Collective Bargaining

DR. TANUSREE CHAKRABORTY

Collective Bargaining-
 Collective Bargaining is negotiation between an
employer or group of employers and a group of
work people to reach an agreement on working
conditions.
 Representatives of employers and employees
negotiate, administer and enforce an agreement.
Negotiation
 Negotiation about working conditions and
terms of employment between an employer, a
group of employers, or one or more employers
organizations on the one hand and one or more
representative workers organizations on the
other with a view to reaching agreement
 WHY?
To improve
To improve
working
working
conditions, pay,
conditions, pay,
etc.
etc.
What are the most common issues
negotiated?

Hiring, Discipline, Evaluation, Transfers,

Discharge, Leaves, Working Conditions,
Seniority, Dress Code, Planning Time
AND……

PAY!!!!!
What?
 Group process Involves negotiations
 Bipartite exercise involving representatives of union
of employees and employers
 Objective is to reach an agreement
 Purpose is to improve working conditions of
employees viz. wages, welfare, security, freedom, etc.,
 Not merely an economic process but socio-economic
process (mutual respect to views, values, aspirations,
etc)
Collective Bargaining

 “Collective Bargaining is a process in which the representatives of a

labour organization & the representatives of business organization meet
and attempt to negotiate a contract or agreement, which specifies the
nature of employee-employer union relationship”.
– FLIPPO
 Process involving discussions and negotiations
 ‘collective’ – group
 'bargaining' – proposals and counter proposals
 to reconcile their conflicting interests
 is a flexible approach
Types Of Bargaining

 Conjunctive/Distributive
Bargaining - zero-sum game;
win – lose
 Co-operative Bargaining -
more open to coming down
from their high horses; win –
win.
Collective Bargaining Process
 Prepare

 Discuss

 Propose

 Bargain

 Settlement
Process of Collective Bargaining
 Phase I : Charter of demands by Bargaining
Agent
 Phase II : Preparation for Negotiation
 Phase III : Bargaining
 Phase IV : Collective Agreement Phase V :
Contract Administration
STEPS
Phase I : Steps
 Registration of Union Recognition of Union
Recognition of Bargaining Agent (Union
having majority membership) Charter of
Demands Present it to management for
agreement, for and on behalf of employees.
Phase II :

Preparation by Management Data Collection : Internal and External

 Policy Formulation : wage level , concessions they could allow,

balancing between viability and labour costs, balancing between
interests of share holders vs. labourers, constraints on pricing vs.
competition

 Management Strategy : Prioritization of demand; stand against

Union (tough or accommodative), etc.

 Preparation by Union : collect data, formulate policy (strike or not;

management’s capacity to pay, public support, etc.,), formulate
strategy
Phase III :
 Criteria for Bargaining
 Give and take attitude from both sides
 Keep communication channel open
 Capacity to read others “hidden agenda” (by
negotiation or by collection of intelligence data)
 Identify “sticking point” (if offered less will
lead to industrial strife)
Phase III :
 Strategies for Bargaining (identified by Watton &
Mckersie)
 Intra-organizational bargaining
 Management and Union prefix strategy
 Limits up to which they are prepared to go down on
their own as well as others demands
 Attitudinal Structuring
 Ongoing relationship instead of ad hoc arrangement
Involves trust and confidence;
 Work together as partners
Phase III : Strategies for Bargaining
Distributive Bargaining
 One Gain – Another Lose (eg. Wage rise for labourers
is reduction in profit for management)

Interactive Bargaining (Best Strategy) Win-Win

situation Eg. Workers increase productivity and claim
higher compensation; Management assist workers
achieve their objective by taking supportive role.
Phase IV :
 Writing down Collective Agreement
 Also known as “Labor Contract”, “Union
Contract” or “Labor-Management Contract”
Written statement of terms and provisions of
the agreement
Phase V :
Contract Administration Transparency
 Management has right to manage & involves

fairness, equity, transparency of administration

and free flow of information.
 Procedure for handling contractual disputes

 Spell out detailed procedure in implementation

of provisions of contract
 Follow the spirit of agreement
Collective Bargaining Agreement

 Written document regarding working

conditions and terms of employment
 Legally, a CBA binds only the parties
to it.
 In India, there are three types of
agreements, namely
 voluntary agreements,

 settlements, and

 Consent awards.

procedural agreements or substantive

agreements
Contents of Collective Bargaining Agreement

 The date of commencement of the agreement

 Its duration
 A definition of terms
 The procedure for settling disputes regarding
interpretation, as well as other disputes.
 The consequences in the event of breaches of
the agreement
 As regards wages, exactly how conversion of
employees' wages to the new scales is to be
effected.
Levels At Which Collective Bargaining Is Undertaken
Enterprise Or Plant Level

Industry-Cum-Region wide Agreements

Sectoral Collective Bargaining At National Level

Conditions For Successful Collective Bargaining

 Trade Union Recognition

 Observance of Agreements
 Support of Labour Administration
Authorities
 Good Faith
 Proper Internal Communication
Conditions For Successful Collective
Bargaining
 Proper selection of negotiating team
 Consider Union as a Partner
 Understand views and interests of other party
with open mind
 Adequate homework
 Sense of belongingness (on part of union)
 Strikes and Lockouts are to be the last resorts
Policies :
 Collective Bargaining be considered as an
educational process
 Collective Bargaining must be treated as a
form of finding out an optimum solution to a
given problem
 Both parties have equal power
 Have trust and confidence Leadership qualities
 Follow State laws
PERCEPTIONS ON COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
 CB essentially means negotiations between the labour and
management
 CB should just not stop at the negotiations but also go on to be
implemented; otherwise the entire process of CB will be rendered
futile.
 It is mostly the formal sector that benefits out of the CB process.
 The parties have to adopt a flexible attitude throughout the
process of bargaining
 It is based on give and take approach and take or leave approach.
 Once both the parties know what they want, negotiations become
easier and better.
 Obviously all the above mentioned conditions are required
successful for CB but the most essential among them is the “good
faith”
1. Management Obligation
--Bargain
Bargainin
inGood
GoodFaith
Faith

2.  Ground Rules

--Prior
Priorto
tostarting
startingmain
mainCBA
CBAnegotiations
negotiations
--Frequency
Frequency//Off
OffHour
Hour//Agenda
Agenda//
Number
NumberofofReps
Repsfrom
fromeach
eachside
side//Confidentiality
Confidentiality//Minutes
Minutes

3. Union Strategy
--Use
UseModel
ModelForm
Formof
ofCBA
CBA  
4. Counter Proposal from the Management Side

5. Role Play / Preparation for each Negotiation

Session
6. Major Items of Collective Bargaining
Agreement
--Structure
Structureof
ofCBA
CBA(in(ingeneral) 
general) 
union
unionactivities
activities
personnel
personnelmatters
matters
working
workingconditions
conditions
industrial
industrialaccident
accident//safety
safetyissues
issues
collective
collectivebargaining
bargainingprocess
process
labor
labordisputes
disputes
Major Issues

 Membership Eligibility
 Union Shop or Open Shop
 Union Activities during Working Hours
 Full-time Union Officer
 Union Office
 Check - Off
 Use of Company Facilities 
 Personnel Matters (Dismissal, DAC, Personnel
matters for Union Executives)
 Working Conditions (Improvement)
 Non-Participants of Strike
 How to Resolve the Dispute
7. Types of Collective Action

Strike
Strike(Full
(Fullor
orPartial),
Partial),Slow
Slowdown,
down,Picketing
Picketing

Work-to-rule:
Work-to-rule:Attire
AttireStrike,
Strike,Collective
CollectiveRefusal
Refusalof
of
Overtime,
Overtime,Collective
CollectiveUse
Useof
ofMonthly
Monthlyor orAnnual
AnnualLeave,
Leave,
etc.
etc.

8.  Legal Process

--Report
Reportof
ofImpasse
Impasse(10-day
(10-daymediation
mediationperiod)
period)
-- Mediation
 MediationHearing
Hearing
--Majority
MajorityVote
Voteon
onStrike
Strike

9.  No Replacement During Strike Period

--Not
Notfrom
fromoutside
outside::outsourcing,
outsourcing,new
newhiring,
hiring,subcontracting
subcontracting
prohibited 
prohibited 
10.  Measures Available to Management
against Union Activities

No
NoWork
WorkNoNoPay
PayPrinciple
Principle

Lockout
Lockout(defensive
(defensivemeasure
measureonly)
only)
••Against
AgainstIllegal
IllegalUnion
UnionActivities
Activities
--Civil
CivilRemedies:
Remedies:
Damage
DamageSuit
Suitfor
forCompensation
Compensation
Injunction
Injunction//Provisional
ProvisionalAttachment
Attachment(over
(overassets)
assets)
- Criminal
- CriminalRemedies
Remedies::
Criminal
CriminalAccusation
Accusation
Business
BusinessInterference
Interference//Defamation
Defamation  

--Internal
InternalDisciplinary
DisciplinarySanction
Sanction::
 Classes of Bargaining Items

Categories of Bargaining
Items

Mandatory Voluntary Illegal

Items Items Items
Impasses, Mediation, and Strikes
 An Impasse
 Usually occurs because one party is demanding more than the
other will offer.
 Sometimes an impasse can be resolved through a third
party—a disinterested person such as a mediator or arbitrator.
 If the impasse is not resolved:
 The union may call a work stoppage, or strike, to put
pressure on management.
 Management may lock out employees.
 Strikes
Economic Strike

Unfair Labor Practice Strike

Types of Strikes
Wildcat Strike

Sympathy Strike
Grievances
 Grievance  Sources of Grievances
 Any factor involving  Discipline
wages, hours, or  Seniority
conditions of  Job evaluations
employment that is used
as a complaint against  Work assignments
the employer.  Overtime
 Vacations
 Incentive plans
 Holiday pay
 Problem employees
THANK YOU