Collective bargaining

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
NEETHU S S
SECOND YEAR MSC NURSING
GOVT. COLLEGE OF NURSING, KOZHIKODE

Collective bargaining is a mode of fixing the terms of
employment by means of bargaining between an organized
body of employees or an employer or an association of
employees, usually acting through duly authorized agents.

Collective bargaining is fundamentally a method of joint regulation as it
necessarily involves both the parties directly interested in the industrial
relations.
The essence of collective bargaining is a bargaining between interested
parties to regulate industrial relations. Collective bargaining aims at
reaching some settlement. Although, both parties involved in the
bargaining process attempt to get their own terms accepted by the other
party.
It is the process of employer-union negotiation for the purpose of
reaching agreement as to the terms and conditions of employment for a
specific period.

DEFINITION
“Negotiations about working conditions and terms of employment between an
employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organizations on
one hand and one or more representative organizations of workmen on the
other hand with a view to reach agreement.
“a process of discussion and negotiation between two parties, one or both of
whom is a group of persons acting in concert.”
- Encyclopedia of social science.

DEFINITION
Negotiation about working conditions and terms of
employment between an employer and a group of
employees or one or more employee, organization with a
view to reaching an agreement wherein the terms serve as
a code of defining the rights and obligations of each party
in their employment relations with one another.
-( International Labour Organization)

DEFINITION
“collective bargaining is an agreement between a single employer or an
association of employers on the one hand and a labor union on the other, which
regulates the terms and conditions of employment”
- Tudwig Teller

HISTORY
The term of “Collective Bargaining” was first used in 1891 by Beatrics Webb, a
founder of field in industrial relation in Britain. It refers to a sort of collective of
negotiation and agreement that has existed.
 1913- the California legislature extended the 8-hour law to pupil nurses.
 1919- formation of the union of stewards and nurses.
 1930- the national labor relation act (NLRA) established.
 1934- ANA actively campaigned for 8 hour/ day.

HISTORY
 1941- California state nurses association represented nurses concerns
before the labor board.
 1946- the California nurses association became the first nurse’s association
to represent nurses.
 The concept of collective bargaining was introduced very late in India, as
trade union were formed only in 1962.

OBJECTIVES OF
 Resolve differences over knotty issues.
 Protect the interests of workers through collective action.
 Carry out negotiations voluntarily, without interference from third party.
 Arrive at an amicable agreement through a process of give and take.
 To arrive at an agreement on wages and other conditions of employment.
 To have peaceful co-existence for the mutual benefits and progress.
 To maintain employee- employer relation bilaterally.

CHARACTERISTICS
 Collective: collective bargaining is a two-way process where the employer’s
representative and employees’ representatives sit together to negotiate terms of
employment.
 Strength: both the parties in collective bargaining are strong and equal.
 Voluntary: both parties come to the negotiation table voluntarily in order to go in
particular negotiation. It is based on discussion, mutual trust and understanding.
 Formal: it is a formal process in which certain employment related issues are to
be regulated at National, organization and workplace levels.
 Improvement: it is a method to improve the employer- employee’s conflicts.

CHARACTERISTICS
 Representation: collective bargaining is between the representatives of
employees and management. The management dose not directly deal with
employees. It carries negotiations with representatives/ executives of union and
associations.
 Dynamic: collective bargaining is dynamic, that go on changing over a period
and grows and expand the way of agreement, the way of implementation and
way of discussion.
 Continuous: collective bargaining is continuous and begins with agreement, the
implementation of agreement and further negotiations.
 Bipartite process: because the employee and employers’ representatives
negotiate directly face to face across the table.

1. Importance to
society
2. Importance to
employers
3. Importance to
employee
IMPORTANCE OF
COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING

IMPORTANCE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
IMPORTANCE TO SOCIETY
 Collective bargaining leads to industrial peace in the country.
 It results in establishment of a harmonious industrial climate which supports,
which helps the pace of a nation’s efforts towards economic and social
development since the obstacles to such a development can be reduced
considerably.
 The discrimination and exploitation of workers is constantly being checked.
 It provides a method or the regulation of the conditions of employment of those
who are directly concerned about them.

IMPORTANCE TO EMPLOYERS
 It becomes easier for the management to resolve issues at the bargaining level
rather than taking up complaints of individual workers.
 collective bargaining tends to promote a sense of job security among
employees and thereby tends to reduce the cost of labor turnover to
management.
 Collective bargaining opens up the channel of communication between the
workers and the management and increases worker participation in decision
making.
 Collective bargaining plays a vital role in settling and preventing industrial
disputes.

IMPORTANCE TO EMPLOYEES
 Collective bargaining develops a sense of self-respect and
responsibility among the employees.
 it increases the strength of the workforce, thereby, increasing their
bargaining capacity as a group.
 collective bargaining increases the morale and productivity of
employees.
 it restricts management’s freedom for arbitrary action against the
employees.

 the workers feel motivated as they can approach the management
on various matters and bargain for higher benefits.
 it helps in securing a prompt and fair settlement of grievances. It
provides a flexible means for the adjustment of wages and
employment conditions to economic and technological changes in
the industry, as a result of which the chances for conflicts are
reduced

PREREQUISITES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
 Freedom of associations
 Independence of unions
 Stability of organizations of workers and employers
 Favorable political climate- the Government should not only be
sympathetic but also encourage collective bargaining and
agreements.
 Mutual trust and respect and also willingness on the part of the
parties concerned to settle all matters by collective bargaining or
negotiations.

PREREQUISITES OF COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
 Bargaining power of each party. It depends on
 Strength of its organization
 Knowledge and skill of negotiation of its representatives
 Trade recession or boom and shortage
 Surplus of labor, particularly in regard to semi- skilled and
unskilled workers.

FACTORS FOR THE SUCCESS OF COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
Lester and Sister outline factors which determine the success of
collective bargaining. They have been grouped into:
 Economic environment factors
 Psychological factors and structure of power relation
 Nature and characters of the product market
 Nature of the labor market

 Capital requirement and cost conditions
 State of business conditions
 Types of industrial relationships
i. Employer’s attitude
ii.Worker’s attitude
iii.Government policy

TYPES OF
BARGAINING
Conjunctive/d
estructive
Cooperative /
integrative
productivity
composite

Conjunctive or distributive bargaining
Conjunctive bargaining is the most common type of
bargaining & involves zero-sum negotiations, in other words,
one side wins and the other loses. Both parties try to maximize
their respective gains. They try to settle economic issues such
as wages, benefits, bonus, etc. For Example, Unions negotiate
for maximum wages & the management wants to yield as little
as possible – while getting things done through workers.

Cooperative /integrative bargaining
Integrative bargaining is similar to problem solving sessions in
which both sides are trying to reach a mutually beneficial
alternative, i.e. a win-win situation. Both the employer & the
union try to resolve the conflict to the benefit of both parties.
Both sides share information about their interests and concerns
and they create a list of possible solutions to best meet everyone’s
needs.

Productivity bargaining
A form of collective bargaining leading to a productivity agreement in
which management offers a pay raise in exchange for alterations to
employee working practices designed to increase productivity.
Productivity bargaining has been described as "an agreement in which
advantages of one kind or another, such as higher wages or increased
leisure, are given to workers in return for agreement on their part to
accept changes in working practices or in methods or in organization
of work which will lead to more efficient working.

Composite bargaining
Workers believed that productivity bargaining agreements increased their
workloads. Rationalization, introduction of new technology, tight
productivity norms have added to this burden and made the life of a
worker somewhat uneasy. As an answer to such problems, labor has come
in favor of composite bargaining. In this method, labor bargains for wages
as usual, but goes a step further demanding equity in matters relating to
work norms, employment levels, manning standards and environmental
hazards etc.

SUBJECT MATTER OF COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
 Union recognition and scope of bargaining unit
 Management rights
 Union security
 Strikes and lockouts
 Union activities and responsibilities
 Wages
 Working hours and working conditions

 Job rights and seniority
 Discipline, suspension and discharge
 Grievance handling and arbitration
 Health and safety
 Insurance and benefit programs
 Work tools, techniques and practices
 Changes in technology

POINTS TO KEPT IN MIND BEFORE
 Be sure to set clear objectives for every bargaining item, and
be sure you understand the reason for each.
 Do not hurry.
 When in doubt, discuss with your associates.
 Be well prepared with firm data supporting your position.

POINTS TO KEPT IN MIND BEFORE COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
 Don't concern yourself just with what the other party
says and does; find out why.
 Respect the importance for face saving for the other party.
 Be alert to the real intentions of the other party-not only
for goals, but also for priorities.

 Learn to control your emotions and use them as a
tool.
 Be a good listener
 Build a reputation for being fair but firm.
 As you make each bargaining move, be sure you
know its relationship to all other move.
 Measure each move against your objectives.

 Pay close attention to the wording of every clause
negotiated; they are often a source of grievances.
 Remember that collective bargaining is a compromise
process; There is no such thing as having all the pie.
 Try to understand people and their personalities.
 Consider the impact of present negotiations on those in
future years.

PRINCIPLES OF COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
1.For the management
2.For the trade union
3.For trade union and management

PRINCIPLES FOR THE MANAGEMENT
 The management should be waiting for the trade union to bring
employees grievances to its notice but should rather create the
condition in which the employees can approach themselves
without involving the trade union.
 The management should only deal with the one trade in the
organization.
 They must form and follow a realistic labor policy

PRINCIPLES FOR THE MANAGEMENT
 They should treat the trade union fairly
 They should regularly check the rules and regulations to
determine the attitude and comfort of its employees
 Must agree to reform the trade union without any reservations
 The management should not wait for the trade union to bring
employees problems

PRINCIPLES FOR THE TRADE UNIONS
 The trade union should eliminate racketeering and other undemocratic
practices within their own organization
 Trade union leaders should resort to strike only when all other methods of the
settlement of a dispute have failed
 Trade union leaders should not imagine that their only function is to secure
higher wages, shorter hours of work and better working conditions for their
members.
 Trade union leaders should assist in the removal of such restrictive rules and
regulations that are likely to increase costs and prices and reduce the amount
that can be paid out as wages

PRINCIPAL OF UNION AND MANAGEMENT
 Collective bargaining should be made an education well as a
bargaining process.
 It should offer to trade union leaders an opportunity to present to
the managements.
 There should be an honest, able and responsible leadership for
only this kind of leadership which make collective bargaining
effective and meaningful.
 There must be mutual confidence and good faith and a desire to
make collective bargaining effective in practice.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING MEMBERS
 Registered Nurses
 Physicians
 Other professionals
 Technical employees
 Non-professionals

ORGANIZATION OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNIT
 Assemble a group of nurses who support collective bargaining.
 Arrange a meeting with a representative of nurse’s association of
state level.
 Assess feasibility of an organizing campaign.
 Conduct necessary review of literature to develop a plan of
action.

ORGANIZATION OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNIT
 Establish an organizing committee.
 Initiate the process of obtaining authorization cards.
 Schedule an informal meeting.
 Ensure voluntary recognition from the employer.
 Seek certification by national registration agency.
 Initiate contract negotiations.

• Preparatory Phase
• Discussion Phase
• Proposal Phase
• Bargaining Phase
• Settlement Phase
• Formalizing Agreement
• Enforcing Agreement
PROCESS

PREPARE
•Selection of negotiation team.
•Identification of the problem
• Examination of situation and
issues for negotiation
• Collection of data.

DISCUSS
• Decide an appropriate time and set a proper climate
for negotiation.
• Decision on ground rules.
• Maintenance of mutual trust and understanding.
• Involve in active listening ,asking question and
summarizing decision.’
• Collective Bargaining.

PROPOSE
• Initial opening of statements
• Possible
alternatives/Opinions to
resolve the issues by both
parties.
• Brainstorming

BARGAIN
During this bargaining phase, both parties
involves in the following activities:-
Problem solving
Proposals.

SETTLEMENT
•Consensus agreement on
common decision
• Negotiated change

FORMALIZATION OF AGREEMENT
•Drafting of agreements:- After good faith bargaining
,a formal document must prepare .it should be
simple ,clear and concise.
• Signing the agreement:- Both parties sign the
agreement and abide by its terms and conditions.

ENFORCING THE AGREEMENT
•To have the agreement effective and meaning ,it
should be enforced or implemented immediately.

LEVELS OF COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING

ECONOMY-WIDE (NATIONAL)
• Bargaining is a bipartite or tripartite form of negotiation between
union confederations, central employer associations and
government agencies.

SECTORAL BARGAINING:-
• Bargaining may be either broadly or narrowly defined in
terms of the industrial activities covered and may be
either split up according to territorial subunits or
conducted nationally.

ENTERPRISE LEVEL
• It involves the company and/or establishment.
• It emphasizes the point that bargaining levels
need not be mutually exclusive.

OBSTACLES
 Registered nurses who participate in organizing drives
could be summarily fired.
 Hospital could refuse to recognize and bargain with nursing
organizations.
 The associations spend years softening up the turf.

ADVANTAGES
 Contract to guide standards.
 Participation in decision making process
 All union members and management must confirm to terms of
contract without exception.
 Process exists to question managers authority if members feels
something was done unjustly.
 Nurses gain control of practice
 Improve professional relationships

ADVANTAGES
 Professionalism can be improved
 Protect patients from inadequate and unsafe care
 Give economic security
 Ensure the nurses have fair pay, good benefits and safe working
conditions
 Provide power
 Establish effective channels of communication with decision-
makers.

DISADVANTAGES
 Reduce individuality
 Other union members may outvote one’s decisions
 Dispute are not handled with individual and management only
 Must pay union dues even if one does not support unionization

NURSE MANAGER’S ROLE IN COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
 Know your legal rights and the rights of the manager.
 Act clearly within the law at all times.
 If a manager acts unlawfully, e.g., by firing an employee for
organizing, report the employer’s actions to the national labor
relations board.
 Keep all nurses informed through regular meetings held close to
the hospital.

 Set meeting times conveniently around shift changes and assist
with child care during meetings.
 Evaluate management skills and take continuing education
courses to improve them.
 Motivational techniques are particularly important for nurse
administrators to possess because they work through others.
They must listen carefully to staff concerns and represent staff
associates wishes to top management.

 Nurse administrators need to know about labor relations.
 The director of nursing should not serve as the chief negotiator
during collective bargaining because it would put the director in an
adversary role.
 The agency legal representative is usually the negotiator. During
negotiations, the director of nursing defines what is best for the
nursing care of patients. Once the contract has been negotiated,
nurse mangers must learn the terms of the contract and have copies
of the contract available to them. Problems should be solved
through problem solving techniques as they arise.

ROLE OF TNAI IN BARGANING
AND POLICIES FOR STRIKE
• According to Trained Nurse Association of India,
the association cannot be legally appointed as a
negotiating body at a local, state or national level. It
is also well documented that the nurses formed the
service association in various states and in many
places they also joined paramedical workers and
even fourth class employees unions where they
lose their professional standing

• To approach union/state Governments and other employing
agencies to form Grievances committees solve all local
problems, personal or professional, wherever possible.
• To have a state level committee with a TNAI representees to
act as arbitrary in cases referred to by the local Grievances
committee.
• To encourage and assist state government Nurses services
Associations in recognizing negotiating bodies by the
employers.

• The association would extend cooperation and create
opportunities for joint activities and action under terms and
conditions, where the state Government Nursing organizations
already exist.
• TNAI and its members will not support any strike controlled or
voted by any union or organization which includes employees
other than nurses.

• The TNAI members may support a strike action where the welfare of
the member of the profession as a whole, or the improvement of
nursing services to the community and the State Government Nursing
Association and State Branch ,TNAI agrees under following
conditions:-
• The grievances if exist, be thoroughly investigated by the Government
Nurses Association and send a report to local or state TNAI Executive.
• The State Branch Executive, TNAI should be satisfied with the report.
• The association will legally approach the authority for the correct
situation.

• If no action is taken by the authorities despite all efforts, the
members of the Government Nursing association will be asked to
vote for strike.
• A strike notice should be given at least two months before the
date of strike.
• Action plans to be used including rendering emergency nursing
care during the strike should be made jointly by the Government
Nurses Association and TNAI.
• Inform all members about the action plan and to acts as
professional during the strike.

CONCLUSION
Collective bargaining is the only proven method so far evolved for
bringing forth willing cooperation and promoting understanding
between workers and employers so essential for ensuring higher
productivity and better understanding of performance employers
should in enlightened self-interest, if for no other reason, take the lead
in encouraging collective bargaining between themselves and their
workers, no matter what government does.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Marriner Ann, Tomey. Nursing management and leadership. 5th edition.
united states of America: mosby publications; 1995.p 487-88.
 Basavanthappa B. Nursing administration.2nd edition.st. louis: jaypee
publications; 2009.p 784-6.
 Huber. Leadership and nursing care management. united states of
America: w b company; 1996.p 425-38.
 Yoder S. leading and managing in nursing.st. louis: mosby publications;
2008.p 53-6.
 D.T.B.G. Management of Nursing Edition and services. First Edition 2010.
EMMESS Medical Publisher. P. 339-43.
 Vati Jogindra, Principles of practice of nursing management and
administertion. 1st Edition. Jaypee brothers medical publishers(P) LTD. P.
427-32

Collective bargaining

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