Managing Employment Relationships
The relationships between labour and management can be contentious or amicable, depending on the industry and the leadership involved. When these stakeholders reach loggerheads over disagreements about wages, benefits or working conditions, productivity is diminished, jobs can be lost and national productivity inevitably suffers. To determine what can be done, this paper provides an analysis and explanation concerning the roles of two key stakeholders involved in managing the employment relationship within a UK context, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service and trade unions. A discussion concerning some of the key challenges that these stakeholders experience in managing employment relations is followed an examination of how the different roles of these stakeholders may impact on employment relations within different UK employing organisations. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning these issues are provided in the conclusion.
Review and Analysis
Trade Unions
According to the editors of The Times 100, "A trade union is an organised group of employees who have joined together in an officially recognised organisation to further their common interests" (Benefits of employer and employee co-operation 2013, p. 2). Trade union members typically share a skill, trade, industry, employer or occupation in common, but some unions known as "general unions" are comprised of workers from a number of different industries (Benefits of employer and employee co-operation 2013). All trade unions in the United Kingdom are created, supported and operated by their constituents (Benefits of employer and employee co-operation, 2013).
The members of UK trade unions such as the AEEU, CWU, GMB, MSF, PCS, TGWU and UNISON, have received a good return on their investment in these organizations. For instance, Gall (2009, p. 60) emphasizes that, "the nature of the service provided, the 'product market' and its related organisational configurations are important in helping to explain why relatively strong and effective workplace unionism has been built and maintained." Although the extant union membership may be relatively strong and effective in the UK, current trends suggest that trade union influence is declining. In this regard, Lind (2007, p. 44) report that, "In general terms trade unions have been on the retreat since the 1970s in Europe when the 'Golden Age' of organised labour and social democracy had peaked." The rate of decline for trade unions, though, is not consistent among the member states of the European Union. As Lind (2007, p. 45) points out, "There are major differences between the nation states concerning the decline in membership. In most countries membership rates peaked between 1975 and 1985 (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, United Kingdom), while unions in other countries were doing well till the mid-1990s (Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden)." Likewise, Barling and Kelloway (1999, p. 124) cite the decline in trade union members in the UK in recent years and point out that, "The 1980s and early 1990s were witness to almost universal decline in union membership. For example, in the United Kingdom unionization declined by approximately 25% or three million people during the 1980s."
Although trade unions may be struggling, some authorities believe they are not down and out. For example, Barling and Kelloway (1999, p. 124) emphasize that, "That the labour movement is facing considerable challenge is beyond question. However, the conclusion that unions will not survive these challenges is by no means certain." At present, there are three major trends underway that will inevitably have a positive effect on trade unions:
1. The number of women participating in the paid workforce has increased with a corresponding decrease in men's participation in the workforce. As a consequence, women are steadily increasing their presence in labour unions and in 1993 accounted for 42.4% (1.6 million members) of the membership of labour unions.
2. The average age of the workforce has increased and is expected to continue increasing throughout the 1990s. This trend is particularly pronounced in the unionized sector of the workforce. The unionized workforce is, on average, four years older than the non-unionized workforce.
3. The education of the workforce has dramatically increased in recent years. For example, the percentage of individuals in the workforce with some education beyond high school has increased from 29% in 1979 to 42% in 1989. Correspondingly, the percentage of individuals with less than eight years of formal education declined by approximately 50% in the same period (Barling & Kelloway 1999, p. 124).
Although a number of European countries experienced dramatic decreases in their trade union membership over the past 2 decades, the decreases in union membership were matched by increases in general employment (Wu & Liu 2010). According to...
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