Industrial Relations: Types of Separations and Principles of Promotions and Transfers

1. Chapter 22 Industrial Relations

2. Recap of Previous Lecture • Types of separations • Principles of Transfers • Principles of Promotions

3. Separation • Leaving of organization by employee is called separation • Reasons: Voluntarily or Involuntarily Reasons of Separation Involuntary Voluntary • Quits • Retirement • Discharges • Layoffs • Retrenchment • VRS • Rightsizing (restructuring) • Guidelines to Manage Downsizing • Decision to who stays and who leaves • Delay and pay hikes • Freeze hiring • Restrict overtime • Retrain or redeploy employees • Engage part time employees • Switch to job sharing • Across the board pay cuts • Early retirement schemes • Keep morale of working employees Adopted from: Aswathappa. Human Resource Management, Text and Cases, 2008, Pp. 516-52133

4. Lecture Overview • Nature of IR • Need for good relationship between management and workers • Approaches to Industrial Relations • Stakes of parties • Proactive strategy to IR • Role of HR department

5. Nature of IR Industrial Relations: “Concerned with the relationship between management and workers and role of regulatory mechanism to resolve disputes between employer and workers” “IR is concerned with the system, rules and procedures used by unions and employers to determine the reward for effort and other conditions of employment to protect the interests of the employed and their employers, and to regulate ways in which employers treat their employees” (p. 534)

6. Nature of IR • IR covers • Collective bargaining • Role of management, unions and government • Mechanism of resolving disputes • Grievances and disciplinary policy and practices • Labour legislation • Industrial relation training

7. Importance of IR • Moral dimension • IR protect right of managers • Handling disciplinary proceedings • Fairness in practices and working relations

8. Approaches To IR Unitary approach Industrial Relations Pluralistic approach Marxist approach

9. Approaches To IR Unitary Approach • Based on mutual cooperation, individual treatment, shared goals and team work • Everyone gains when there is common interest and goals and promotion of harmony • Conflict is destructive and unnecessary • Direct negotiations with employees • No need to involve government, and unions to resolve conflict

10. Approaches To IR Pluralistic Approach • There is competing interests, management’s role is to act as mediator amongst competing interests groups • Trade unions are representative of employee interests • Concessions and compromised between management and unions • Conflict between management and union is good for productive work environment and innovation • Unions balance interest of employees and employer • Government interferes in form of regulations to protect the right of society and employees • Crux: Conflict is inevitable and needs to be contained with in the social mechanism of conciliation, collective bargaining, and arbitration

11. Approaches To IR Marxist Approach • Conflict is inevitable but it is because of capitalist society • Conflict is not because of competing interests of employees and management but division with in society between people who own resources and people who offer labour • Industrial conflict is because of social and political unrest • Trade unions are forum to react to capitalism exploitation and bring social revolution • Trade unions make employees (labour) position more strong in capitalistic society • All strikes are legitimate, fair and political • Regard state interventions through legislation is to protect the owners

12. Parties to IR Employers Employees Employer-employee relations Employees Association Employers Associations Government Courts and Tribunal

13. IR Strategy 1) Reactive Strategy Resolve conflict when it arises and reach to uncontrollable level 2) Proactive Strategy Follow forward looking and well planned strategy to deal with IR Four main components of proactive IR strategy i) Communication ii) Relationships iii) Competence iv) Discipline and Conflict

14. Factors Affecting Employee Relationship Strategy • Internal Factors • The attitude of management to unions and employees • The attitude of employees and unions to management • The attitude of employees to unions • The strength of unions • The extent to which agreed and effective procedures and rules exist within company to resolve disputes and handle disciplinary matters • The competence of managers to deal with employees issues • External • Strength and effectiveness of employers’ associations • The pay and employment situations at local and national level • The legal framework in which IR operates

15. Role of HR Department in IR • Motivated and competent workforce is responsibility of HR • Through effective recruitment, work conditions, job designs, safety and health environment, training and compensation HR department satisfies employee and organization needs • Through these efforts it contributes to quality of life of workers • Workers with better quality of life less likely to resist, involve in disputes and go on strikes

16. Summary • Nature of IR • Need for good relationship between management and workers • Approaches to Industrial Relations • Stakes of parties • Proactive strategy to IR • Role of HR department • Role of HR department

17. Chapter 23 Trade Unions

18. Lecture Overview • Nature of Trade Unions • Why employees join unions • Factors leading to unionization • Union tactics • Tactics to remain union free • Role of HR department

19. Trade Unions “Unions are volunteer organizations of workers or employers formed to promote and protect the interests through collective actions” (p, 549) Definition of Unions include • Combination of workers or employers • Could be permanent or temporary • Regulate relationships among workers, workers and employers or among employers • Strategic Choices before managers • Allow unions or remain union free • If want to remain union free then what to do? • If allow unions what type of relationships want? • Tactics to negotiate with unions

20. Why Employees Join Unions • To protect against exploitation • Dissatisfaction (psychological contract) • Lack of power • Union Instrumentality

21. Factors Leading to Unionization Personality, interests, and preferences Expectations that work will fulfill personality, interests, and preferences i) employment contract ii) psychological contract Influence of management Satisfaction Work situation Attempt to resolve situation independently Dissatisfaction with work situations Union instrumentality Unionization Adopted from: Aswathappa. Human Resource Management, Text and Cases, 2008, p. 552

22. Strategic Choices for Unions • Bread and Butter vs Political objectives • Adversarial vs Cooperative Role • Traditional issues vs New Services • Union Tactics • Organizing drive • Strike • Political patronage • Blackmail

23. Tactics to Remain Union Free Effective first line supervisors Open communication Effective personnel research Effective personnel planning and selection Union free Healthy and safe work environment Effective training and development Effective employer and employee relationship Effective remuneration Adopted from: Aswathappa. Human Resource Management, Text and Cases, 2008, p. 561

24. HR practices and Unions • HR practices negate the existence of unions because of following reasons • HR seeks employee relationships on individual basis (Pay and performance) • HR attempts for socialization of workforce means harmony amongst workers and between management and workers, emphasize authority of management • Training programs attempts to bring loyalty and pro management attitude • Team based work environment • Merit based selection and promotion