College of Education

School of Continuing and Distance Education 2017/2018 – 2018/2019 ACADEMIC YEAR

LECTURER: DR. SAMSON OBED APPIAH DEPARTMENT: SOCIOLOGY

(Contact Information: soappiah@ug.edu.gh)

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 soappiah@ug.edu.gh 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.

Slide 35