TRADE UNIONISM AND STRIKES: AN ANALYSIS (original) (raw)

A conceptual article on strike prone behaviour among labour union members

Journal of Management Research and Analysis, 2020

Strike acts as a defensive tool in the hands of employees when they feel exploited by their management. It empowers the employees to have a say in what is decided for them in an industry. Strike, generally involves quitting of work by a group of workers for the purpose of influencing their employer or management to protect their common interest in the organization. When the labour unions or workers collectively cease to work in a particular industry, they are said to be on strike. A strike usually takes place in response to employees' unmet grievances. Strike can cause huge losses for the organization. Strike propensity is different from actual strike. Strike propensity is the extent to which workers are willing to engage in strike. It is a strong predictor of actual strike action. This paper explores the significance and consequence of understanding strike propensity of the employees in workplace and further tries to explore it's relevance in today's volatile organizations.

THE EFFECTS OF PROLIFERATION OF TRADE UNIONS ON THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS

This study was conceived to investigate the effects of proliferation of trade unions at KAGEM MINING LIMITED on the Collective Bargaining Process. Data used was obtained through questionnaires issued to Employees, Branch Leaders, and National Leaders of Trade Unions. Descriptive statistics was used to establish the effects of proliferation of Trade Unions in the bargaining process at Kagem Mining Limited. In the same manner, results showed the proliferation of trade unions at KAGEM influenced the collective bargaining process. The labour movement has been part of the Zambian industrial relations landscape since the 1920s. Its contribution to the political, economic and social evolution of Zambia cannot be overemphasized. It cannot be overemphasized because its contribution and role in the Zambian industrial relations system has been pivotal. The proliferation of trade trades in Zambia has not spared the mining industry and respective undertakings such as Kagem. With such proliferation of trade unions in Zambia and Kagem one begs to understand their effectiveness and especially in the gemstone sector in which Kagem continues to be Zambia’s leading. Kagem currently stands as the largest single emerald producer in the world. Since the year 2008, Kagem has been attracting huge investments and secured a world market for the emeralds Based on the foregoing, it becomes apparent that the mining sector in Zambia is of immense economic importance. It therefore behooves us, to investigate the effect of proliferation of the trade unions on the collective bargaining process at Kagem. Currently, there are two main trade unions in the mine, Mine Workers’ Union of Zambia (MUZ) and National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) on which this research study was focused on. The results of the study indicated that most respondents (62%) felt that the proliferation of trade unions at Kagem had a negative effect on the collective bargaining process. In conclusion, the study revealed that the multiplicity of trade unions had weakened the union bargaining power at Kagem. By having two trade unions MUZ and NUMAW, they are consistently in competition with one another and sometimes this has led to misrepresentation of members’ interests at meetings with management. This situation was attributed to the amendment of Industrial and Labour Relations Act in 1993 which saw the emergence of more trade unions, with some splitting away from the mainstream unions in the Country. The splitting became a reality at Kagem in 2013, when NUMAW was introduced as a splitter trade union from the mainstream MUZ union and this splitting made the union more divided both at the undertaking and national level, than ever before in the history of the country. The study revealed that MUZ used to be the only union at one time but due misrepresentation and mismanagement, NUMAW was created to bridge the gap of the members’ interest. However, the study further revealed that majority of the members benefited from having multiple trade unions because it had assisted in improving the working conditions such as salary increments and transparency and accountability when it came to decision making process. Based on the results, the involved trade unions should therefore endeavor to put up a strategy that will restore lost unit and cohesion. Further, the Government through Ministry of Labour should also put up mechanisms and the study proposes recommendations for the amendments of the Industrial and Labour Relations Act so to provide control on the splitting of trade unions. The study further recommends engagement of all key stakeholders such as International Labour Organization (ILO) and conduct additional studies on the effect of certain conventions such as freedom of association which allows for workers’ rights to belong to a trade union of their choices.

The Marxist View of the Labor Unions: Complex and Critical

WorkingUSA, 2013

Since the world economic crisis of 2008 and governments' increasing demands for austerity in countries around the globe, labor unions have failed to provide leadership to the working class. This has led to a debate about the value of unions and their role in social change. Longstanding socialist organizations and emerging nonstate socialist and anarchist groups have begun an important discussion of the nature of the labor unions, the character of their leaderships, and their relationship to employers and the state. Marx and Engels are often referred to or cited as authorities in these debates, though seldom do we have an overview of how they arrived at their complex understanding of labor union structures, leaderships, politics, and behaviors. This essay is meant to contribute to this important discussion by examining Marx's and Engel's involvement in the workers' movement, including with the labor unions, as well as their writings about labor unions, placing them in the broader context of their revolutionary socialist strategy and vision. We trace the development of these ideas from their first involvement with the workers movement in the mid-1840s until the death of both by the 1890s. Finally, we conclude by making a summary of their considered opinion. Marxist socialists have a complicated and critical attitude toward labor unions. 1 The general reasons for this are no doubt obvious to anyone who has thought about them. Labor union leaders generally fight for higher wages, while Marxist socialists struggle to end the wage system. Trade union leaders often see strikes as unfortunate if sometimes necessary struggles that temporarily disrupt the labor union's usual and ongoing partnership with capital. Socialists on the other hand see strikes as essential to maintaining workers' fighting spirit and preparing workers to engage in class war and eventually to carry out a social revolution to overthrow capitalism. Trade union leaders tend to see their unions as the only legitimate vehicle and voice of the working class, while socialists tend to see trade unions as too limited in their scope-excluding as they often do much of the working class, especially ethnic and racial minorities, women, immigrants, domestic and farm workers, the unemployed, and the indigent. Socialists, on the other hand, organize workers not only into unions but also into educational groups, workers parties, social movements, and revolutionary socialist organizations. Unions foresee no alternative workers' organization, while socialists envision the organization of workers into community or industrial councils that would include virtually all workers, broad organizations that would bs_bs_banner

A STUDY ON COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND ITS DEPENDENCE ON TRADE UNION RECOGNITION

Trade union plays significant role in shaping the worker's life in India. But in developed countries like India, unions are losing its membership in recent decades. This downward trend is prevalent in certain group of workers like female workers, young workers and those who are working in private sector particularly in a smaller organisation. Worker being weaker segment they can get their rights only through collective representation i.e. collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is the backbone for harmonious industrial relations. Right to collective bargaining is available only to recognized trade union. Recognition of trade union means accepting or conferring right to negotiate on behalf of workers. In Bharat petroleum corporation cases, the court of India held that there is no provision regarding recognition, the right cannot be enforced by writ petition, to be conferred by the management. In views of the above to bestow workers fundamental right and ensure industrial peace, there should be a legislation of recognition of trade union.

Workers' Attitudes and Behaviours Towards the Trade Unions: The Case of Kocaeli

2008

Since the early 1970's, while unions have been loosing its base, discussions on member-union relationships and members' attitudes and behaviours towards the unions are getting more importance. As it is agreed, the results of researches on this topic can not be definite, since many factors of each country are really diagnostic. In this sense, one of the important characteristics of Turkish trade unionism is public sector based unionism. Together with this difficulty, privatization policy at public sector diminishes the membership base of the unions during the last two decades. Therefore the future of unionism depends on keeping relationships with members alive and organizing employees at private sector primarily. In this context, the evaluation of members' attitudes towards the unions, the motives that lead up to membership and the analyzes of member-union relationships are getting importance in order to revitalise unionism. In this sense, the paper will basically depend on the research that comprises both unionized and non-unionized workers' attitudes towards the unions at metal, food, textile and petrochemical-rubber private sectors in Kocaeli province. One of the major purpose of this research is to figure out the motives and the reasons of being a member to the unions. The other purposes of this research are to discuss the collective understanding of workers, the perception of workers on necessity of being a member, the understanding of workers on union policies and the member-trade union relationships. Also this reserch will give us a chance to make a comparison with the results of another research that was done in 2004 at the same scope. So the paper might have chance to observe the changes in three years time.

STRIKE OF WORKERS IN ESSENTIAL SERVICES

The right to strike in essential services creates an inherent problem and a challenge for any democratic society, because it stems from some tension between two rights that must be guaranteed by the state, the right to organize and conduct collective negotiations that involve the freedom to strike and the right of the state to ensure itself and its citizens against harm to security , Safety, health, and the provision of services that are essential to the daily lives of citizens. (Eisenstadt, 1959) (Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty) A strike is one of the essential tools that a worker can use when he wants to improve the conditions of his employment with his employer. This is an "organized refusal to work as a form of protest by a workers' body", usually in an attempt to obtain concessions or concessions from their employer. The right to strike is considered one of the basic socio-economic rights in democracy and is recognized as such in international law as well as in laws and rulings in various countries. In general, it is possible to define that the strike is an extreme response of the group of employees to the failure of negotiations with an employer or a group of employers. There are four types of strikes: * An economic strike (when the issue of strike and demand is economic). * A political strike, when the nature of the strike and the dispute is China University of PolitiCal sCienCe and law - aCademiC Press 157 ManageMent HuMan ResouRces and Law david scHwaRtz & BinyaMin guRstein over conceptual ideological and political issues. * A solidarity strike - a strike that takes place out of solidarity and solidarity, and not out of economic or political interests. * A quasi-political strike (when an issue and a subject of strike combine both economic and political interests). The four types of strikes are defined in legislation and definition in countries and international organizations. In most studies, economic strikes are recognized as legitimate, as opposed to political and quasipolitical strikes considered illegitimate. Of course, a decision on this is made in each country separately. (Berenson, Berenson, 2000) (Radai, 1994) (Shaked, 1999) The study of the strike field and its importance is of great importance for several reasons: * The first is due to an overall view of the rights of workers and individuals in a democracy. * Second, recognition of the employee's weakness against the power of an employer.