Collective Bargaining Bridging Employee and Management Ties

Every employee in an organization has certain rights and privileges that he is free to enjoy and reap. These benefits are aimed at keeping the employee happy and satisfied so that he is a happy workman. It all makes the atmosphere in the organization very healthy which churns out excellent output. All these benefits and the company rules are finalized by the human resource management of the company keeping in mind the interests of the organization. In maximum cases the employees put forth their points which are incorporated in the charter of agreements. This is termed as the collective bargaining agreement. In simpler terms in collective bargaining the workers organize collectively and bargain with employers regarding the workplace needs and their requirements.


In other words in collective bargaining the employees and workers asking for fulfillment of their demands sit across the table with the management and discuss their points and issues. This way of functioning and negotiation are the building blocks of larger entity of trade unions or what we say the foundation of trade unions. Various points are discussed regarding will finalizing the charter for workers. These would be the terms of conditions on work, the criteria of employment, wages, hours of work, working conditions, rights and responsibilities of trade unions and the management as well. This is where the employee feels more a part of the organization and wanted.


This charter of rules is the first document or in a way the constitution of the company. They are drafted to keep very cordial and disciplined labour relations in workplace. This charter will clearly state the rights of the management i.e the areas where it will have jurisdiction. These could be the hiring of employees, the appraisal system of employees, work allocation, discipline of employees and even the termination of an employee from the organization and all this of course not compromising, the discipline of the company.


From the employee’s side an option for lodging complaints should be present. Here the employee can place their complaints and issues in case any of their rights are not given as per the charter. A complete grievance lodging procedure must be well defined in the charter itself so that the employee knows the steps to follow. Also, during the time the complaint is being lodged and the decision is impending the employee’s must be looked after.

Collective Bargaining Model for Professional Unions White Paper

Sue.Mackintosh Teacher UnionsBy Hugh Secord and Sue Mackintosh There has to be a better way to achieve the multiple goals of maintaining professional standards, societal good and collective “voice” and rights. This article explores the challenges facing professionals such as engineers, teachers Full Read Click Here

The holiday season comes early for U.S. labor: What to expect from America’s unions and why?

By Brian McArthur In 2012 Barack Obama won a decisive victory for control of the White House against his Republican challenger Mitt Romney. The President’s friend and political ally, Richard Trumka, organized a massive labor offensive that put more than $400 million in the hands of the Democratic party to get the President re-elected. With President Obama securely back in the White House, what will the labor movement’s priorities be going forward for the next four years? Will the labor movement insist the President re-introduce The Employee Free Choice Act knowing that a Republican controlled House of Representatives (Congress) will undoubtedly reject the Bill as they had in 2009? With the President’s solid support of labor’s overarching objectives, will there be a renewed confidence to engage in aggressive collective bargaining activities and, as such, will that lead to more labor disputes in the future? What about union organizing activities? Will labor use the President’s re-election as a catalyst to secure organizing victories to increase the extremely low union density rate? This article argues that the labor movement will be on the offensive over the next four years and will, with the support of the White House, aggressively pursue long sought after policies that they claim will benefit American workers Full Read Click Here

What is Shared Value?

Shared Value is the concept written about by Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer (Harvard) in their seminal article called: Creating Shared Value: How to Reinvent Capitalism and Unleash a Wave of Innovation and Growth. In their article they define the concept as:

Shared Value involves creating economic value in a way that also creates value for society by addressing its needs and challenges. Businesses must reconnect company success with social progress. Shared value is not social responsibility, philanthropy or even sustainability but a new way to achieve economic success(1).

It is a unique view and opinion that Mr. Porter and his writing partner Mr. Kramer are advocating. Which has, in my view, gained momentum as the business environment has changed and presented significant challenges over the past decade.

Given the damaged relationship between society and its industrial leaders due to events such as Enron’s financial governance issues, market collapse of the financial services industry, environmental catastrophes such as Exon Valdez and BP Oil rig spills these events coupled with the impact of job losses, personal bankruptcies and high unemployment have left many grasping for a new way. Porter points out that operating a business with a view to creating shared value is good for business in many ways.

These ideas accept that capitalism is an effective method for efficiently meeting human needs, creating jobs and wealth. The opportunity is to fully unleash the potential of capitalism by taking a wider view. In other words, the purpose of a corporation must be redefined to be the creation of shared value and not just profit. The hypothesis is if this path is taken it can create the next wave of innovation and productivity. Many real examples are starting emerge to validate this thinking. Companies which have embraced this type of long term wider community thinking put shared value not at the margin of what they do but at the center. You can find these examples and much more related to this concept at their website http://www.fsg.org.

For those of us practicing Industrial and Labour Relations it is an exciting concept to embrace. We are uniquely able to influence shared value goals as we are accountable for the creation of Labour Relations strategy and the execution of the strategy through negotiations, dealings with communities, employees and working relationships with unions.

(1)Creating Shared Value: How to Reinvent Capitalism and Unleash a Wave of Innovation and Growth", Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer, Harvard Business Review, Feburary 2011

Human Resources Management –The Unsung Moderators of a Company

An organization is a place where the different departments work together to achieve the common goal of bringing profits. From the recent past, it has been seen that, one area which has seen a see change in terms of growth and practices is human resources management. Till recently, it was a department which was only considered to be concentrated over the smooth functioning of production and operations. However, coupled with other functions, their main job revolved around finding contingency measures to avoid strikes and sort out any kind of conflict that might be envisioned between the labors and the management. Added further the appraisals and compensation issues were the main issues that formed main part of the human resources employee relations.

Well in times of today the demographics of human resources management has completely changed. The company employee is not just a person giving his services for the pay that is given to him but it is a skill set which needs to be kept happy to give the company the best services. There are times that you have to deal very softly and at the same time professionally to get the managements point across to the employee. This is the reason it is said that human resources employee relations walk a very thin line. After all at the end of the day a happy and satisfied employee is what everyone aims to have as it turns into higher work output.

Human resources consulting and management begins right from the time a prospective employee comes to give his resume for a job in an organization. The short listing, sorting of resumes begins here where the HR of the company sorts the resume as per the requirement of the company. The interviews with the departments and heads are then scheduled by the HR. After finalization of the employee, then comes deciding the package and the remuneration that the employee will be paid. This all is finalized by the HR in discussion with the management. Not only this, the HR is responsible to finalize the appraisals of employees as the time arises.

Human resources management involves not just trainings, appraisals and the like but involves a system where you can give your complaints as well. This gives a feeling of transparency to the employees that there point is being heard. It also opens channels of communication between both the parties and benefits the organization in the long run. Human resources employee relations is a buffer which makes the employee open up with the management where he can discuss his future trainings that he might wish to undertake . This also gives him a chance to preview the future that he might have in the company and the HR has to make sure that the employee is comfortable in the organization.

Maintaining Cordial Labor Management Relations, a Tough Task for Companies

Managing a company is a very daunting task. It involves management at different levels where the varied departments have to be managed , where each department has to be worked upon with the same interest and view always. Right from the administration which involves keeping the company top notch for visitors and making sure that the employees are comfortable, there are many other aspects that need to be looked into. The labour is one such aspect of an organization which needs to be managed and taken care off in the best possible manner as even a little discontentment in their minds somewhere can lead to very severe repercussions in the long run. However, there are many ways and means, through which cordial labor management relations can be maintained. Here a Labour relations consultant comes to a company’s rescue in such times of need. These consultants also guide the management of the organization on the current and future problems and opportunities related to the companies structural and functional aspects as well.

Management and the labour relations walk a very thin line where even a little misunderstanding can lead to very uncalled for situations in the company. But as it says every problem has a solution and better still, steps should be taken beforehand to avoid a crisis situation to knock on the door. Keeping this aspect in mind the labor management relations must be always kept top notch and in perfect state.

As per a recent study it has been found that depression and anxiety is the main cause of sickness and is on the rise in UK on account of work related stress. The stress in turn has considerable effect on the labors productivity which results in lowering in turnover over time. This in turn is directly proportional to increase in labor earnings, high recruitment costs and decrease in profits over time. All this is an indication that serious view needs to be given towards labour relations in workplace and something somewhere is posing to be a burden on the minds of the labour.

There can be many aspects which can be a concern for the labors. It can be the pay aspect, work environment, bullying from colleagues, discrimination and many such issues of the like. Well, whatever be the issue it has to be resolved in the bigger interest of the company. Today there are many labour consultant firms who work together with legal firms and advise the management and labors on their rights and assist them in finalizing the agreements of the companies. Collective bargaining is one such policy which is a step in this regards towards maintaining cordial relations in the company.

Labour Relations Canada Aimed at The Skilled Employee

A person’s job is such an important aspect of his life that many times he has to transcend borders and move out to a completely new city and at times new country as well. The fact is a person with a high skill set in his job is always on the “Most Wanted” list of human resources management departments of companies. If you are good in your job you will always have your hands full with job offers. Not only this, the remuneration offered to you will be the best so as to keep you always with the company.

In developed countries like U.S, Canada, Europe a recent trend has immerged where you find imbalance between the new labors i.e workforce coming for a job and the labors retiring from the job. The result is shortage of people in the skilled labor category. To counterbalance this companies open their doors to a workforce from other states and countries as well. Canada is one such country which welcomes talent and skill with open arms and values a person for the work and skill that he has. For the comfort of the employees labour relations Canada laws are designed to the labours comfort where they offer flexible work hours and employee benefit family health schemes as well. Not only this in a recent development labour relations Canada is now encouraging women force to also join the construction sector. This is a step towards diversifying the work force from different sections of society and even minorities from different facets of work. Further companies are working towards keeping human resources employee relations very cordial and friendly with an aim to retain employees as far as possible.

Today’s labor is not just engrossed in his work but he requires diversification in his work as well. The human resources management of companies has to plan creative workshops and trainings for their employees. This makes the employee’s job interesting and makes them look forward to a new everyday in the company. This increases the zeal in the employees and they look forward to their day in the company. Another step towards enriching human resources employee relations is giving some rotation to the job of an employee. This way he learns something new in his job and at the same time gives him a new experience as well. This has been a big advantage for labour relations Canadaand has benefited the economy in a big way.

By initiating the new strategies and introduction to new departments and techniques you give new skill set to employees. Further, it brings about reorganized work arrangements, increased employee engagement and management responsiveness, devises new recruitment, selection, retention, and post-retirement strategies and above all improvement in productivity. At the end of the day the aim is to keep the companies employee happy and at the same time no compromise on productivity.