MANAGEMENT

Collective Bargaining



Collective Bargaining

Introduction

The collective bargaining is an agreement between employees and employers which deals with all the working conditions. They can be found at various levels: inter-professional, professional, industry, company, institution. The employer and the employees negotiate different working conditions through collective bargaining.

Collective bargaining is said to constitute the practice of negotiating benefits and salaries, along with the terms as well as the conditions of employment amidst the employers and the employees representatives. In the process of bargaining, employees tend to make a selection of the representatives of the sole bargaining based on the requirements of the federal or state procedure. Eventhough organizations are said to be referred to 'employee associations' rather then unions, the jargons such as union or association are utilized interchangeably for the basis of this entry, since both the entities that is both the groups are said to be a representative of the members when it comes to negotiation of the labor contracts.

Labor unions are organizations formed by employees for using their collective strength to improve compensation, benefits, and working conditions through bargaining; to bring fairness to the workplace through the provision of due process mechanisms; and to represent the interests of workers in the political process. Economists have traditionally viewed unions as functioning as labor market monopolies. Because they raise wages above the competitive levels set by the market, economists argue that labor unions create inefficiencies resulting in the loss of jobs and greater income inequality in the workforce. For this reason, economists view unions as an undesirable interference in the operation of the market. However, some economists argue that in addition to their negative monopoly face, unions have a second, positive collective voice face. They further argue that, on balance, the positive impact of unions outweighs the negative (Flanagan, 2008).

Discussion

Collective bargaining serves two purposes. On one hand, it serves to determine wages and working conditions of those workers who can apply an agreement which has been reached through negotiations between two parties who have acted freely, voluntarily and independently. On the other hand, it enables employers and workers to define by agreement the rules governing their mutual relations. These two aspects of the negotiation process are intimately linked. Collective bargaining takes place between an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers' organization and organized or sponsored one or more workers. Can take place at different levels so that they complement one another, namely, a unit within the company, the company in the sector in the region or nationally.

For workers, collective bargaining, wages and ensures proper working conditions for grants to "all" workers "one voice", which benefits them only when the employment relationship refers to a single individual. Influencing personal decisions and achieve an equitable distribution of the benefits of technological progress and increased productivity. For employers, as is an element that helps to maintain social peace, promotes stability of employment relationships can be disrupted by unresolved tensions in the workplace. Through collective bargaining, employers may also address the ...