What is the name for the process of negotiations between the company and representatives of the union?

Collective bargaining is the negotiation between unions and employers to agree on the conditions of employment.

Inhaltsverzeichnis Show

• Most UNISON branch officers, stewards and safety reps will negotiate with employers at some time. It is how to protect and promote the interests of UNISON members and create fairness and equality at work.
• This page, along with our in-depth bargaining guides and training courses, gives you the tools you need for effective negotiating and bargaining with employers.
• What is the negotiation process with a union?
• What is the process of negotiation between the employer and employee?
• Is the process of negotiations between the company and representatives of the union quizlet?
• What is the process of negotiating the terms of employment between an employer and a group of workers such as pay and working conditions called?

Learning Objective: Outline the conditions and negotiation process between groups of employees (unions) and employers in the human resource frame.

Key Points

• Collective bargaining is used to win terms of pay, benefits, and hours beneficial to employees.
• The negotiations result in a collective agreement, which must be approved by the employees. If it is, the agreement becomes the union contract.
• Workers' ability to collectively bargain is established by the National Labor Relations Act of 1953.

Term

• Arbitration: A process in which two or more parties use an adjudicator to resolve a dispute.

In collective bargaining, the negotiation process between employees and employers, employees attempt to achieve employment conditions that serve their shared interests. Employees are commonly represented by the union to which they belong. The collective agreements reached by these negotiations attempt to establish:

• Wages,
• Working hours,
• Training,
• Health and safety,
• Overtime,
• Grievance mechanisms, and
• Rights to participate in workplace or company affairs.

Process of Negotiation

1. At a workplace where most workers have voted for union representation, a committee of employees and union representatives negotiate a contract with the management regarding wages, hours, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment, such as protection from termination of employment without just cause. Individual negotiation is prohibited.
2. Once the workers' committee and management have agreed on a contract, it is then voted on by all workers at the workplace. If approved, the contract is usually in force for a fixed term of years, and when that term is up, it is renegotiated between employees and management.
3. Sometimes there are disputes over the union contract; this often occurs in cases of workers being fired without just cause in a union workplace. These disputes then go to arbitration, which is similar to an informal court hearing. A neutral arbitrator makes a ruling about whether the termination was unjust and whether other contract breaches occurred. If so, the arbitrator will order that the breach be corrected or remedied in some way.

Collective Agreement

The union may negotiate a specific agreement with a single employer or negotiate with a group of businesses to reach an industry-wide agreement. A collective agreement functions as a labor contract between an employer and one or more unions. Collective bargaining consists of the process of negotiation between representatives of a union and employers (generally represented by management) with respect to the terms and conditions of employment, such as wages, hours of work, working conditions, grievance procedures, and the rights and responsibilities of trade unions. The parties often refer to the result of the negotiation as a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or as a collective employment agreement (CEA).

Legislation Regulating Collective Bargaining

In the United States, the National Labor Relations Act of 1953 covers most collective agreements in the private sector. This act makes it illegal for employers to discriminate, spy on, harass, or terminate workers' employment because of their union membership. It also makes it illegal for employers to retaliate against employees who engage in organizing campaigns or form company unions or to refuse to engage in collective bargaining with the union that represents their employees. It is also illegal to require any employee to join a union as a condition of employment. Unions are also exempt from antitrust law hoping that members may collectively fix a higher price for their labor.

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Source: Boundless

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Last modified: Tuesday, November 10, 2020, 7:52 PM

Most UNISON branch officers, stewards and safety reps will negotiate with employers at some time. It is how to protect and promote the interests of UNISON members and create fairness and equality at work.

This page, along with our in-depth bargaining guides and training courses, gives you the tools you need for effective negotiating and bargaining with employers.

What is collective bargaining?

Collective bargaining is the process of negotiation during meetings between reps and their employer, often to improve pay and conditions. The collective bargaining process allows workers to approach employers as a unified group.

The aim of collective bargaining is to reach an agreement between employers and workers. Members can contribute to discussions by talking to their reps while negotiations take place.

Workplace bargaining and negotiating is also a golden opportunity to build a strong local union. Claims and agreements are a great way of recruiting new members and getting more members involved in the union.

What does UNISON bargain about?

A group of UNISON reps may form a collective bargaining group to reach an agreement for better pay or changes to pensions, for example. This may happen at either a local or national level.

They may also negotiate over non pay-related issues, such as working hours, planned redundancies or the right to flexible working for carers and parents. At the moment, there is no legal requirement for employers to comply with requests for flexible working, so bargaining may be a useful way to encourage an employer to implement flexible working arrangements.

Recognition agreements

For reps to carry out collective bargaining on pay and working conditions, unions need to be ‘recognised’ by the employer as speaking on behalf of our members. This is usually achieved through a recognition agreement which sets out the procedures for negotiations between management and the unions, and the facilities (such as time off) available to the unions.

Training and support

Negotiating is not always a skill that comes naturally, which is why UNISON provides regular training courses, through the regions, to help support reps and improve their skills in this vital work.

Many branches have negotiating teams made up of branch officers and stewards so you will not normally be asked to conduct a negotiation alone.

The stages of negotiation

The aim of negotiation is to reach an agreement. Negotiation should not be confused with ‘consultation’, which is simply an exchange of opinions between workers and their employer. However, skilful negotiators can turn consultation into negotiation.

Stewards do not normally negotiate alone, but as part of a team with complementary skills.

To start the negotiation process, a UNISON rep or official may write to the employer to raise a claim. They then meet management to present the case.

A series of meetings may follow to discuss the issue in depth. If you attend one of these meetings, it is as important to listen carefully and ask questions as it is to present your case well. Clear, effective communication during negotiation is important as it can help others to understand your point of view.

The negotiation process tends to follow a standard pattern, which falls into four recognised stages.

• Preparation: You need to do careful preparation and research, especially in canvassing the views of your members.
• The opening: One side tables a proposal and the other side responds. This stage can involve adjournments to collect further information and test out arguments. It also includes identifying the relative importance of issues, fall-back positions and ‘bottom lines’.
• Trading: Both sides trade things in order to move from fixed opening positions to an agreement: “We’ll offer x if you’ll agree to y.” Again, there can be lots of adjournments to explore options, test arguments, consult, etc. This stage builds consensus and narrows down the areas of disagreement.
• Agreement: This should include a phase where the final proposal is put to the members and ends with the agreement being documented for future reference.

To reach an agreement, both sides must be open to new ideas and willing to accept changes. If no agreement is made, negotiations can break down and unions may resort to industrial action. If industrial action is required, UNISON regional offices get involved and provide advice on the correct procedures to follow.

Once workers and employers have reached an agreement, it is signed and kept in place either for a set time or until replaced.

Your role

As a steward you should:

• make sure that members’ views and concerns are fed into the bargaining process;
• keep members informed of developments;
• canvas members’ views and make sure they are fed back into the negotiation process;
• encourage members to take part in ballots, surveys, etc;
• keep members informed of the outcome of any negotiations.

What is the negotiation process with a union?

What is the process of negotiation between the employer and employee?

Is the process of negotiations between the company and representatives of the union quizlet?

What is the process of negotiating the terms of employment between an employer and a group of workers such as pay and working conditions called?