Productive bargaining
PRODUCTIVITY BARGAINING
Collective bargaining refers to the process of bilateral negotiations between representatives of management and labour representatives no such issues as wages, wage grades, working conditions and other welfare amenities. At the end of negotiations both the parties sign an agreement which has a stipulated duration. In conventional bargaining whether at enterprise-level or industry level, the lead is normally taken by the union, which demands higher wages, fringe benefits, better working conditions, etc. Most of the times after considerable amount of negotiations, the parties more or less settle by compromise on the demands raised and conceded. Normally no mention is made about work aspects and managements simply require that the unions continue working as before. The collective bargaining system has the following merits:
i)
It spells out in clear terms the common thinking and decisions arrived at between management and labour union. The agreement generally has a life-span of 3 to 5.
ii)
It has established effective machinery whereby matters in dispute can be dealt with at the conference table and has, to the extent possible, substituted a system of law and order for open and damaging conflict.
iii)
It also provides a means to bring about uniformity in wage structure and common conditions of employment within an industry.
iv)
It is a powerful forum to protect the workers’ interests. For e.g., in a number of industries, it has secured better wages and working conditions for the labour which remained unorganized for long.
However the collective bargaining system is not without short-comings. In a changing economy, unless the productivity of the workers is raised continually, mere wage increases will only create inflationary conditions. Workers must be made to realize that any wage increase, unaccompanied by productivity increase, is only harmful in the long run. But collective bargaining rarely
Collective bargaining refers to the process of bilateral negotiations between representatives of management and labour representatives no such issues as wages, wage grades, working conditions and other welfare amenities. At the end of negotiations both the parties sign an agreement which has a stipulated duration. In conventional bargaining whether at enterprise-level or industry level, the lead is normally taken by the union, which demands higher wages, fringe benefits, better working conditions, etc. Most of the times after considerable amount of negotiations, the parties more or less settle by compromise on the demands raised and conceded. Normally no mention is made about work aspects and managements simply require that the unions continue working as before. The collective bargaining system has the following merits:
i)
It spells out in clear terms the common thinking and decisions arrived at between management and labour union. The agreement generally has a life-span of 3 to 5.
ii)
It has established effective machinery whereby matters in dispute can be dealt with at the conference table and has, to the extent possible, substituted a system of law and order for open and damaging conflict.
iii)
It also provides a means to bring about uniformity in wage structure and common conditions of employment within an industry.
iv)
It is a powerful forum to protect the workers’ interests. For e.g., in a number of industries, it has secured better wages and working conditions for the labour which remained unorganized for long.
However the collective bargaining system is not without short-comings. In a changing economy, unless the productivity of the workers is raised continually, mere wage increases will only create inflationary conditions. Workers must be made to realize that any wage increase, unaccompanied by productivity increase, is only harmful in the long run. But collective bargaining rarely