Labor Relations & Collective Bargaining

 Union: A formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its member through collective action. Generally, The Union workers receive higher wages and benefits then do non-union workers. However Unions can be associated with high Productivity.

Why Do Workers Join Unions?

Worker's Join Union Primarily because of management failure to address organizational & job-related concerns.

What Do Unions Want?

Unions have 2 Sets of aims:

Ð'* Union Security:

Five Types of Union Security are possible:

I. Closed Shop: The Company can hire only union members.

II. Union Shop: The Company can hire non-union people, but they must join the union after the prescribed period of time and pay dues, or else they are fired.

III. Agency shop: Employees who do not belong to the union still must pay union dues on the assumption that the union's efforts benefit all workers.

IV. Open Shop: It is up to the workers whether or not they join the union---, those who do not, do not pay dues.

V. Maintenance of membership arrangement: Employees do not have to belong to the union. However, union members employed by the firm must maintain membership in the union for the contract period.

Ð'* Improved wages, hours, working conditions, and benefits for their members.

The Constitution of Pakistan contains a range of provisions with regards to labour rights found in Part II: Fundamental Rights and Principles of Policy.

I. Article 11 of the Constitution prohibits all forms of slavery, forced labour and child labour;

II. Article 17 provides for a fundamental right to exercise the freedom of association and the right to form unions;

III. Article 18 proscribes the right of its citizens to enter upon any lawful profession or occupation and to conduct any lawful trade or business;

IV. Article 25 lays down the right to equality before the law and prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of sex alone;

V. Article 37(e) makes provision for securing just and humane conditions of work, ensuring that children and women are not employed in vocations unsuited to their age or sex, and for maternity benefits for women in employment.

 The Collective Bargaining Process:

What is collective Bargaining?

It Is the last step of unionization, is the process whereby the representatives of management and workers negotiate over wages, hours, working conditions and other terms and condition of employment. In general legal unions have the right to bargain collectively.

For Example:

I. Agricultural workers are not provided with the right to strike, to bargain collectively, or to make demands on employers.

II. The National Bank of Pakistan Employees' Union filed suit against the Government for implementing a banking companies ordinance that prohibited union activities in banks during working hours and allowed only current bank employees to serve as bank trade union officials. Labor unions report that workers are given artificial promotions (such as a new title with no salary increase) to make them ineligible for union membership. This practice is prevalent in the financial sector, particularly among foreign banks.

What is Good Faith?

Bargaining collectively in good faith is the next step if and when the unions win the election. Good faith means that both parties communicate and negotiate, and that proposals are matched with counterproposals, & both parties make reasonable efforts to arrive at an agreement. Bargaining items are categorized as

Ð'* Mandatory Bargaining Items, over which bargaining is obligatory, compulsory under the law.

Ð'* Voluntary (Or Permissible) Bargaining items, they are neither mandatory nor illegalÐ'--neither party can be compelled against its wishes to negotiate over those items. You cannot hold signing a contract because the other party refuse to bargain on a voluntary item.

Ð'* Illegal. Bargaining items are forbidden by the law. A section agreeing to hire union members exclusively would be illegal in a right Ð'-to-work state.

 Collective Labour Disputes:

Ð'* Commencement of a dispute: Under the IRO 2002, if an employer or a Collective Bargaining Agent finds that an industrial dispute has arisen or is likely to arise, they may communicate their views in writing to the other party. Upon receipt of the communication, the other party has fifteen days (or more if agreed) to try and settle the dispute by bilateral negotiations.

Ð'* Conciliation: If the parties do not manage to reach a settlement, the employer or the CBA may, within fifteen further days, serve a notice of conciliation on the other party, with a copy to the Conciliator and to the Labour Court. If the dispute is settled before the Conciliator, or a tripartite Board of Conciliators, a report is sent to the Provincial or Federal Government, with the memorandum of settlement.

An impasse usually occurs because one

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