College of Education
School of Continuing and Distance Education 2017/2018 – 2018/2019 ACADEMIC YEAR
LECTURER: DR. SAMSON OBED APPIAH DEPARTMENT: SOCIOLOGY
(Contact Information: [email protected])
Course Information
Provide the following information:
Course Code: Soci 426
Course Title: Industrial Sociology II
Course Credit 3 Credits
Session Number & Session Title:
Session 8 Social Processes in Industrial Relations: Collective Bargaining
Semester/Year: Second Semester 2017/2018/2018/2019
Slide 2
Course Information (contd.)
Slide 3
Provide the following information:
Lecture Period(s)
Insert Lecture Period(s): (Online how many online interactions per week)
Prerequisites Soci 425: Industrial Sociology I
Teaching Assistant
Insert Teaching Assistant’s Information: (where applicable, provide name and contact information)
Course Instructor’s Contact
Provide the following information:
Course Instructor(s) Name
Dr. Samson Obed Appiah
Office Location Department of Sociology
Office Hours
Tuesdays: 1.30pm – 3.30pm
Phone 0205066293
E-mail [email protected] Slide 4
Session Overview
• Overview
• Industrial Relations is carried out by network of processes
namely Collective Bargaining and other their party
interventions;
• Collective Bargaining as a process of negotiation between
employers and employee in Industrial Relation.
• This session discusses Collective Bargaining as a network
of processes involved in Industrial Relations
Slide 5
Session Learning Objectives
Objective: At the end of this session, the student will be
able to:
• Define Collective Bargaining;
• Identify the nature of Collective Bargaining;
• Identify the major clauses in Collective Bargaining;
• Explain the advantages and disadvantages of Collective
Bargaining;
Slide 6
Session Outline
The key topics to be covered in this session are as follows:
• Topic One: The Concept of Collective Bargaining
• Topic Two: The Origin of Collective Bargaining
• Topic Three: The Nature of Collective Bargaining
• Topic Four: Levels of Collective Bargaining
• Topic Five: Major Clauses in Collective Bargaining
• Topic Six: Features, Advantages and Effects of Collective
Bargaining
Slide 7
Session Activities and Assignments
This week, complete the following tasks:
• Log onto the UG Sakai LMS course site: – http://sakai.ug.edu.gh/XXXXXXXXX
• Read Recommended Text Ghana Labour Act, 2003, Act 651 Read Specific sections of the Labour Act
• Watch the Videos for Session 8 – Collective Bargaining
• Review Lecture Slides: Session 8 – Collective Bargaining
• Visit the Chat Room and discuss the Forum question for Session 8
• Complete the Individual Assignment for Session 8
Slide 8
Reading List
• Refer to students to relevant text/chapter or reading
materials you will make available on Sakai
• Harry C. Katz and Thomas A. Kochan (2000). An
Introduction to Collective Bargaining and Industrial
Relations (2nd Edition) USA: McGraw-Hill Companies.
• Obeng-Fosu, P (1991), Industrial Relations in Ghana:
The Law and Practice Accra: Ghana Universities Press.
• Ghana Labour Act, 2003, Act 651.
Slide 9
Topic One: The Concept of
Collective Bargaining
• The term collective bargaining denotes a group to group interaction and accommodation of differences between the groups through a give and take process;
• It is an institution established with an understanding that relationship between workers and management are full of conflicting goals and expectations;
• As a result, this requires continuous process of interaction and mediation between the two parties;
• It is a remarkable social invention for deciding how to manage union and management power relations.
Slide 10
The Concept of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
• Obeng-Fosu defines collective bargaining as “negotiations
which takes place between employers; group of employers;
• Or employers association on one hand and one or more
workers union on the other hand for the following purpose”;
Determining workers condition and terms of employment;
Regulating relations between employers and employees;
Regulating relations between employers and their
association and workers and their unions;
Slide 11
The Concept of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
• Collective Bargaining is therefore the procedure by which
wages and condition of employment of workers are;
• Regulated by agreement between the representatives of
management and the representative of workers;
• The bargaining on the workers side may be union
representatives where workers belong to a Trade Union;
• Or may just be representative of workers in bargaining
where workers do not belong to unions;
Slide 12
The Concept of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
• For bargaining to be effective and meaningful, it is essential
for workers to be organized;
• This is because un-organized workers tend to compete with
each other minimizing their bargaining power;
• Bargaining consists of an attempt to find a middle ground
that both parties find acceptable;
• A compromise can result only in partial fulfilment of the
needs of each party;
Slide 13
The Concept of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
• Whiles neither of the parties may emerge completely satisfied, one party may be clearly be dissatisfied
• But under this circumstance both would at least come to terms openly about how best to solve the most immediate issues;
• Collective bargaining is defined to cover the processes of;
Negotiations, Administration, Interpretation, Application and;
Enforcement of written agreement between employers and unions;
Slide 14
The Concept of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
• The outcome of final product of Collective Bargaining is called Union/Labour Contract or Collective Agreement;
• The contract or Agreement becomes direct or explicit set of Policy Statement, Rules, Regulations and Procedures that
• Governs the action of the union, management and individual workers in their relationship at work;
• It serves as a constitution whose clauses are the specific point of agreement regulating the behaviour of employers and employees
Slide 15
Topic Two: Origin of
Collective Bargaining
• The term collective bargaining was coined by Syndey and Beatrice Webb, the famous Historians of the British Labour movement in 1891;
• It is a term for describing a continuous, dynamic, institutional process for solving problems arising directly out of employer-employee relationship;
• The practice of collective bargaining has developed from the theory that the individual employee is ineffective participant in the labour market;
• He has neither the knowledge nor the resources to take advantage of the best opportunities for disposing of his services.
Slide 16
Origin of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
• Under this circumstances if the workers act in their individual capacity they are most likely to receive a lower level of compensation for their services;
• These limitations on the ability of an individual worker might be removed through collective bargaining;
• From a functional standpoint, collective bargaining may be regarded as a institutional process for:
Fixing the price of labour;
Establishing a system of industrial jurisprudence and;
Providing machinery for representation of the individual and group interest of employees under the contract.
Slide 17
Topic Three: The Nature of
Collective Bargaining.
• Collective bargaining may be examined from three (3) angles within Industrial Relations:
The Marketing Concept and the Agreement as a Contract;
The Government Concept and the Agreement as a Law;
The Industrial Relation Concept as a jointly decided Directive;
Slide 18
The Nature of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
The Marketing Concept and the Agreement as a Contract:
• The Marketing Concept views collective bargaining as a contract for the sale of labour;
• Workers or employees give their labour in exchange for wages or salaries;
• It is a Market or an Exchange relationship and it is justified on the grounds that;
• It gives assurance of voice on the part of organized labour in the market of sales.
Slide 19
The Nature of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
The Government Concept and the Agreement as a
Law:
• They view collective bargaining as a constitutional system
in industry;
• It is a Political relationship between employers and the
employees;
• The union share sovereignty with management over the
workers as their representative using that power in their
interest.
Slide 20
The Nature of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
The Industrial Relation Concept as a Jointly Decided
Directive:
• This concept views collective bargaining as a system of
industrial governance;
• It is a Functional Relationship since;
• The unions join the company officials in reaching decisions
on matters in which both have vital interest;
• In other words, decisions are jointly made and agreed upon
by both parties.
Slide 21
Topic Four: Levels of
Collective Bargaining
• Collective bargaining may occur at several levels:
At the Shop-Floor level, it may take place between shop
steward and plant management and this is called
“Workplace or Plant Bargaining;”
At the company level, it may take place between unions
and management and this is “Company Bargaining;”
At the level of Industry, it may take place between a union
or federation of unions and an employers’ association and
this is “National Bargaining;”
Slide 22
When Can Collective
Bargaining take Place
Situations in which Collective Bargaining takes Place
• There are at least three different situations in which
collective may place:
When the union is first recognized and negotiated for the
first time;
When an old contract is about to expire or has expired;
When it is necessary to resolve disagreement or
grievances regarding the interpretation of a clause in a
contract.
Slide 23
Topic Five: Major Clauses in
Collective Bargaining
• The frequently included clauses in the collective bargaining agreement includes:
Wage Clause;
Union Recognition or Security Clause;
Hours of Work Clause;
Seniority Clause;
Slide 24
Major Clauses in Collective
Bargaining Cont.
Wage Clause:
• This clause is the most important and complicated
clause in agreement hence;
• Workers spend several days and hours in arriving
on decisions concerning wages and salaries;
• It includes the basic wage policy, benefits and
allowances among others.
Slide 25
Major Clauses in Collective
Bargaining Cont.
Hours of Work Clause:
• This deals with the working hours and various shift arrangement, time allowed for meals, provision for over-time and holidays with pay;
Seniority Clause:
• It indicates the system of seniority to be followed in terms of promotion;
• It also includes the calculation system, seniority rights in the matter of promotion, selection of vacation periods, choice of shift and other privileges.
Slide 26
Major Clauses in Collective
Bargaining Cont.
Union Recognition or Security Clause:
• This clause defines the status to be given to the union throughout the life of the agreement;
• Apart from the above major clauses, there are other clauses namely:
Disciplinary Action
Grievance Procedure
Training of Apprenticeship
Leave of Absence
Welfare Fund
Slide 27
Major Clauses in Collective
Bargaining Cont.
Union Recognition or Security Clause:
• This clause defines the status to be given to the union throughout the life of the agreement;
• Apart from the above major clauses, there are other clauses namely:
Disciplinary Action
Grievance Procedure
Training of Apprenticeship
Leave of Absence
Welfare Fund
Slide 28
Topic Six: Features, Advantages
and Effects of Collective Bargaining
Features of Collective Bargaining
It is a two-way processes i.e. it is a mutual give and take rather than take it or leave it method of arriving at settlement of a dispute;
• A rigid position does not make a compromise settlement;
• Collective bargaining is a civilized confrontation with a view of arriving at an agreement;
• It is regarded as a constructive response to industrial conflict as it reflects a willingness to remove the conflict by discussion and understanding rather than by warfare.
Slide 29
Features of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
It is a continuous process which provides a mechanism for continuity and organized relationship between management and trade unions;
It is not a competitive process rather it is essentially a complimentary process;
• As the objective is not warfare but rather compromise;
It is a negotiation process because it is a device used by wage-earners to safeguard their interest;
• As such it is an instrument of industrial organizations for discussions and negotiations between the two parties.
Slide 30
Features of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
Collective bargaining can be used as a means of
communication when it is carried out in an atmosphere of
friendly cooperation and mutual understanding;
• However, it is often carried out in an atmosphere of strife and
tension thereby preventing the full utilization of its
communication potentials;
• Many at times, management and union representatives come to
the bargaining table with their minds already made up and;
• They are not in the mood to consider the opinion of the other
parties.
Slide 31
Advantages of Collective
Bargaining
Collective bargaining has been considered as an extension
of democracy to the work place;
• Collective bargaining also establishes a system of industrial
jurisprudence;
• The introduction of civil right to the work place since rules
are made jointly by employers and employees;
Collective bargaining is regarded as an equitable system
because it equalizes power between workers and
employers.
Slide 32
Advantages of Collective
Bargaining Cont.
• The idea of participatory democracy has been introduced and accepted by many as a force of social stability within industry by the introduction of collective bargaining;
• By the participation in the formulation of working rules, workers have a stake in the system;
Collective bargaining is the means by which a normative system is created for regulating conflict within the work place;
• Collective bargaining does not prevent industrial conflict but it provides a forum for discussion and settlement of disputes;
Collective bargaining enables parties to a dispute to consider the situation more dispassionately than might otherwise be the case.
Slide 33
Effects of Collective
Bargaining
Collective bargaining is a means by which a normative system is created for regulating industrial conflict;
Secondly, it enables parties to a dispute to view situation dispassionately than might be the case;
Thirdly, it absorbs energy which otherwise be more destructively directed;
That is it provides a “drainage channel” for workers dissatisfaction;
Lastly, it provides a forum for meetings between management and union leading to good relations.
Slide 34
Assignment
• What is Collective Bargaining? Discuss the pre-conditions
for successful collective bargaining.
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