Lecture 4
Tues 3/03/09
Employee and Industrial
Relations (IR) – An Irish Context
References:
Ch 11 & 13 Gunnigle, P, Hearty, N. & Morley, M. (2006): Human Resource Management
in Ireland, 3ed, Gill & Macmillan, ISBN (Due to be published in May 2006)
Material provided by Tara Rooney, ITB Lecturer is acknowledged
Paul Dervan BSc (IT) MBA (OU)
Objectives
• Understand the terminology used in
Industrial Relations (IR)
• Examine The history of pay bargaining in
Ireland
• Examine issues around Negotiation &
Conflict
• Understand Disciplinary Procedures
• Discuss Employee Participation
Exercise
The HR Director (newly appointed) from a low cost
PC (non-Unionised) manufacturing Company is
meeting a number of employees concerning a
request to join a Trade Union. The Company
currently does not encourage Trade Union
membership. There has been some unrest at
plant level recently although it is not clear what
the cause of this is
The HR Director has asked her team to brief her
on the Union request and to propose a position
she can adopt.
Identify the pros and cons in agreeing to the
request
What is your advice to her?
Introduction
• Employee relations is a significant aspect of the
HR role in organisations.
• Employee Relations is a broad term covering;
1. Collective Bargaining
2. Grievance Handling/Discipline Issues
3. Other
The Participants
1.
Individual
employees
2. Trade Union
rep.’s
3. Government
bodies
4. Managers
5. Employers
Ass.’s
6. Courts &
Tribunals
Collective Bargaining
• Key terms – Negotiation & Compromise
• Regulating interaction between unions,
employees & employers
• Aim to reach agreement on issues such as pay,
working conditions, procedures etc.
• Collective representation as opposed to individual
• Freedom of Association Art. 40.6.1 – ee’s have
the right to join together in trade unions
• Er’s must be prepared to recognise & deal with
T.U.’s
• *Irish system of collective bargaining is voluntary
Bargaining - Scope
Focus on one employer
Establishment Level
Bargaining
Multi-Establishment
Bargaining
(covering one workplace)
(covering several
workplaces)
Multi Employer Bargaining
Regional
(e.g. covering all
retail employers &
unions in a
particular city)
Industrial (e.g.
construction
industry involving
negotiations
between
Construction
Industry Federation
on employer side &
a trade union
grouping
representing
workers in the
construction sector
**National (e.g.
agreements centrally
negotiated between
employers, unions,
Government & other
rep. bodies since 1987)
History of Pay Bargaining in
Ireland
1. Prior to 1981
•
•
•
•
Up to 1960s Ireland had a highly protected market.
1960s – “A decade of upheaval”
Ireland join EEC in 1973 ‘EU’
*National agreements in 1970s gave cost of living
increases
• High Strike Activity
2. 1982 – 1987
• Economy in serious trouble
• Trade union membership down A
3. 1987 – 1990
• 3 year agreement aimed at regenerating the economy
and improving social equity
4. Programme for Economic and Social
Progress, PESP, 1991-1994
Key Objectives – sustaining economic growth,
increasing employment, reductions in long-term
unemployed, development of social benefits
History of Pay Bargaining in
Ireland
8. Sustaining Progress (SP) (Parts
One & Two) 2003-2006
•Goals: economic inclusion based on full
employment, economic development that is
socially and environmentally stable,
commitment to social justice and change
.
•Elements: Pay increases, national minimum
wage, increased maternity benefits,
workplace learning, industrial peace, work-life
balance.
Negotiating in Employee
Relations
• Fundamental element of CB
• Negotiations in employee relations
involved discussions and interactions
between representatives of employers &
employees over some divisive issue with
the objective of reaching agreement
• 2 dominant forms of negotiation:
• Distributive bargaining: involves bargaining
over issues where a favourable settlement for
one party means an element of loss for the
other (win-lose)
• Integrative (or co-operative) bargaining:
involves a joint problem-solving approach.
Both parties are concerned with finding a
jointly acceptable solution resulting in benefits
for both sides (win-win)
Phases in the Negotiation
Process
• Preparation
• Bargaining
• Involves opening; expectation structuring;
offer, concession, movement;
agreement/disagreement and; close
• Follow-up
• Involves reporting back to the people each
side represents; reviewing the implementation
of any agreement reached; possibly a general
evaluation of the implications of the
negotiation & agreement
Industrial Conflict
• Unitarist/Pluralist perspectives
• Industrial conflict is categorised into 2
broad forms:
• Explicit & organised industrial conflict (e.g.
strikes, go-slows, overtime bans)
• Unorganised & more implicit industrial conflict
(e.g. absenteeism, labour turnover, poor
performance)
Source: LRC
Strike Activity in Ireland
• 3 key measures in evaluating extent of strike
activity:
• Strike frequency (number of strikes)
• Workers involved (number of workers
participating in strikes)
• Working days lost (number of working days lost
due to strike activity)
Strike Activity in Ireland
• Impact of official & unofficial strikes is
another important issue affecting
patterns of strike activity
• Official strikes are those that have been
fully sanctioned by the union executive
• Unofficial strikes are those that have not
been sanctioned by the union. Normally
last for a shorter time & have fewer
workers involved
Conflict resolution: dealing
with disputes
• Industrial conflict can be beneficial – can
facilitate change & development in the
nature of employee relations
• Most widespread response to conflict is
development of joint mechanisms to
discuss & resolve issues of difference
• Reflect pluralist approach to employee
relations
Grievance Handling
•
Grievances describe a formal expression of employee
dissatisfaction
•
Grievance handling involves the establishment &
application of procedures
•
Aim of grievance procedures is to ensure employees’
issues are adequately handled & settled fairly as close
as possible to point of origin
•
Advantages of grievance procedures:
• Increased clarity in employee relations interactions
• Prevention of misunderstandings & arguments over
interpretation
• Ease of communication
• Increased fairness & consistency in application
•
Can refer situation to a third party for mediation
and/or arbitration if the issue cannot be resolved
Handling Disciplinary Issues
• Disciplinary rules set out the standards of
acceptable behaviour expected from employees &
the consequences of not meeting these standards
• Disciplinary procedures constitute the
administrative machinery for applying these rules
& executing any resulting action
• Common law concept of natural justice requires
that:
• Company rules should be clearly outlined &
communicated
• Consequences of breaching such rules/standards
should be clear
• Employees not reaching the required standard
should be informed & given the opportunity to
improve
• Employees entitled to fair & consistent treatment,
opportunity to state their case, access to
representation, right to appeal to a higher
authority
• 2 types of discipline rules/standards:
• Rules & standards where breaches may lead to
dismissal in the first instance
• E.g. theft or violence at work
• Rules & standards where breaches would lead to
the operation of a standard disciplinary procedure
• E.g. lateness, absenteeism, inadequate work
performance
Handling Disciplinary Issues
• Steps involved:
• Conduct a thorough investigation
• Conduct a disciplinary interview
• Purpose is to assess culpability, allow the
employee the opportunity to present his/her
viewpoint, decide on appropriate action & attempt
to effect desired change in employee behaviour
• Onus on management to ensure employee knows
of right to appeal
• Details of interview should be recorded & given
to employee and/or his/her representative
• Follow-up and monitoring
STAGE Nature of
Grievance
Management
Employees/Trade
Union
1. Local work rules or
affecting small group
?
?
2.Issue unresolved at
Stage 1- implications for
a group of workers on a
dep./sectoral level
?
?
3. Issue unresolved from
Stage 2 – Grievance or
claim with company wide
implications
?
?
4. Unresolved issue
through the appropriate
lower stages & remains
unresolved
?
5. Any issue which
remains unresolved after
stage 4
?
Level of
involvement
Handling Disciplinary Issues
• Management will seek to take disciplinary
action against employees who fail to
conform to the established rules and
norms of the organisation such as
performance levels, attendance, conduct
etc.
• Disciplinary Rules
• Disciplinary Procedures
• What are the objectives?
• Why is it important that procedures are
followed?
• What piece of legislation will allow Testing for
Intoxicants?
Trade Unions – Sell Out Deal!
• Irish Ferries is justified in seeking to
replace its Irish Workforce with cheaper
Labour?
Employee Participation
•
Employee participation may be interpreted as
incorporating any mechanisms designed to increase
employee input into managerial decision-making
•
It can take many forms from management informing
employees of decisions that affect them, to
consultation with employees on decisions or joint
participation in actual decision-making process
•
Direct forms of employee influence:
• Workers are directly involved in the decisionmaking process
• Employee involvement
• Quality circles
• Consultative meetings
• Team-working
• 4 forms of participation
•
•
•
•
Task participation
Equity participation
Representative participation
Participation through CB
Advantages of Employee
Participation
• For Employers
• Creates a flexible, responsive and committed
workforce
• For Employees
• Achievement of an input into relevant decisions is a
legitimate goal
• Allows them greater control & discretion in their
jobs
• For the State & Community
• Benefits from positive workplace relations based on
trust, open communications & employees’
satisfaction