successful change would hardly be possible.
Human Resource Management Policies and Practices
Sound industrial relations are closely linked to a progressive human resource management policy translated into practice.
Harmonious industrial relations are more likely to exist in an enterprise where human resource management policies and practices are geared to proper recruitment and training, motivational systems, two-way communication, career development, a people-oriented leadership and management style, etc.
Many of these human resource management activities have an impact on the overall industrial relations climate in an enterprise.
These policies and practices revolve around some of the following aspects;
Productivity
Productivity - a key consideration of profitability, the ability of enterprises to grant better terms and conditions of employment and for economic and social development - needs a sound labour relations base.
Current challenges in Zimbabwe according to Nguwi (2012) are that the general trend of wage increase is PDL driven and not related to productivity improvement, Increments are given to all workers regardless to the level of performance; Collective bargaining agreements tend to punish struggling companies, Not easy to justify an exemption in cases where company cannot afford. Such a situation kills an industrial relations system in organisations.
It is generally argued that productivity does not depend on individual effort alone. Many mechanisms which contribute towards productivity gains are workable only where there is teamwork and cooperation e.g. small group activities, joint consultation mechanisms.
Therefore a workplace IR System should be geared to creating the climate appropriate to securing the cooperation necessary for productivity growth. This can closely be associated with High Commitment IR Systems (HCIRs).
Practices that support these include job security, staff retention; focus on getting employee commitment, increased discretion given to employees in terms of decision making,
In the long-term, productivity increases employment security. Concrete measures to enhance productivity should be decided through labour management consultation which will be promoted.
Productivity gains should then be distributed fairly among management, employees and customers.
Another important link between labour management relations and productivity has arisen in the context of recent events in many societies and major changes in industrial relations such as the move towards labour market flexibility. The latter involves the need for employers to adopt, in the interests of competitiveness, new working time and work arrangements, atypical contracts of employment, new methods of pay and remuneration, and control over the size of the labour force.
These developments have partly resulted from intense competition, new technologies, shorter product life and so on, all of which require flexibility in the use of resources if an enterprise is to remain productive and competitive. (When employee remuneration is tied to productivity, there is likely to be higher wages for workers and higher profits for companies, which enhance greater competitiveness for companies, resulting in employment creation and less retrenchments)