Employee Relations

The ideological framework

Alan Foxs (1966) highly influential way of looking at the employment relationship

describes managers having alternative frames of reference. Everyone has a frame of

reference, which can be understood as a lens through which one sees employment relations. He described three ideal (in the sense of perfect example) frames pluralist, unitarist, radical - people usually just talk about pluralism and unitarism.

( kevinmorrell Contributors 2011)

Unitary ideology
In a unitary ideology all the people at an organization regardless of their roles and responsibilities will have common goals and values which make them work together and builds cohesiveness. A unitary frame of reference is not just about unions and industrial relations. It is a term which reflects the projection and maintenance of a "togetherness" or understandings and essential values accepted by members of organizations. Thus it is typically a managerial frame of reference which does not easily reconcile itself with organizations or societal positions, which are distinctly more political and "pluralistic" frames of reference. (Bola Contributors 2011)

Pluralist ideology
In the 1970s, it was expected that pluralist approaches would become dominating in ER as collective action & stronger individual rights would lead to more power sharing. The rise of managerialism & HRM has to some degree foiled this expectation, with a growing interest in different regulation models either at international or national level.

All the organizations based on this ideology are collection of groups .each organization has its own legitimate interests .the conflicts can be easily tracked and predicted before they occur. The pluralist approach puts importance
on the vibrant & often decentralized processes & outcomes of ER but there is also scope for stability & power balances through the means of custom & practice, bargaining & legislation.

The development of Trade Unions

The trade unions were originated in the mid of 19th century as an organization of skilled workers in the industry of craft dominance who wanted secureness in employment .after some time the laborers and unskilled workers joined the organization In the year of 1851 the first national trade union (Amalgamated Society Of Engineers ) was formed In 1868 ,the TUC (Trade Union Congress) gathered for the very first time

The TU got the legal status in 1871.

The development of Trade Unions Contd

After acquiring the legal status more TU organizations began to form In 1890s the Trade Union movement showed support for the formation of the Labor party(It is still being continued) In 1900 The Labor Representation Committee was formed and was renamed as Labor Party in 1906 In 1926 there was a national strike by the workers of Britain's major industries it lasted from 3-12th of May .million workers took part in the strike In 1945 the Labour won a massive majority in the post war general election Trade Union membership in the UK hit 13.29 million in 1979.

The Nature of Industrial Relations

Industrial Relations or Labor relations, is an expression used not only for relationships between employers and Trade Unions, but also for those involving Government with the aim of defining policies, facing labour problems. As Industrial Relations definition we can accept the concept of the outfit of:

1.Rules for employment management; 2. Methods defining those rules; 3.Typology of actors (both employers and workers organisations and 4.representatives, but also State and institutional bodies); 5.Interaction processes between these entities.

The Nature of Industrial Relations contd

There is now well-known agreement that industrial relations (IR) systems in many countries have changed dramatically over the past 20 or so years. A number of IR researchers have become increasingly concerned that traditional IR theories do not provide a powerful enough conceptual lens through which to understand these transformations. The editors of this book, therefore, are to be applauded for bringing together a number of IR researchers who span perspectives and countries and examine where IR theory has been, what its major problems are, and where it is going. (High beam Contributors 2011)