Discipline, Disciplinary Action Procedure, Measures to improve Discipline, Employee Relations, MS-24

Define Discipline.  Describe the disciplinary action procedure which has taken place in your organization or any organization you are familiar with. Suggest measures to improve it.

Discipline: Counseling or other employment action (including imposition of sanctions) undertaken to correct or modify unacceptable job performance or behavior to acceptable standards. Disciplinary measures authorized to be imposed upon staff employees including an oral or written reprimand, suspension without pay (not to exceed 10% of the gross amount payable for any payroll period) or dismissal from employment.

Process of Disciplinary
Disciplinary action generally begins with the witnessing by a Public Safety officer, a University Housing staff member, another student, or a faculty/staff member of conduct which appears to violate the standards expected of Central students. In such cases, a report is prepared describing pertinent facts and the names of persons involved. An individual wishing to report an incident should contact an official in either the Department of University Housing, Public Safety, or the Student Affairs Office, depending on whether the incident occurred in the University Housing system or elsewhere on campus. If the incident is deemed sufficiently serious and a representative of the appropriate office considers the report to indicate probable violation of University regulations, a decision is made to initiate the disciplinary process.

In such cases, a written charge is sent to the student(s) involved. The charge requests the student(s) to appear at a hearing in order to hear the evidence against him/her (them) and to offer explanatory and clarifying information as is considered appropriate. The hearing officer or body will then render a prompt decision, including the action taken, in cases where violations have been found to occur.

A clear and effective disciplinary policy offers many benefits, including:
•     Clear guidelines for employee behavior. A straightforward, easy to understand disciplinary policy will tell your employees what you expect of them and what conduct you will not tolerate. Enforcing the policy in a uniform manner will show your employees that you take these rules seriously.
•     Employee morale. It's true that the employee you discipline is not likely to enjoy a morale boost, but the rest of your workforce will. Other employees do not like to see a co-worker getting away with poor, unproductive behavior while they work thanklessly at their jobs. And if a problem employee is allowed to misbehave without suffering any consequences, others in the workforce will soon realize that they can get away with slacking off too.
•     Protection against employee lawsuits. If you clearly inform your employees of the consequences of poor behavior and enforce your policy fairly, you will buy yourself some insurance in future disputes. It will be more difficult for an employee to argue that his or her termination was unjustified if you can show that you told your employees what conduct would result in discipline, and that this particular employee had been subject to prior disciplinary action.

Writing a Disciplinary Policy

The trick to writing an effective disciplinary policy is to give your employees clear notice of the consequences of poor behavior without locking yourself into following one course of action in every situation. For example, even though you may generally follow a policy of progressive discipline (in which a first offense is met with a verbal warning, a second offense with a written warning, and so on), you want to reserve the right to immediately fire an employee who really acts badly. And you will also want to avoid any hint of a promise that employees will not be fired unless they engage in specified misconduct - you may find that your employees dream up bad acts you never considered, or that you have to fire employees for reasons entirely separate from their performance (an economic downturn or plant closing, for example).
Once you know that an employee has violated a company rule, you will have to dispense some of that discipline promised in your policy.

Here are some guidelines to follow:
•     Don't procrastinate. Once you have determined that discipline is in order, set up a meeting with the employee right away. The sooner you place the employee on notice, the sooner he or she will be able to improve.
•     Keep it private. Schedule a meeting with your employee to discuss the problem, one on one. Make sure you can meet in a private place, away from eavesdropping co-workers and office gossip.
•     Be honest. Your natural tendency may be to accentuate the positive, but now is not the time to indulge it. The purpose of this meeting is to notice and improve poor behavior. You must tell the employee precisely what the problem is, what steps he or she must take to correct it, and the consequences of failing to do so.
•     Be respectful. Even bad news is best delivered with respect. Let your employee know that you want him or her to improve, and that you will help if you can. Set aside enough time for the meeting so that the employee will have an opportunity to respond. Make sure to listen to your employee's concerns; it may be that a performance problem is the result of a misunderstanding, or could be easily corrected if you work together.
•     Write it down. Document every disciplinary meeting, action or discussion with each of your employees, and place that record in the employee's personnel file. In the case of a written warning, give the employee a copy of the warning and ask him or her to sign it to acknowledge receipt. These records will help you later, if that employee decides to file a lawsuit.
•     Follow up. If you tell your employee that you must see improvement by a certain date, make sure to follow up. Check with your employee periodically to make sure everything is proceeding smoothly.
It is essential that all employees accept personal responsibility for maintaining high standards of conduct and job performance, including observance of WPI rules and policies. Violations of these standards will result in disciplinary action. Disciplinary action is considered a dimension of performance evaluation. It is a corrective process to help employees overcome work-related shortcomings, strengthen work performance and achieve success.

Supervisors are encouraged to discuss what is the appropriate course of action in a particular case with the Human Resources staff prior to taking any disciplinary action. The penalty may vary due to extenuating circumstances or prior violations and each case should be evaluated on its own set of circumstances.
In dealing with deficiencies in conduct and work performance, the University tries to be fair and consistent in its treatment of employees. Many factors are taken into consideration if it becomes necessary to discipline an employee, including the nature and seriousness of the offense, the employee's past record, the total impact on the employee's department and on the University, and any mitigating or aggravating circumstances. In general, discipline for employees is applied in progressive steps as follows:
1. Oral warning
2. Written warning
3. Final written warning, suspension and/or disciplinary probation
4. Termination of employment

This policy is not contractual in nature and does not constitute an agreement that any particular procedure or rule will apply. The nature of the offense and the particular circumstances determine whether or not all or any of the steps in the above sequence are followed. Disciplinary steps may be omitted, accelerated, or repeated as the University determines appropriate.

The purpose of disciplinary measures short of termination is corrective, to encourage employees to improve their conduct or performance so that they may continue their employment with the University. The University expects all employees to behave in a mature and responsible manner and to perform their jobs conscientiously, without the need of disciplinary action. These corrective disciplinary measures will not apply in the event of any offense that the University determines to warrant immediate termination of employment or in other circumstances when the University determines that corrective measures would be ineffectual or otherwise inappropriate.

Oral Warnings: If an employee is given an oral warning the employee is informed of the warning by his/her manager. The warning is also recorded by the manager in writing and the record is placed in the employee's personnel file.

Written Warnings: If an employee is issued a written warning or a final written warning, the manager will meet with the employee to discuss the disciplinary action and the employee will be asked to sign the warning. The employee's signature is only an acknowledgment that the employee has been informed of the warning; it does not indicate agreement with the warning. All written warnings are retained in the employee's file.


Disciplinary Probation: An employee may be placed on disciplinary probation for unsatisfactory performance or conduct. An employee placed on disciplinary probation will be given a written notice of probation, which generally provides an explanation of the reason for the action, the length of the probationary period and a plan of corrective action to be successfully completed during the period. The employee's manager will meet with the employee to discuss the terms of the disciplinary probation, and the employee will be asked to sign the notice of probation as an acknowledgement that the employee has been informed of the action. A copy of the notice is retained in the employee's personnel file.

At the conclusion of the probationary period, and from time to time during the period, as appropriate, the employee's manager will meet with the employee to review his/her progress.

An employee on disciplinary probation who does not show satisfactory improvement is subject to further disciplinary action at any time, up to and including termination of employment.

Investigative Suspension: A suspension from work may be appropriate when circumstances require an investigation and it does not appear practical or desirable or in the best interests of the University or of the employee for the employee to remain at work during that investigation. An investigative suspension is not itself a disciplinary measure. If, at the conclusion of the investigation, the investigative suspension is not converted to a disciplinary suspension or discharge, the employee will be reinstated and will be paid at his/her normal straight-time rate for all regularly scheduled work missed during the suspension.

Disciplinary Suspension: A disciplinary suspension is a suspension from work without pay for one or more days for a repeated or serious infraction of University rules or policies. A record of the suspension is retained in the employee's personnel file.

Misconduct During the Probation Period: The disciplinary action policy is not normally applied to new employees during the probationary period. Unsatisfactory performance or any infraction of University rules or policies or other misconduct during this period may result in immediate termination of employment. Probationary employees are not eligible to use the grievance procedure.

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grievance resolution, grievance redressal procedure, advantages of formal mechanism of grievance redressal, Employee Relations, MS-24

Explain various approaches of grievance resolution. Describe the role of HR department in grievance redressal procedure in your organization or any organization you are familiar with. Discuss the advantages of formal mechanism of grievance redressal. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.

Purposes of the Grievance Procedure:
The primary purposes of a grievance procedure are to: (1) channel conflict into an institutionalized mechanism for peaceful resolution; (2) facilitate communication between labor and management regarding problems that arise in a collective bargaining relationship; (3) enable employees to complain with dignity knowing that there is a system of appeals leading to an impartial decision-maker; and (4) enforce compliance with the terms and conditions negotiated by the parties.
Handling Employee Complaints: The following checklist is provided as guidance when an employee comes to you with a complaint:

CHECKLIST FOR HANDLING EMPLOYEE COMPLAINTS:
1.        PREREQUISITES:
A.    Know the contract.
B.    Make sure that meetings with employees to handle complaints are held in accordance with any
contract provisions that regulate the time and/or location for such meetings.
C.   Develop good listening and note taking skills.
D.   Be prepared to spend the time to get the evidence and testimony to support your case and to refute
management's case.
E.   Treat all employees fairly and consistently.
F.    Do not make judgments about the case to the employee or anyone else until you get the facts. G.   Keep good records of all transactions, oral and written, that occur from the time a complaint is
brought to you until the case is resolved in the grievance procedure or in arbitration. H.    Know who, when and how to ask for help.

2.     INTERVIEW:
A.    Let the employee tell his/her story without interruption. Take notes. When the employee has
finished, ask, "Is there anything else you would like to add?"
B.    Review the employee's description of the case with him/her to make sure you have all the facts.
Make sure you get the answers to the questions who, what, when, where, why and how.
C.   Ask the employee for the names, addresses and telephone numbers of any witnesses. Then ask
the employee to tell you what he/she thinks each witness knows about the case. Record this
information. Try to clarify any uncertainties about what a witness is supposed to know.
D.   Ask the employee to give you all of the evidence he/she has concerning the case. Make copies so
that no information is lost
E.    Before the employee leaves, check one more time to make sure you have all the facts, names of witnesses and evidence.

3.        REVIEW:
A.    Refer to the grievance procedure in the contract to make sure the issue the employee has raised is
defined as a proper subject of a grievance. If you are uncertain, ask for help. If the issue is not a
proper subject of a grievance, the best thing to do is to tell the employee and explain how this
affects his/her case.
B.    Check to make sure that the procedural requirements set forth in the grievance procedure have
been complied with. Key considerations include:
Is the complaint timely?
Who should the employee and/or union representative meet with at the first step?
What information must be presented by both parties at tfirst step?
C.    Review the contract provisions alleged to have been violated to make sure they fit the issue described by the employee and that no provisions have been left out.
D.   Review the evidence. Go through all the documents the employee has given you. Make sure everything is dated and signed. Carefully check the content of each document to find out what it actually states, if this information pertains to the case and is timely. Check for inconsistencies in the documents and between the documents and the information the employee has given you. Make a list of all inconsistencies. Check to see if the documents contain the names of other potential witnesses that the employee did not mention and/or that might be called by management. Make a list of these persons and find out how to contact them.
E.    Find out is there is any other evidence, e.g., rules and regulations, past grievances and arbitration decisions, past practice, documents in the employee's personnel file that he/she may not have, etc., that have a bearing on the case as viewed by both the union and the employer. Request documents from the employer as appropriate, in a timely fashion and in writing.
F.    Match the evidence you have with the list of potential witnesses. Make a list of questions to ask each witness when you interview them. Be sure to include at the end of each list the questions, "Is there anything else you would like to add?" and "Do you know of any other witnesses?"
G.   Interview witnesses. Apply the guidelines as set forth in II. Also, carefully check the following things as you consider what witnesses state that they know about the case:
Does the witness have direct personal knowledge about what happened or is his/her knowledge based only on hearsay (i.e., second hand)?
Is the witness credible (i.e., able to give a reasonable explanation about the events, and an honest, accurate accounting even if this means revealing negative things about his/her record/conduct)?
Does the witness' statement confirm what the employee has said, or are there differences/inconsistencies?
Does the witness have any reason to be less than truthful in stating what he/she knows about the case?
If there is more than one witness who knows about a given event, note which ones would be best able to present clear testimony under the pressure of examination and cross-examination at an arbitration hearing.
Verify name, address, telephone, work shift and location.
4.        ANALYSIS:
A.   After you have thoroughly reviewed all of these matters, you may find that a complaint is not grievable/arbitrable or that the case lacks merit. One way to proceed is to explain your findings to the employee and ask if there is any additional information he/she has that might have a bearing on the case. If not, you should be guided by local or international union policy and perhaps by counsel, in determining how to handle this situation. Grievances lacking merit should be screened out to conserve a union's resources for other cases. This can be done by committee in consultation with an international representative or counsel. This determination should be made with care because unions have a legal duty to fairly represent all employees in the bargaining unit whether or not they are union members.
B.    Can you account for any inconsistencies in the case and, if so, how?
C.   Are there any mitigating circumstances that could explain the employee's behavior and thus lessen or remove any disciplinary action?
D.    Does the evidence and testimony the union has demonstrate one or all of the following:

Disparate treatment;
Arbitrary and capricious action; and/or
Discrimination.
E.   Are there any past practices which pertain to the case and, if so, how?
F.    Does the evidence and testimony the union has support the remedy requested or should some
modification be made in that remedy? G.   Do you have hard evidence and testimony based upon direct personal knowledge to support your case or is your case largely based upon circumstantial evidence? H.   Is the remedy requested reasonable or is it nonsensical, outside the scope of the employer's or of an arbitrator's authority to grant? Would it be impossible to implement even if granted, etc.?
I.     Is the contract provision(s) you are relying upon modified by more specific language in the provision or elsewhere in the contract?
J.    Where rules and regulations are concerned, have they been posted and given to employees, are they reasonable and have they been fairly, consistently and equitably enforced?
K.   What has been the outcome of other similarly situated cases? Does this information help or hurt your case? How?
L.    Once you have reviewed and analyzed all these considerations with respect to the union case, prepare a summary of what you think the employer's response will be and determine if you have a sound rebuttal for each of the points the employer could raise.

6. FILING:
Be sure to properly and timely complete the grievance form. This includes such items as: names; dates; signatures; clear and accurate statement of the complaint; contract clauses alleged to have been violated; and remedy requested.
This is a checklist, not a magic wand. It highlights key points to consider in handling employee complaints. This task is time consuming and requires the application of a number of skills. There are no real short cuts. If you take them, an employer will usually find them at some stage in the grievance procedure or in arbitration. The result may be very damaging involving not only loss of a case that might have been won, but also expenditures of time, other resources and credibility that a union can ill afford.


Handling Discipline and Discharge Cases:
In all likelihood, most of the grievances you handle will involve discipline or discharge. Since management is the party that took the action, (i.e., is the moving party) the BURDEN OF PROOF is on the employer to show that it has just cause for such action. This means that, in arbitration, management must go first in showing what evidence and testimony it has to support the action taken. A union then responds with the evidence and testimony it has in defense of the grievant and as rebuttal to the case presented by the employer. There are 7 commonly accepted tests for just cause. These are:
1. If a rule is alleged to have been violated, was that rule reasonable?
2. Was the grievant given adequate notice that the conduct complained about was improper?
3. Was the alleged offense sufficiently investigated?
4. Was the investigation fair?
5. Was the misconduct proved?
6.     Did the employee receive equal treatment with all others who have committed a similar offense? If not, were there any mitigating circumstances?
7.     Was the penalty appropriate for the offense committed?

Refer back to the Checklist for Handling Complaints to remind yourself of the type of information you must collect to support a complaint in a discipline or discharge case. Remember to find out: who; what; when; where; why; and how. Collect all of the evidence and interview witnesses, then review and analyze these in relation to the 7 tests listed above. This will give you an idea of the strength of support for the union's case. Remember, you must also consider what evidence and testimony management may be able to present and assess your case accordingly.

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Conciliation, Arbitration, Adjudication, Employee Relations, MS-24

Distinguish between conciliation, Arbitration and adjudication. Which of these procedures is being used in your organization or any organizational you are familiar with. Give reasons why this particular procedure is being used. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.

Conciliation:- Conciliation is a process by which a third party assists the parties to resolve their dispute by agreement. A conciliator may do this by expressing an opinion about the merits of the dispute.
•    How does conciliation differ from other dispute resolution processes? Conciliation is similar to mediation in that the role of the conciliator is to assist the parties to reach an agreed resolution. Unlike mediation, a conciliator will express an opinion about the merits of the dispute. Unlike arbitration and expert determination (and litigation), the conciliator does not decide the disputs for the parties.
•    Conciliation can provide a quick, cheap, confidential means of resolving disputes.
Conciliation, as opposed to mediation, can be useful where one of the parties has
unrealistic expectations about the dispute and a more pro-active approach to the merits
may assist in resolving the matter.
Conciliation may also be useful where the parties wish to have their dispute resolved by
objective considerations of what is appropriate, rather than purely by agreement between
the parties.
•    Conciliation can be used with a broad range of disputes.
•    It is best to conciliate as soon as possible. If conciliation occurs early, positions have not become entrenched and expense has not been incurred.
•    The cost of conciliation depends on the nature of the dispute and the number of parties involved. It also depends on any additional work performed by the conciliator eg providing a formal opinion. In general, however, a dispute resolved through conciliation will have involved less expense than resolution through litigation.
•    The process followed is similar to the process for a mediation, involving discussion between the parties. A conciliation may focus more on the merits of the parties' positions. The parties may provide information to the conciliator to enable the conciliator to give an opinion about issues in dispute or the parties positions. The approach to be taken by the conciliator is something which will be discussed at the initial preliminary meeting.
•    Parties to conciliation proceedings will have signed a formal agreement regulating the process. Included in the agreement will be provisions requiring the parties to maintain the confidentiality of information disclosed in the conciliation.
•    Parties are best able to negotiate if they know what their rights and obligations are, before and during the process.

Arbitration:- Arbitration occurs where parties agree to have a third party, the arbitrator, determine a dispute which has arisen between them.
In Western Australia, arbitration is governed by the Commercial Arbitration Act, 1985. A copy of the Act can be obtained from www.slp.wa.gov.au/statutes/swans.nsf An arbitrator's determination is called an "award". A party to arbitration can apply to the Court to have the award determination registered as a judgment of the Court.
•    Arbitration differs from litigation in that it is consensual: the parties must agree to resolve their dispute by arbitration. Unlike mediation or conciliation, an arbitrator decides the dispute. Generally, an arbitrator may only act on material provided by the parties. A table showing the differences between arbitration and other dispute resolution processes can be found here, download PDF version or RTF version.
•    Arbitration can be quicker, simpler and less formal than litigation. Arbitration is also more private that court proceedings. Members of the public and representatives of the media cannot attend arbitration proceedings and listen to the evidence. Parties can agree that the outcome of the arbitration shall be confidential.
•    Generally, parties to arbitration are assisted by retaining lawyers to represent them. An arbitrator will not provide legal advice to the parties about their position.
•    An award made by an arbitrator can be registered in the Supreme Court and enforced in the same way as a Supreme Court judgment.
•    Arbitrators' decisions on questions of fact are final and binding. It is possible to appeal an arbitrator's decision on a question of law made by an arbitrator, but only with permission from the Court. The grounds on which permission will be granted are limited.
•    The parties bear the costs of an arbitration, including the arbitrator's fees. The arbitrator can order an unsuccessful party to contribute to the successful party's legal costs, as in court proceedings. Expert Determination
•    In expert determination, the parties get an independent third party, who is expert in a particular field, to adjudicate on a dispute within the field of expertise.
•    An expert determination is similar to arbitration in that the expert makes a determination of the issues, rather than getting the parties to agree on the resolution of the matter, as in mediation. Unlike a court, an expert making a determination can take into account his knowledge and expertise.

•    Expert determination is suitable for determination of 'simple' issues requiring technical expertise or evaluation, such as the value of a piece of land, or the amount of notice to which an employee is entitled. Expert determination is sometimes used where the parties want to reduce the chance that the decision will be appealed or the process contested.
•    Expert determination can avoid the need for a formal hearing, which can make it both cheap and efficient. There are very limited avenues for challenging a decision made by an expert appraiser.
•    The cost depends on the nature of the dispute and the approach of the parties and the expert. Because the procedure can be very informal, and the parties do not generally put evidence to the expert, the process should be cheaper than determination the same issue in court or by arbitration.
•     The procedure for an expert determination is largely a matter for the parties, or, if they
make no agreement, for the expert.

The expert determination process is very flexible. Generally, it involves:
(1) a meeting between the expert and the parties about the conduct of the determination;
(2)     the     provision     of     information     to     the     expert     by     the     parties.
(3) a determination by the expert.
•    The parties may agree that all aspects of the process and the outcome shall be confidential. Scott's standard expert determination agreement can be accessed here.
•    Generally, parties to an expert determination are assisted by retaining lawyers to represent their interests. An expert determiner does not provide advice to parties about their legal position.
This depends on the particular process chosen for the expert determination. Generally, it will be necessary for background information to the provided to the expert to assist in the determination. It is not usually necessary for the parties to give oral evidence.

Adjudication:- Adjudication is the process for rapid resolution of disputes about payment for construction work in Western Australia established by the Construction Contracts Act, 2004.
•    Only claims made under a "construction contract" can be dealt with by this process. The definition of "construction contract" in the Act includes contracts for construction work, the supply of goods to site, the provision of related professional and on site services. Claims include both claims by a contractor for performance of work and claims by a principal against the contractor.
•    Adjudicators may be nominated in the contract, selected by the applicant or selected by a "prescribed appointor" under the Act. Adjudicators must be registered under the Act.

The procedure for adjudications is set out in the Act and the Construction Contract Regulations, 2004. Potential claimants should seek separate advice concerning these requirements. In broad terms, an application must be served on all the parties to the contract and the adjudicator or appointing body within 28 days after a payment dispute arises. This time limit cannot be extended. If the claim is not made within 28 days, a claimant cannot pursue adjudication under the Act in respect of that dispute. However, this does not stop the claimant suing in court or commencing arbitration proceedings. The respondent then has 14 days within which to respond. The determination must be made within 28 days after the initial application (unless the parties agree to extend time). Generally the determination will be made on the basis of the parties' written application and response.

An adjudicator's determination may, with the permission of the Court, be enforced like a Court judgment.
Generally there is no right of appeal from a determination of an adjudicator under the Act.   However,  if there are any further proceedings between the parties (such as arbitration or litigation), the parties are not bound by the adjudicator's determination. Generally parties to a dispute are assisted by lawyers.   The adjudication process is, however, intended to be informal and simple.
The costs of the process overall depend on the complexity of the claim and the amount of material submitted by the parties. Generally, the parties must pay their own costs and must share the adjudicator's costs.

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Collective Bargaining, Process of Collective Bargaining, Merits and Demerits of Collective Bargaining

Explain the nature and context of collective bargaining. Describe the process of collective Bargaining. Identify the merits and demerits of collective bargaining, with example. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.

Collective bargaining is defined in some of the ILO publications as:
"Negotiation a about working conditions and terms of employment between an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers' organisations, on the one hand and one or more representative workers' organisations on the other with a view to reaching agreement." The ILO convention No. 98 on the "Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining, 1948 is aimed at protecting workers who are exercising the right to organise; non-interference between workers' and employers' organisation; promotion of voluntary collective bargaining. The convention provides that:
•    Workers shall enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti—union discrimination.
•    They shall be protected more particularly against refusal to employ them by reason of their trade union membership and against dismissal or any other prejudice by reason of union membership or participation in trade union activities.
•    Workers' and employers' organisations shall enjoy protection against acts of interference by each other. This protection is extended in particular against acts designed to promote the domination, the financing or the control of workers' organisation by employers or employers' organisations.
•     Machinery appropriate to national conditions shall be established, where necessary, for the purpose of ensuring respect for the right to organise as defined by the Convention.
•    Measures appropriate to national conditions shall be taken, where necessary to encourage and promote the development and utilisation of voluntary collective bargaining to regulate terms and conditions of employment.

The Convention neither authorizes nor prohibits union security arrangements. Also, the extent to which guarantees provided for in the convention apply to the armed forces and the police is to be determined by national laws or regulations. In 1978, convention No. 151 was adopted on Labour Relations in Public Services which provides that measures to encourage and promote the negotiation of terms and conditions of employment for public employees or such other methods as will allow their representatives to participate in the determination of these matters. The settlement of disputes is to be sought through negotiation between the parties, or through independent and impartial machinery such as mediation,, conciliation and arbitration. We are take example of Public sector

• Core sector industries like steel, coal and ports and docks are characaterised by nation-cum-industry-wide bargaining. The steel agreement covers the private sector giant, Tata Iron & Steel Company Limited also. The most interesting part of agreements in steel industry is that there are over 240 trade unions organised into several trade union federations within the public sector steel company, steel Authority of India Ltd.. The procedure for recognition of trade unions in different public sector steel plants located in different states is not common or uniform, and in several of these there is more than one recognised trade union. In contrast, the private sector giant, TISCO, has had since its inception in early 1900 only one recognised trade union. Yet, for the steel industry covering both public and private sector integrated steel plants there is one National Joint consultative Forum for steel Industry which enters into an agreements once every three or four years. So far five such agreements were entered into since early 1970s. Invariably, there is a supplementary agreement at the plant level to cover aspects not covered in the national level agreement.

• Public sector is engaged in a wide variety of economic industrial and trading activities. Some are high tech and capital intensive. While others are labour intensive. With the result, the share of labour cost in total cost varies from about two percent to over 60 percent. Yet, over the years the government has been insistent upon a measure of uniformity in base wage/salary levels and frings benefits in the entire public sector, irrespective of the nature of industry and paying capacity of firm as determined by its financial performance. For the public sector as a whole at least in the units owned by the Central Government the government being the employer the logic seems to be that it should not distinguish or discriminate between employees in one type of firm with those in the other. With similar requirement not being applicable to private sector, at least in areas where public sector competes with private sector or where both private and public sectors operate, reward systems in private sectors relatively seem to be more geared to the specific requirements and circumstances of the industry and the firm than is the case with public sector.

• The tendency to indirectly centralise the bargaining outcomes on the part of government result in a competitive bargaining whereby at different points of time different companies are projected to bargain first so that others can negotiate for at least what the trial blazer could negotiate. In the late 1970s coal and steel BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited) agreements served such a purpose.

This article needs improvement. If you have material on Collective Bargaining, please comment/share with suggestions.

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Central Trade Union Organization, Union Structure and its Functions, Tripartite Forums, Strengthening of Trade Unions, Employee Relations, MS-24

Which are the central trade union organization recognized by the central government for the purpose of tripartite forums. Describe the trade union structure and its functions with respect to your organization or any organization you are familiar with. Suggest measures for further strengthening of trade unions. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.

With changes in the political, economic and social situation the nature of labour relations has also changed. Employers and workers and their organizations have been granted greater possibilities of collective bargaining. Tripartite cooperation is being strengthened in Lithuania and the principle of tripartism was accepted in 1994 when the Seimas ratified the relevant Conventions of the ILO.

In democratic societies social dialogue is executed at bilateral and trilateral levels. As already mentioned, bilateral partnerships in Lithuania used to be implemented through collective bargaining, and collective agreements were concluded at company level. The main obstacle to social partnership at a higher level was the fact that for a long time there were no employers' organizations, or they were very small. In addition Lithuania lacked a stable centralized negotiation mechanism, as well as a sound legal basis for collective bargaining. In addition, the social partners lacked knowledge and experience.

As a result it was not until 1995 that the first tripartite agreement was concluded between the Government, trade unions and employers. The agreement was signed by representatives of four national trade union centres: the Lithuanian Trade Union Centre (LPSC), the Lithuanian Trade Union Federation (LPSS), the Lithuanian Labour Union (LDS) and the Lithuanian Labour Federation (LDF). It was also signed by representatives of the most influential employers' organizations: the Lithuanian Industry Confederation (LPK) and the Lithuanian Business Confederation (LVK). On behalf of the Government, the agreement was signed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania.

This agreement is a short document more like a declaration, stating that it has been agreed to solve social, economic and labour problems on a tripartite basis, to cooperate in implementing social, economic and labour policy, to establish a Tripartite Council and to sign an agreement every year.
Many observers are sceptical about the impact of the new Tripartite Council. Decisions taken by the constituents are rarely reflected in legislation adopted by the Seimas or administrative decisions implemented by Government. There is an impression that the Government seeks political credit for playing the game of consultation but is not prepared to allow other parties any real influence over the decision-making process.

Between 1995 and 1998 the Tripartite Council met 24 times and discussed 170 issues. The topics most frequently on the agenda were:
• amendments to the Law on State Social Insurance;
• the establishment of a non-governmental pension fund;
• the consequences of illegal employment;
• the laws on bankruptcy, employment contract and labour payment.

On many occasions employers at the Tripartite Council tried to influence government decisions on the minimum wage. However, until 1999 suggestions from the social partners did not have a significant influence on government policy.

Trade unions and employers have submitted proposals for a new Law on General Agreements and Collective Agreements, aiming to establish salary levels and terms, especially the minimum wage.
The European Commission has positively influenced the work of the Tripartite Council, indicating shortcomings in the level of social dialogue and the influence of tripartite institutions in the labour market in its conclusions concerning Lithuania's readiness for joining the EU. This forced the Government to pay serious attention to union and employer suggestions and to allow the Tripartite Council a decisive vote on certain issues.

On 11 February 1999 a new general tripartite collaboration agreement was concluded. This agreement was signed by the Prime Minister, chairpersons of the trade union national centres, and the presidents of three employers' organizations. The group was supplemented by one more business confederation.

The parties agreed on:

• exchanging information on labour, social and economic issues, holding consultations, preparing and coordinating draft legislation, and discussing the most serious problems at the Tripartite Council;
• respecting the terms of tripartite agreements in their activities and accepting the decisions of the Tripartite Council.
The parties' obligations were laid down in the agreement. The Government undertook responsibility to:
• inform the social partners about draft legislation on social and economic issues and submit draft laws for discussion at the Tripartite Council;
• inform the Seimas of the conclusions of the Tripartite Council;
• ensure that decisions on serious labour, social and economic issues are adopted after the Tripartite Council discussions.

Having signed this agreement trade unions and employers' organizations
undertook not to initiate disputes or other actions on the understanding that government will respect its obligations.

This agreement also provided that:

•     an annual tripartite agreement on the minimum hourly wage (monthly salary), on income tax and on other serious social and economic issues should be signed;
•     the structure of tripartite cooperation should be developed; a committee should be established at the Tripartite Council and that tripartite bodies in the provinces and municipalities should be expanded to increase the effectiveness of their activities;
•     the social partners should collaborate in preparation for EU membership, hold consultations and exchange information concerning their representation in international organizations;
•     trade unions and employers' organizations should work together in concluding collective agreements and contracts;
•     consultation should be strengthened and joint training activities should be promoted. The Government has undertaken to publish tripartite agreements in the official journal called "The State News".
During the last two years, cooperation between trade unions and employers has become more active. Some amendments to draft laws, such as the Law on Labour Disputes, the Law on Collective Agreements, and the Law on Extra Payment for Hazardous Conditions were put forward by the joint employer/union Task Force.

The unions are constantly looking for ways to obtain information at company and national level. One possibility might be to establish cooperation committees which would collect information about the company's economic situation and short-term plans, orders implemented and the market situation, future changes, reorganization and reductions in the workforce. The role of cooperation committees would be to discuss, to influence labour relations and to inform employees of planned changes. Although employers' organizations did not support the above suggestion, positive changes have been achieved in the sphere of information.

At present the Government is amending the Law on Support of the Unemployed, granting unions the right to be informed of lay-offs beforehand and to consult with employers on protecting workers. Employers will have to inform trade unions or employees (in the absence of unions) of planned collective dismissals two months in advance. Labour exchanges and local government offices will also have to be informed in advance.

Tripartite bodies
The National Tripartite Council is composed of 15 members, five representatives of each partner. Government is represented by the Ministers of Social Security and Labour, Finance, Industry, Agriculture, and Justice. The Council analyses and makes suggestions on social, economic and labour issues. The chair is appointed for a four-month period and rotates among members of the Council.
In addition to the National Council there are a number of other tripartite bodies functioning at national level.

In 1991 the State Social Insurance Fund Council was established. It consists of 15 members (five representatives each of trade unions, employers and the state). All social insurance matters are within the competence of the Council, which is the longest serving tripartite institution and has decision-making power.

A Tripartite Committee of the Labour Exchange of the Republic was established in 1991, as well as Tripartite Committees for local labour exchanges in the cities and regions.

The social partners were not active on the Tripartite Committees for local labour exchanges during the early years because employers and trade union representatives were not ready for the role, as they lacked competence and knowledge. Activity was low and there was submissive approval of projects prepared by local labour exchanges. However, these Committees have made good progress in the last few years due to special training courses for representatives. The Government is making promising efforts to develop these activities, based on the experience of EU countries in solving employment and social problems on a tripartite basis.

In 1996 the Citizens Employment Council was formed at the Ministry of Social Security and Labour. The Council is the Employment Fund's management board, operating on a tripartite basis.
In 1995 an Expert Council was established at the Lithuanian Labour Market Training Service. This is a tripartite advisory and supervisory institution. Its task is to support the development of a labour market vocational training and consulting system, to improve its functioning and relations with labour market partners.

The Lithuanian Occupational Safety Committee was established in 1994. It consists of 15 members (five representatives each of employers, workers and Government).

In 1997 the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund Council was established. Two-thirds of the members represent the health system and there are also two trade union representatives.

In 1995 a permanent commission was established for tripartite consultation on labour standards implementation.

In 1997 the Council of the Fund to Fulfil Employees' Claims Related to Labour Relations of Bankrupt Enterprises and Enterprises under Bankruptcy was established.
The development of industrial relations and local trade unions
At present there are more than 100 laws regulating labour relations. As most issues are regulated by law the social partners at enterprise level have little freedom of action. The rights of the unions and employers in the formation of industrial relations are defined by the Law on Trade Unions, Law on Collective Agreements and Law on Collective Disputes. The Constitution provides that trade unions in Lithuania may be created freely and act independently. Their purpose is to protect employees' rights and interests in labour, economic and social matters.

The right to trade union membership is promoted for all workers who are not younger than 14 years of age and who are employed under a labour contract or on any other basis. The employer and the employer's attorney are not allowed to join trade union organizations at enterprise level.
Trade unions may be established on an occupational, enterprise, industry or regional level, or any other level defined by the trade union itself. Most unions are organized on an industry basis, and include all workers in an industry regardless of qualifications or position. A trade union may be established in any enterprise, institution or organization by not less than 30 employees or one-fifth of the workforce, whichever is less. (However, there is a minimum requirement of three employees to form a union). A trade union is considered to be established when employees hold a constituent meeting, adopt statutes and elect representatives and a chairperson.

Unions must act in accordance with their statutes. They have a general duty to monitor management compliance with labour laws, health and safety issues, and agreed terms of payment. Employers must grant unions the necessary facilities and provide them with the information they need to carry on their functions.
Unions have the right to demand that the employer reverse decisions which are in breach of the economic and social rights of union members. If an employer fails to reverse a decision within ten days of the union demand, the union may take the issue to court.

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constitutional and legal framework of Industrial Relations, maintaining effective employment relations, Employee Relations, MS-24

Explain the constitutional and legal framework of Industrial Relations. Discuss how constitutional and legal framework is being used in maintaining effective employment relations citing examples from your organization or any organization you are familiar with. Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.

For long several commissions and commissions debated reforms to industrial relations seeking to amend trade union act to make registration requirements relatively more stringent than at present (from any 7 being able to form a union proposed to be revised to 100 or 10% of the employees), provide for statutory mechanism for recognition, deny industrial relations to unregistered/minority unions, and specify more clearly not only trade union rights, but also trade union obligations/responsibilities. The Dispute Act is also proposed to be amended to provide for more emphasis on relations than disputes and set up an independent Industrial Relations Commfssion in the place of existing dispute resolving machinery. Proposals have also been made to consider constitution-negotiating councils where there is more than one union.

The central law, Trade Unions Act, 1926 provides for trade union registration, not trade union recognition. By convention, all registered unions have begun to have industrial relations rights, de facto, though not de jure. With the law permitting any seven employees being able to form and register a union, the ground was open for a variety of craft, category, caste, etc., based unions. Labour being a concurrent subject, certain state governments (like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh) have passed separate legislations provided mandatory mechanism for trade union recognition. Certain states like Andhra Pradesh made secret ballot a must. But statutory provisions concerning union recognition did not, unfortunately, ease conflict on this count. The biggest strike in post-independence India occurred in the Bombay Textile Industry in 1982 over the issue of, primarily, representative character of two rival unions. A variety of methods are available for determining the representative union. It can be done through any of the following methods: secret ballot, check-off of membership verification. Union shop method is not prevalent in India. However, selection of representative union for recognition as collective bargaining agent which is necessary to engage in collective bargaining has itself become a major problem because different national federations of trade unions did not agree to a common methods and left the problem for settlement according to location realities! Even the National Labour Commission has left it vaguely. Proposals to alter the situation, along with other major changes in the Trade Unions Act have become abortive since 1978.
In India, the role of national federations of trade unions and employers' organisations is limited, in collective bargaining, to a small nucleus of industrial associations which have a long tradition of collective negotiations with their counterpart trade union federations of workers. Among such employer associations, notable mention may be made of the Ahmedabad Mill Owners' Association, Ahmedabad, the Bombay Mill Owners' Association, Bombay, the Indian Sugar Mills Association, New Delhi, the Tea Association of India, Calcutta, the Indian Jute Mills Association, Calcutta, the Cement Manufacturers' Association, New Delhi, the United Planters Association of South India, coonoor, the Southern India Mill Owners' Association, Coimbatore, the Indian Banks Association, Bombay and the Indian Port Association, New Delhi. The confederation of Indian Industry, which till last year (1991) represented mainly the engineering Industry, which negotiating region-cum-industry agreements for member firms who assigned to them in writing such responsibility.

"The role of industry associations in collective bargaining seem to vary depending upon the profile and background of industry and entrepreneurship. In a traditional, the engineering industry, profession managers are the charge of variations in processes and outcomes are discernible in each case which merit detailed study."

In some Industrial centres, both trade unions and employers, particularly have set up coordination committees to adopt a joint/collective strategy to deal with collective bargaining and related matters. This process has started in Bangalore and Hyderabad and spread to other places. Industry wise coordination is also taking place with the commencement of industry wide agreements in core sectors like coal and steel. Oil industry, all of which is in public sector now, also has a coordination committee though it does not have an industry wide agreement.

For public employees, Joint Consultative Machinery and Board of Arbitration have been constituted. Public pay is revised through pay commissions which are usually adopted once every 12 years or so. The significant gap between central government pay systems and industrial pay systems created considerable heartburn and discontent to those who feel they were adversely affected particularly in the wake of some Supreme Court judgments pronouncing public sector as the State.

In a few industries such as cement arbitration has replaced collective bargaining over wages and working conditions while in others like media (newspapers) and sugar wage boards still decide the wages and working conditions. In all other cases, with all its distortions, collective bargaining is the main mechanism through which wages and working conditions are decided. Over the years, the scope of collective bargaining has been widened to include virtually every possible aspect of working relation including the quantum of overtime, shift manning, discipline promotions and transfers, for instance. An industrial society is highly complex and dynamic arrangement of differentiated groups, activities and institutional relationships intertwined with a variety of attitudes ad expectations. Consequently, any specific social phenomenon, such as industrial relations, cannot and should not be viewed in isolation from its wider context. The 'context' of industrial relations may usefully be divided into three major elements

The Industrial Relations 'System'. The roles, relationships, institutions, processes and activities which comprise the phenomena of industrial relations exist both in a wide variety of industries and services and at a number of levels ranging from the suborganisational (work group, section or department) and organisational (site or company) levels through the industry level to the national level. This inevitably creates a pattern of internal influences both horizontally (between different organisations/industries) and vertically (between different levels). Consequently, the industrial relations system, in terms of the attitudes and activities existing within it at any point of time, provides its down context or climate for the individual industrial relations situations.

• Other Segments of Social Activity. Industrial relations is only one segment of a society's structure and activity and as such is influenced by, and in turn influences, other segments of the society's activity. The economic, social and political segments are of particular importance in this respect. Actions or changes in these areas may directly stimulate or constrain specific industrial relations activities as well as indirectly influence the attitudes of the participants. It is important to recognise that these environments exert an influence at all levels of industrial relations and therefore, as Fox argues, "organisational issues, conflicts and values are inextricably bound up with those of society at large".

• Time. The present is only part of a continuum between the past and the future; consequently, current industrial relations owes much to its past (whether last week, last year, the last decade or even the last century) and the participant's goals and expectations for the future. At the micro level, the time context may be evidenced in two ways: (a) today's problem stems from yesterday's decision and its solution will, as the environment change, become a problem in the future, and (b) the attitudes, expectations and relationships manifest by the participants are, at least in part, the product of their past individual and collective experiences. At the macro level, industrial relations as a whole is subject to adjustment and development as society, expressed through changes in the economic, social and political environments, it change and develop.

At the same time it is important to recognise that the 'mass media' provide an additional, and very significant, context for industrial relations by virtue of their role in shaping attitudes, opinions and expectations. Any individual, whether as a manager, trade unionist or part of the 'general public', has only a partial direct experience of the full range of activities present in a society. Most knowledge and appreciation of economic, social, politcal and industrial relations affairs is, therefore, gained indirectly from the facts and opinions disseminated through newspapers and television.

APPROACHES TO INSUSTRIAL RELATIONS

The term 'industrial relations' is used to denote a specialist area of organizational management and study which is concerned with a particular set of phenomena associated with regulating the human activity of employment. It, is however, difficult to define the boundaries of this set of phenomena, and therefore the term itself, in a precise and universally accepted way. Any more specific definition must, of necessity, assume and emphasize a particular view of the nature and purpose of industrial relations - consequently, there are as many definitions as there are writers on industrial relations. For example, the two most frequently used terms of 'industrial relations' and 'employee relations' are, in most practical senses, interchangeable; yet they have very different connotations. The former, more traditional, term reflects the original historical base of unionized manual workers within the manufacturing sector of the economy whilst the latter has come into greater use with the development of less unionized white collar employment and the service and commercial sectors of the economy. The term may be used in a very restrictive sense to include only the formal collective relationships between management and employees (through the medium of trade unions) or in an all inclusive sens to encompass all relationship associated with employment (those between individuals at the informal level as well as those of a formal collective or organisational nature). However, it is doubtful whether the two approaches can, or should, be separated so easily-informal, interpersonal or group relationships are influenced by the formal collective relationships which exist within the industrial relations system and, it may be argued, the formal collective relationships are themselves in part determined by the nature of individual relationships within organisations cannot provide a natural boundary for the subject matter of industrial relations. The way we perceive the overall nature of this area of organisational study determines to a very large extent not only how we approach and analyse specific issues and situations within industrial relations but also how we expect others to behave, how we respond to their actual behaviour and the means we adopt to influence or modify their behaviour. In examining the different approaches it is useful to differentiate between those approaches which are concerned with the industrial relations system itself

• They are primarily analytical categorizations rather than causative theories or predictive models, and
• There is no one 'right' approach; rather each approach emphasizes a particular aspect of industrial relations and taken together can provide a framework for analysing and understanding the diversity and complexity of industrial relations, i.e the complexity of the human aspect of work organisations.

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