INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

OBJECTIVES OF IR

Understand the key strategic issues in
industrial relations.
Explain the unitary, pluralist and radical
approaches to industrial relations.
Appreciate the role of employers, trade unions
and governments in industrial relations.
Understand individual and collective
bargaining, conciliation (pacification) and
arbitration.


INTRODUCTION
Continuing work environment issues are
creating pressures for more industrial relations
reform.
Higher productivity translates into higher
wages, better jobs and improved job security.
While all parties agree that reform is inevitable
(expected), the problem is in obtaining
consensus.
INTRODUCTION
The way people view the challenges of reform
is in large part influenced by their perspective
on industrial relations.

APPROACHES TO INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS

IR involves employee and their unions,
employers and their associations and
governments and industrial tribunals that
make regulations governing the employment
relationship.
NATURE OF IR
Focus
Strategic & integrated managerial approach to the
management of people
HRM support for achieving business aims and objectives
Mechanisms
Individualism (human relations, organisational psychology)
Integrating planning, monitoring and control of human
resources (not just employees)
Securing employee commitment or organisations aims &
objectives (performance based rewards, employee
involvement)
How Management and Union
operate in an organisation
Pluralistic
Co-operation
Conflict
Authoritarian
Paternalism
Unitary
Human
resource
management
Systems
Evolution
Revolution
Marxist
Control of
the labour
process
Input Conversion Output
Conflict
(differences)
Institutions
and
processes
Regulation
(rules)
Approaches to industrial relations
Social action
Wider approaches to industrial relations
Approaches to industrial relations
Labour market Comparative
UNITARIST APPROACH
Industrial relations is grounded in mutual
cooperation, individual treatment, teamwork
and the sharing
of common objectives.
The underlying assumption is that it is to the
benefit of all to focus on common interests
and promote harmony.
Conflict is regarded as destructive.
PLURALIST APPROACH
Regards conflict as inevitable because
employers and employees have conflicting
interests.
Trade unions are seen as legitimate (legal)
representatives of employee interests.
Sees stability in industrial relations as the
product of concessions and compromises
between management and unions.
ADVERSARIAL IR
UNION MANAGEMENT
Strike Lockout
Bans Injunction
Boycott Strike breakers
Picket (protest) Employer
associations
Industrial tribunal Industrial tribunal
RADICAL OR
MARXIST APPROACH
Marxists, like the pluralists, regard conflict
between management and employees as
inevitable.
Sees industrial conflict as an aspect
of class conflict.
The solution to worker alienation
(unfriendliness) and exploitation is the
overthrow of the capitalist system.

HRM AND IR
HRM presents a direct challenge to
traditional IR centred on conflict
inevitability, government intervention and
employee representation.

Considerable opposition to HRM.
THEORY, HRM AND IR
HRM contributes in:
theory and research on management as an
initiator of change - more acceptable

frameworks for understanding enterprise-
level relations vs centralised rewards

frameworks for understanding direct and
informal management vs indirect/formal
ie. Employee Relations
Union View of HRM
Apologist for unreasonable consultant speak:
Unemployment high while hrs of work up
f/t workers 30% over 50hrs/wk; p/t workers want
more hrs; top managers want fewer
Unpredictable, irregular and insecure hrs: 25% of
workers casual (more women)
Intensification (Strengthening) of work: harder/longer
therefore: stress, fatigue, QoWL down
Breakdown between hrs and earnings: annualization
of salaries and unpaid OTime
PARTIES IN
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Three major parties: government, employer
associations and trade unions.
ARBITRATION

The submission of a dispute to a
third party for a binding decision
AWARDS Written determinations setting out
the legally enforceable terms and
conditions of employment.
GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRIAL
TRIBUNALS
Industrial tribunal:
Government tribunals charged with
preventing and settling industrial disputes.



EMPLOYER ASSOCIATIONS
Employer associations represent employer
interests before industrial tribunals and
provide a range of IR advisory services
including award interpretation, dispute
handling and how to counter union
activity.
TRADE UNIONS
Formal organisations that represent
individuals employed in an organisation,
throughout an industry
or occupation.
Adopt an approach of strategic unionism.
Unions seek to negotiate above-award
concessions from employers.

Some unions see enterprise bargaining as
being limited to just that.
WHY EMPLOYEES
JOIN UNIONS
Compulsion
Protection
Social pressure
Political beliefs
Solidarity
Tradition
Pay and conditions
Communication
Health and safety
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS PROCESS

Collective bargaining

Consent awards

Arbitrated awards
RESOLVING DISPUTES
CHOICE OF PROCESSES
Workplace-level grievances
Listen carefully
Have all of the relevant facts
Avoid lengthy delays
The union may have to argue a case it
does not genuinely support
Tribunal-level grievances
When the issue cannot be resolved at the
workplace
ADVOCACY
Employer or union representatives who
argue a case before an industrial tribunal
or court

Courts are concerned with justice.
Industrial tribunals are pragmatic
(practical) institutions concerned with
finding workable solutions to industrial
disputes.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL
ADVOCATES
Orderly presentation
Objectivity
Appearance
Politeness
Knowledge of industrial law and industrial
relations
Ethical stance
Good communication skills
THE WORKPLACE RELATIONS ACT
Gives primary responsibility for industrial
relations and agreement making to employers
and employees

Focus the role of the award system Ensure
freedom of association

Avoid discrimination

Assist employees to have work /life balance

Assist in giving effect to international
obligations in respect of labour standards.
ALLOWABLE MATTERS
These are provisions allowed to remain in
awards by the Workplace Relations Act. No
other items can be covered in an award.

SUMMARY
The changing nature of global markets
and the need to become more customer-
driven have forced a critical re-
examination of the way industrial
relations is handled .

Radical, pluralist and unitary approaches
(in one form or another) all have their
supporters.
SUMMARY
The traditional roles and dominance of
government, employer associations and union
are being challenged their place in the
industrial relations arena is no longer
guaranteed.

As a consequence, the IR agenda in the years
ahead appears likely to be dominated by both
change and controversy.