INDIVIDUAL BARGAINING

DEFINITION
It is the bilateral approach of labour management negotiation. It is the process which
an employer and an employee negotiate an individual contract of employment,
regulating the terms and conditions of the employment.
ADVANTAGES
It can provide the most individualised solution of meeting the needs of the
parties.
It enjoys relatively low administrative costs.
It express the view and opinion of one person and thus there is no
compromising.
DISADVANTAGES
The manager will not take a lot of notice of just one persons view or
opinions and therefore nothing will happen.
Lot of chance for influence on company decision and policies.
Basically individual bargaining is same as that of collective bargaining.
It gives much strength to the employer than as collective bargaining. It is the
conditions that are to be fair and reasonable, which employees will accept and
employers will give in contract of service
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
INTRODUCTION
There are three types of approaches to labour management negotiations; unilateral,
bipartite and tripartite. In the unilateral approach the employer alone decides the term
and conditions of employment. In the bipartite, the employer negotiates with his
workers. This is known as collective bargaining.
MEANING
The phrase collective bargaining consists of two words; collective-implies group
action through its representatives and bargaining - implies negotiation. It is called
collective because both the employer and the employees act as a group rather than
individual. It is described as bargaining because the method of reaching an agreement
involves proposals and counter-proposals, offers and counter offers.
DEFINITION
Collective Bargaining is an agreement between a single employer or an association of
employers on the one hand and a labour union on the other, which regulates the terms
and conditions of employment. {TUDWIG TELLER}

Collective bargaining is a process of discussion and negotiation between two

parties, one or both of whom is a group of persons acting in a concert; more
specifically it is the procedure by which an employer or employers and a group of
employees
agree
upon
the
condition
of
the
work.
{THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SOCIAL SCIENCE}
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING TERMINOLOGY

ARBITRATION: Terminal step in the grievance procedure, where a third party

reviews the grievance, completes fact finding and reaches a decision. Always
indicates the involvement of a third party. It may be voluntary in the part of
management and labour.
CONCILIATION AND MEDIATION: synonymous terms that refers to the
activity of a 3rd party to help disputants reach an agreement.
FACT FINDING: Used frequently in labour management disputes that invole
government owned companies.
GRIEVANCE: Perception on the part of a union member that management has
failed in some way to meet the terms of labour management.
LOCKOUT: Closing a place of business by management in the course of a
labour dispute for the purpose of forcing employees to accept management
terms.
BARGAINING AGENT:A person or a group accepted by an employer and
chosen by members of the bargaining unit to represent them in collective
bargaining
BARGAINING UNIT:An employee group that the state or NATIONAL
LABOUR RELATIONS BOARD recognize as an appropriate division for
collective bargaining
OBJECTIEVES

To maintain cordial relation between employer and employee.

To promote democracy.
To protect the interest of workers.
To prevent unilateral actions to employee.
To avoid government intervention.
To ensure the participation of trade union.
Save money and time spent on legal battle.
Promote participative management.
CHARACTERISTICS
It is a group action as opposed to individual action and is initiated through the
representatives of the workers.

 It is flexible and mobile, and not fixed or static. It has fluidity and ample scope
for compromise for a mutual give and take, before the final agreement is
reached or the final settlement is arrived at.
It is a two party process. It is mutual give and take rather than a leave it or take
it method of arriving at the settlement of a dispute. Both parties are involved in
it
It is a continuous process, which provides a mechanism for continuing and
organised relationship management and a trade union.
It is dynamic and not static because it is relatively new concept and is growing;
expanding and changing.In the past it used to be emotional, turbulent and
sentimental; but now it is scientific, factual and systematic.
It is an industrial democracy at work.
PRINCIPLES
Principle for the management
a. The management must develop and consistently follow a realistic labour
policy, which should be accepted and carried out by its representatives.
b. The management must grant recognisation to the trade union or
association without any reservations and accept it as a constructive force
in the organisations
c. The management should not assure the employee goodwill always
exists.it should periodically examine the rules and regulations to
determine the attitudes and degree of comfort of its employees.
d. The management should extend fair treatment to the trade union in order
to make it a responsible and conservative body.
e. The management should not wait for the trade union to bring employee
grievances to its notice.
f. The management should deal only with the one trade union or
association in the organization.
g. While weighing economic consequences of collective in the
management should place greater emphasis on social consideration.
Principles for the trade union
a. 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
b. Trade union leaders should assist in the removal of such restrictive rules
and regulation that they are likely to increase costs and prices and prices
and reduces the amount that can be paid out as wages
c. Trade union leaders should appreciate the economic implication of
collective bargaining
d. Trade union leaders should resort to strike when all other methods of the
settlement dispute have failed
Principles for the both union and management
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a. Collective bargaining should be made an education as well bargaining process

b. The management and trade union must look upon collective bargaining as a
means of finding the best possible solutions and not as a means of acquiring as
much as while conceding the minimum
c. Both parties respect each other and should have enough bargaining power
d. There must be a mutual confidence and good faith and a desire to make
collective bargaining effective in practice.
e. There must be an honest, able and responsible leadership.
f. The two parties should meticulously observe and abide by all the national and
state level.
g. Both parties must bear in mind the fact that collective bargaining is, in a sense,
a form of price fixation.
FUNCTIONS
1. It is a rule making or legislative process
A rule making process that is undertaken jointly by representatives of
labour and management in a given agency, organisation of workers to bargain for
working condition.
2. It is a judicial process
3. It is a also an executive process
HISTORY OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Collective bargaining and unionization have existed in the limited states
since the 1970 people found that by working collectively, they could set wages and
standards for their traders. The Erdmann act, in 1898 was the first federal legislation
to deal with the collective bargaining.
HISTORY IN NURSING
LAWS
1935

National Labour Relations act came

1947

Taft Hartley act

1960

National Labour Relations Board

ISSUES
Absence of procedure for reporting unsafe or poor patient care.
Quality of patient care is number one issue.
Short staffing and improper skills mix to correspond to patient acuity.
Floating without orientation and training.
Use of temporary personnel and unlicenced assistive personnel.
Lack of respect for employee.
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Lack of autonomy.
Lack of promotional opportunities.
Lack of professional practice committee.
Lack of staff development continuing education.
Lack of child care and elder care.
Poor differential for shift work.
Low wages and limited benefits.
No pension portability.
Low morale.

IMPORTANCE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Collective bargaining results better understanding between both parties.
Both the employer and employees gain better insight into the problem
and aspirations of the workers.
Here parties are directly concerned with problems related to issue of
their industry.
Provides flexible means of adjusting wage structure and physical
facilities provided by the employer.
Both parties can meet anytime to solve the problems faced by the
employees and employers of an institution with democratic way.
Collective bargaining helps the employees from the exploitation of
employer.
LEVELS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
NATIONAL LEVEL: It is a bipartite or tripartite negotiation between union
configurations; central employers association and government agencies. It
provides a floor level bargaining on terms of employment.
SECTORAL LEVEL: it accounts for standardization of terms of employment in one
industry, includes a range of bargaining patterns
.
COMPANY LEVEL: Supplementary type of bargaining. It emphasise the point that
bargaining levels need not be mutually exclusive.
TYPES OF ACTIVTY IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS

I.

Distributive Bargaining:
In this type of activity one partys gain is the other partys loss.
When there are economic issues in dispute, then type of activity predominate in
the bargaining process. It involves bargain persistently over the distribution of

surplus. Under it, bargain on economic issues like wages,salaries,bonus are

discovered by the employees in periodic intervals.
II.

Integrative bargaining.
This is negotiation of an issue on which both parties may gain, or
at least neither one loses. For e.g. training of employees for particular work and
programe;special evaluation system for performance approval

III.

Attitudinal structuring.
The process of collective bargaining helps in shaping such
attitudes as trust or distrust, friendliness or hostility between the parties.

IV.

Intra organisational bargaining.

This is to achieve general agreement with employees and

employers. Skilled worker may feel that they are neglected by top managers. Here
trade unions intervene to achieve the general among conflict group.
BENEFITS
i.

It provides a method for the regulation of condition of employment

The employers and worked in an industry know more about its conditions
and problems than anyone else.

ii.

It often leader to better mutual understanding.

The employers gain a greater insight into the problems and aspiration of the
worker while the letter become more aware of the economic and technical
factors involved in an industrial management

iii.

It provides a flexible means of adjusting wages and conditions of employment.

The parties can meet whenever necessary and can adapt the items of their
agreements to these changes.

iv.

It creates a sort of industrial jurisprudence.

Here there are two kinds of rules, 1: Procedural
2: Substantive
Procedural: As name implies set out the procedures that govern the behaviour
of two groups, employer and union and regulate the manner in which they deal
with each other.
Substantive: Regulates the relation between the individual and not the group.

v.

It leads to better implementation of decisions.

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Parties know that the decisions are their own and are not imposed because of
the direct involvement of both the parties.
CONDITIONS ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESSFUL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
For collective bargaining to be successfully there are certain essential prerequisites. These are described below:
A favourable political climate.
If collective bargaining is to be fully successful, a favourable political
climate must exist, the govt and public opinion must be convinced that
collective agreements are the best method of regulating certain conditions of
employment
Collective bargaining has often been practiced in countries where the
authorities have been hostile to it and has been hampered by obstacles and
restrictions; in other countries the authorities have merely tolerated it without
giving any positive encouragement
By contrast, governments many countries actively encourage collective
bargaining, for e.g., by removing any legislative restrictions which may hamper
it and by facilitating bargaining through the provision of facilities .
Freedom of association.
It is essential for collective bargaining. Where such freedom is denied
collective bargaining is impracticable and where it is restricted collective
bargaining also restricted.
Stability of workers organisation.
Workers may have freedom of association but unless they may use of that
right and form and maintain stable unicorns, collective bargaining will be in
effective if an organisation is weak, employers can say that it does not represent
the workers and will refuse to recognise it or negotiate with it. Before entering
in to agreements with a trade union, employers will want a reasonable
assurance that it will be able to honour its under taking, and this implies both
that the union can exercise authority over its member and that its membership
is sufficiently stable.
Rivalry between unions is often a cause of instability in workers
organisation.
Recognition of trade union.
Even assuming that freedom of association exists and that the workers have
established stable organisation, collective bargaining cannot begin until
employers recognise the organisation for that purpose.
Willingness to Give and Take.
The art of bargaining is for each to probe the other to find out its strength
and weakness. On some points one side may be unwilling to depart much from
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its starting position where as on others its attitude may be more flexible. In
these circumstances the two sides are considered give and take
Avoidance of unfair labour practices.
Unfair practices in collective bargaining are sometimes resorted to both by
employers and by trade unions. Collective bargaining is a process to reach a
certain goal and it is therefore important to make sure that it is really a common
goal.
That the management has the right to manage and the union has the right
organise itself and fight for justice must be fully recognised and accepted by
both sides
HOW COLLECTIVE BARGINING WORKS?
Before the bargaining conference begins, each side fixes the composition negotiating
team, prepares for the negotiation and work out its strategy and tactics.
1) NEGOTIATING TEAM.
On the company side the negotiating team may consist of the personnel
manager, production manager and the company lawyer.
On the workers side, negotiating team consist of the office bearers of that
union.
Qualities and attributes which members of negotiating team must possess:
They must have the right attitudes.
They must possess skill to analyse problems.
They must have an intimate knowledge of
production norms.
They must be skilled in adopting tactics.
They must have credibility
2) PREPRATION FOR NEGOTIATION.

operation, working condition,

Records situation which indicate the need for revision of any contract clause.
Study of the grievance records
Study of contracts of all other comparable companies.
Study wage picture of companies in ones one community and industry.
Information about the union, its leader ship, finance and demands.
hould prepare a list of resource people in the company.
PRINCIPLES OF NEGOTIATION

Be friendly in negotiation, introduce everybody.

Be willing to listen clearly.
Give everyone an opportunity to state his position.
Always keep in mind the right and fair things to do.
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 Dont try to guide the discussion along a straight line.

Define each issue clearly and discussing in the light of all available
facts.
At all time search only for right and clear solution.
Both parties should respect the rights of public at all times.
TYPES OF NEGOTIATING PROCEDURES
Three types of negotiating procedures:
Haggling bargaining.
It is the orthodox procedure of labour negotiations. This can be of two types:
The piecemeal approach and the total approach. In the piecemeal approach issues are
settled one by one in some order, such as easiest first or from the beginning to the
end of the draft demands. Each item arises as a separate issue, is argued out, disposed
of and ticked away. Attention then turns to the next. In the total approach the issues
are thought to be interrelated and interdependent. Therefore no issue is settled
independently. Each issue is discussed and laid aside as others are brought forward;
but every issue remains open until suddenly the whole complex is ready to crystallise
into a total agreement.
Boulwarism
Lemuel Boulware differs his theory in two respects. First in this the
company refuses to play the haggling game. Second, in addition to meeting with
union representatives, the company conducts an extensive communication
programme.
Bargaining conferences
The bargaining conference usually arranges for a chairman to conduct
the proceedings. At the first meeting one side submits a claim and there are
opening statements by a leader from each side. This is followed by s general
discussion or exchange of views. At the start there may be a wide gap between the
two sides, though each believes that the other can be induced to make concession.
In the course of discussion each side tries to find strong and weak points in the
others defence.
Some important points to be remembered:

Parity on the bargaining strength on the two sides.

Problem solving approach.
Good beginning.
Continuity of talks.
Common approach towards outside parties.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN WORK SPACE
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For organising and acting in concert, workers achieve bargaining parity

with their employers. Collective bargaining wages and conditions which
reflect the relatively strength of the contending parties are almost always
more beneficial to workers. The source of workers bargaining power is their
credible threat of collective action against an employer. Without union
employers are free to act as dictators in the work place and to set and
change conditions for as management alone chooses. With a union
democracy is introduced into the work place and employees achieve more
control over their work lives. With a union the employees advocates for
themselves.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT
It is the usual outcome of the collective bargaining. This is the written
statement of the terms and conditions arrived at by collective bargaining. It is the
charter on which employers and the union agree.
Some of the main items which are included on the collective agreements:

Wages.
Hours of work, overtime and rates of pay for overtime.
Annual holidays or rate of pay for holidays.
Sick leave or leave of absence for other reasons.
Seniority rights.
Dismissal for disciplinary offence.
Number and training for apprentices.
Establishment of fair products of standards.
Prohibition of strikes and lockouts during the period covered by agreement.
Duration of the agreement.
Procedure for negotiating for a new agreement.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN INDIA

Collective bargaining in India has passed through several important phases
during the last few decades. It was during the 1960s that it began to show up in some
pockets across the country due to two reasons. One reason was that during this period
large industries with well developed employers association and trade union centres
had come up in many big cities which facilitated collective bargaining. The other
reason was the encouragement for bilateralism which came from the public sector.
Collective bargaining took a back seat with the declaration of emergency in
1976.But as soon as the emergency was lifted in 1977 a new chapter collective
bargaining began with unions making unprecedental demands on employers.The
above phase continued till the late 1980s when union power began to plateau.

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Why has collective bargaining not flourished in India?

Collective bargaining is the ultimate in negotiation and is possible only when
workers employers organization are equally strong, mature and conscious of their
rights and duties.In India both bipartitism and tripartitism have co-existed but they are
generally operate at different levels. At the unit level it is generally bipartitism that has
flourished at the industry and national levels the tripartitism that had prevailed
Some reasons for bipartitism not flourishing at the national level.
a) Excessive dependence on compulsory adjudication for the settlement of
industrial dispute.
b) Reduction in the area of collective bargaining.
c) Weak trade union movement.
d) Little government support.
Suggestions to make collective bargaining more effective in India
Compulsory adjudication of disputes should be used only as a last resort.
Trade union should be strengthened.
Legal provision may be either by a separate legislation or by a an existing
enactment.
Workers education should be intensified.
The idea of one union for one plant or one industry should popularise.
Adequate statutory provision should made to make an agreement cover all the
workers.
On the failure of negotiation both parties should have equal right and freedom.
Each party should cultivate the right type of attitude towards the other party.
Each party should develop the skill to understand the view point of other party.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN CENTRAL PUBLIC SECTOR UNDER
TAKINGS

It is done according to the guidelines issued by the Department of Public

Enterprises. This department gives the content and limits of financial commitments
which public enterprise can make with the union during the course of bargaining.
THE FUTURE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
There has been a decline in the number of workers covered by collective
bargaining in several industrialised nations. Many forces have combined to bring
about this decline. Decline in trade union membership has been the fundamental force.
With collective bargaining as with trade union,adversaralism is
acknowledged to be the root of the problem. There is general agreement that the future
collective bargaining lies in its ability to transform itself from an adversarial process
to an integrative and problem solving partnership between labours and capital.
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CONCLUSION

Individual and collective bargaining is group of activity according to

bargaining agreement by employers and trade union in a company.

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