Labor Relations

& Collective
Bargaining
REPORTER: JERECSON G. RAMOS
PROFESSOR: ERLINDA J. PORCINCULA, PH.D.
Reasons for Joining
Unions
5) Ignoring
employee
complaint
s
4) Lack of
respect
3) Lack of
concern
about
safety &
Security
2) Non-
competiti
ve pay
and
benefits
The Number
One Reason
You Can't
Blame
Employees for
Joining a
Union:
Favoritism
Economic Impact of
Unions
Primary Complications
Are unions able to gain a wage advantage through collective bargaining?

A wage advantage would imply a higher average cost of production than the
market determined product price which would create economic losses for the
firm and eventually force it out of the industry.

1. The union wage advantage moves countercyclically, increasing during recessions and
narrowing during expansions.
2. Craft unions, especially in the construction industry, have achieved union wage
advantages that are much larger than average. The bargaining power of such unions is
great because each craft union represents a small proportion of total costs, and skilled
crafts workers can often find employment in many industries.
3. Unions achieve higher wage advantages for blue-collar workers than for white-collar
workers.
4. Less-educated workers have higher union wage premiums than better-educated workers.
Total Compensation: Wages and
Fringes

Union workers enjoy a greater variety and higher overall level of fringe benefits than nonunion
workers.
1. Fringes may be higher for the same reason that wages are, bargaining power of the union.
2. Because union wages are higher, perhaps union members simply choose to purchase more
fringe benefits.
3. The union may simply provide an institutional structure for information gathering and
dissemination about fringes.
4. Unions are often controlled by older workers who have a general preference for more fringes.
5. Unions reduce turnover, so the members may expect to actually use the benefits such as
retirement plans and life insurance.
6. Under collective bargaining laws, fringe benefits are a mandatory bargaining item.
Efficiency and Productivity

There is evidence that unions have both positive and negative effects on productivity
One view is that unions decrease productivity because of work rules and limits on
workloads set by union contracts and production lost to such union actions as strikes
and work slowdowns.
At the same time, unions can have positive effects on productivity. They can reduce
turnover by giving employees a route for resolving problems.
Most studies have found that union workers are more productive than non-union
workers. But still, questions remain
Concept and Origin of
Collective Bargaining

Collective bargaining is made of 2 words

Collective : which implies group action through its representatives
Bargaining: which suggests negotiating
Thus it implies, collective negotiation of a contract between the
managements representatives on one side and those of the workers on
the other.
Definitions

Collective bargaining is a mode of fixing the terms of employment by means

of bargaining between an organized body of employees and an employer or an
association of employers usually acting through organized agents.
R.F.HOXIE
The resolution of industrial problems between the representatives of
employers and the freely designated representatives of employees acting
collectively with a minimum of government dictation.
Cox
Main Features of CB

It is a group action as opposed to individual action and is initiated through representative

of workers
It is flexible and mobile and not fixed and static
It is a two-party process
It is continuous process
It is dynamic not static
It is a industrial democracy at work
Collective bargaining is not a competitive process but is essentially a complimentary
process
It is an art, an advanced form of human relations
Need of Collective Bargaining

It helps in solving the industrial disputes.

Establish uniform conditions of employment with a view to avoid
industrial disputes and maintaining stable peace in the industry.
Helps redress worker grievances promptly and fairly.
Avoid interruptions in work which follow strikes, go-slow tactics and
similar coercive activities.
Lay down fair rates of wages and norms of working conditions.
Achieve an efficient operation of the plant and
Promote the stability and prosperity of the industry.
Issues in Collective
Bargaining
Thank You!
NEXT REPORTER PLEASE