III. SETTING THE SCENE AN OVERVIEW OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN SOUTH AFRICA
The essence of collective bargaining is to establish a relationship where the employer and employees or their trade union can negotiate on issues of mutual interest. The idea that employers need to negotiate with trade unions regarding issues that affect their members goes against the employer’s prerogative to manage its business in a way it sees beneficial to it (Globler,Warnich, Carrell, Elbert & Hartfied, 2008).
Collective bargaining follows a reactive approach either than a pro-active approach, the negotiation process between employers and trade unions is initiated as a result of an unfavorable decision made by the employer or demands made by the trade unions.
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Labour law has been said is at the center of collective bargaining in that, it concerns itself with the way in which the workplace is governed (Jordaan, 2009). From these developments the rules, rights and principles of collective bargaining were established.
The law, in other words, protects the organization of collective bargaining, while maintaining a hands-off attitude towards the bargaining process itself. The process and its outcome should be managed by parties in the employment relationship. As previously stated the different parties to the employment relationship have different power base and the LRA is there to create equilibrium.
Union's bargaining power depended on its ability to control the labour market by recruiting a significant number of its participants as members to be able to have bargaining power. Collective bargaining fulfills a social need to protect employees from unfair labour practices and to give them a voice in the
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The South African collective bargaining system
The South African model to collective as prescribed by the LRA for collective labour law was designed in a manner that both limits the potential for judicial intervention in determining the level of collective bargaining and topics of collective bargaining while explaining the legal position of collective agreements established during collective bargaining (Theron, Godfrey & Fergus, 2015).
Due to the nature of collective bargaining following a voluntary approach, to counteract possible resistance against collective bargaining, statutory organisational rights were afforded to trade unions to have access to information required for collective bargaining or consultation, to be able to enter the employer’s premises for meetings and for recruiting members. This model is coupled with the right to strike if employer and employee do not reach an agreement.
The LRA is viewed to be more in favor of centralized collective bargaining while retaining voluntarism to engage in collective bargaining, this is achieved through the establishment of bargaining councils (Venter & Levy,
The Amherst Federation of Labour was a radical attempt in the late 1910’s as a way to combat labour pressures occurring in the period. It was an attempt to unionize the entire industry of the town of Amherst Nova Scotia. It was called the “one big union” which is exactly what it was. It was designed to unionize all industrial labour industries within the town. They advocated for a right to strike, improved working conditions, and better wages; quite similar to what most unions advocated for.
However, the workers did not share this point of view with the company, thinking only about their pay cut. Though the workers have an understandable distaste towards the pay cut, the fact that they took so much aggression towards the company suggests that they didn’t understand the predicament the company faced, that their jobs resided on the need of the company making a profit, which it
Major parties, with each’s goals/interests, involved in the Hormel negotiations are: - Local P9 – Local union representatives that wanted to maintain employment contract. In particular, they were fighting for keeping the hourly wages at $10.69/hr. and maintaining the eroding bargaining power and appreciation/value of unions as seen by corporate entities. - Hormel – Employer of the union worker who wanted to remain competitive in the industry by implementing cost reduction measures such as wage cuts, automation of works. Hormel
The main argument of opponents is about collective bargaining power and the issue of free riders or people who benefit from the union but do not pay union dues. This essay will discuss early legislation of right-to-work
How would you like to work for little to no pay and over 60 hours a week? In today's day in time some people would call that abuse or over work, but that’s exactly what was going on in the 1870s and 1880s. This is where the labor movement started, with people being over worked and little to no pay. As you can imagine people started to get upset with how things were going so that started violent outbreaks along with strikes all across the United States. In the 1880s, a group was formed to help the working man, this group was called the Knights of Labor.
The Gilded Age was a time to be alive. Big business meant more money; more money meant a better economy. Everything was shiny and gold. Everything was just… not how it appeared to be. The Gilded Age was described by author Mark Twain as, “an era of serious social problems masked by a thin ‘gold gilding.’”
It wasn’t a union, but a federation, whose goals were to bargain with employees’, resolve grievances and organize strikes. Unlike The Knight of Labor, in order to achieve efficiency, it believed in the capitalist system and the importance of employers’ making a profit, but also seeks to win labor’s fair share of the profits through collective bargaining. Equity was achieved by way of making sure that employees received their fair share of the profits though collective bargaining. Therefore, to ensure that workers received their fair share of the profits, the union had no problem using the threat of strikes.
The topic of Labor Unions has been the focus of many political debates in recent years, with these discussions having people advocate for and against the unions. Labor Unions are an organization that represent a collective group of employees to protect and further theirs rights and interests. Labor Unions were first introduced in the eighteenth century with increasing numbers around the United States and the world, but unfortunately during the past decade these numbers have drastically decreased, resulting in less education and achievement of solidarity among employees. Solidarity is the unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest. Workers in the United States would benefit more through labor
The National Labor Relations Act allows employees to form a union or join a preexisting union. The same act prevents employers from standing in the way of workers attempting to unionize. Many organizations frown on unionization, but regardless of their opinion, they cannot interfere with employment rights. Employers are violating the law if they threaten employee 's jobs, question union activities, or eliminate benefits for employees by unionization. They also cannot offer benefits or perks to employees for refusing to unionize, as this could be seen as illegal persuasion (Employer/Union Rights, n.d.).
Furthermore, the article connects the labor laws and union necessity to modern businesses. The central concept of the material includes a question about the union needs. Do public workers need the union representation? Under the NLRA, unions won powers and privileges unlike many of other voluntary associations.
Philip Dray and his book “ There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America” provide many information about the vital accomplishments of organized labor evangelists to draw upon. He show us the illuminate its central role in social, economic and political. Throughout his book, the security and dignity locate this struggle in all its various setting from union halls to the halls of Congress and the White House. He demonstrates the urgency of the contest between labor and capital still remains and influences today. Philip Dray offers us with an historic account of the labor-management relations in the United State.
A labor union is a group of money earners that come together to promote and defend the interests of its members with respect to earnings and working conditions. Labor unions deal with employers on the behalf of its members through a process known as collective bargaining. In the United States, the first labor unions were on a regional level, when shoemakers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, organized in the 1790s. Terrible working conditions in the 19th century led to worker conditions. Employers fought back against the strikes by issuing demands, hiring private detectives and engaging in other dispositions.
The following section discusses the decline in trade union membership, reasons of decline union in membership and the solution of the declines, advantages and disadvantages of trade unions membership in any employment. Trade union is an organization who have come together to achieve common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade, improving safety standards, achieving higher pay and benefits such as health care and retirement, increasing the number of employees an employer assigns to complete the work and better working conditions. Most trade unions are independent of any employer. However, trade unions try to develop close working relationships with employers. This can sometimes take the form of a partnership agreement between the employer and the trade union which identifies their
The term labour relations, refers to the system in which employers, employees and their representatives (management) and, the government who all interact and work together directly and indirectly to set the ground rules for working relationships inside and organization. labour relations has its roots stemming from the industrial revolution, where we saw the emergence of trade unions to represent workers and their rights. A labour relations system reflects the interaction between the main actors in the organization namely the government, the employer, trade unions and employees. Well set out labour relations in an organization safeguards fair labour practices, as well as contributes to long term success within the organization. There are multiple advantages to the Labor Relations Act, all of these advantages are put into place in order to protect the well being of the employee as well as the employer both on a fair and equal basis.
Collective bargaining is also known as a type of employer–employee relations that gives opportunity to the employees to be heard in the workplace on matter that effect them. Collective bargaining gives employees the advantage of being able to speak with one voice. The principle idea is that as a group, employees have greater strength or bargaining power if they collaborate than they do if they attempt to mediate with their employer one by one