m CB rose and grew with the trade union movement.

m Roots of CB lie in Great Britain where it developed in response to

the conditions created by the Industrial Revolution.

m Along with trade unions, the idea of bargaining collectively

gained strength in the early part of the 18th Century.

m Initially, the negotiations were carried out at plant level.

m By early 1900, industry and national level agreements became

quite common.

m The idea spread across to France, Germany, and USA. And

today, through the process of CB, organizations have learnt to
cope with industrial conflict.
m In India, trade unions gained prominence
much later ² only after 1900.
m In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi - as the leader of
the Ahmadabad textile workers ² advocated
the resolution of conflict through CB
agreements.
m The Government of that time took steps like
setting up of machinery for negotiations,
conciliation and arbitration.
m The trade union movement and also CB
agreements became popular after Indian
independence.
m Moving from agreements at the plant level,
such agreements spread to industries such as
chemicals, petroleum, tea, coal, oil and
aluminium.
m Collective Bargaining takes place when a number of work-people
enter into a negotiation as bargaining unit with an employer or group of
employers with the object of reaching an agreement on the conditions
of employment of the work-peopleµ. - Richardson.

m The I.L.O. defines collective bargaining:

"As negotiations about working conditions and terms of employment
between an employer, or a group of employers, or one or more
employers' organisations, on the one hand, and one or more
representative workers' organisation on the other with a view to
reaching agreement."
Collective
Dynamic
Strength
Power Relationship
Flexible
Representation
Voluntary
Bipartite Process
Continuous
m Respect, confidence, and trust for other
parties

m Need to be a two-way communication

m Both the parties should be strong

m Negotiations require good negotiators

ïmployers

ïmployees

Society
m Conjunctive/Descriptive Bargaining

m Co-operative Bargaining

m Productivity Bargaining

m Compositing Bargaining
m Any issue relevant to management and workers. Traditionally,
wages and working conditions had always been the primary
focus areas of CB.

m In recent times, CB has extended to a lot many areas, like;

- Work norms
- Job security
- Changes in technology
- Staff transfers and promotions
- Health and safety
- Grievances
- Insurance and benefits
- Union recognition
- Work tools, techniques and practices
 Ö Negotiation, on the other
hand, is a process of
Ö CB is a process by which resolving conflicts
the terms and condition of between two or more
employment of workers parties wherein both or all
are regulated by modify their demands to
agreements between their reach a workable
bargaining agent and compromise.
their employers.
Ö While negotiating issues,
Ö The process of CB also parties shift their stand
uses negotiations to reach from an ideal position to a
a mutual consensus. settlement point, which is
mutually agreed upon.
 NïGOTIATION OF
AGRïïMïNT

IMPLïMïNTATION OF
AGRïïMïNT

RïNïWAL & RïVISION

OF AGRïïMïNT
m Identifying the problem

m Preparing for negotiation

m Identifying bargaining issues

m Negotiation of agreement

m Reaching the agreement

m Ratifying the agreement

m Administration of the agreement

Following conditions must be fulfilled to
make Collective Bargaining successful.
- Strong and stable union
- Recognition of trade union
- Permanent bargaining machinery
- Mutual accommodation
- Political climate
- Bargainers authority
m Problems with the unions

m Problems with the Government

m Problems in the legal system

m Problems in Management Attitude

m Political interference
m A progressive and strong management that is conscious of
its obligations and responsibilities to the various stakeholders.
m A truly representative ² enlightened and strong ² trade
union should come into being and should function on strictly
constitutional lines.
m There should be unanimity between labour and
management on the basic objectives of the organization
and a mutual recognition of their rights and obligations.
m When there are several units of the company, there should
be a delegation of authority to the local management.
m A fact-finding approach and a willingness to use new tools
should be adopted for the solution of industrial problems.
m Government intervention in the settlement of industrial
disputes should be reduced gradually to the minimum
possible
m Workers· Participation @ SAIL

m Problems
- Technological obsolescence
- Redundant workforce
- ïxcessive regulation
m Brain storming sessions

m 5 areas of priorities for action.

- Improving work culture.
- Utilization of installed facilities.
- Improving production and productivity.
- Generating profits through cost control.
- Improving customer satisfaction.

m Cross functional and multi skill training.

m Made committees at different
levels
- Industrial
- ïnterprise
- Zonal
- Plant
- Shop

m Organized different suggestion schemes

programs
m Retaining and reallocation of redundant
employees
m Loss of man days became nil
m Permanent negotiation committees
m 20 times increase in number of
suggestions
m Savings worth Rs. 1300 million
m Market leader in US in automobile industry
till 1980 with market share of 46%.
m ïntry of Japanese companies , GM began
to face intense competition.
m Fortunes were further affected because of
other issues like under-funded pension
liabilities and rising employee healthcare
costs
m Market share fell to 25% in 2006. Losses
reported to US $39 billion
m The company put a turnaround plan in
place in 2005
m Plan focused on reducing the
healthcare costs in association with UAW
(United Auto Workers)
m Primary objective was to reduce the
company·s healthcare costs by forming
a VïBA
m On November 12, 2007 agreement was
reached between GM and the UAW
m As per the agreement, UAW
administered the healthcare expenses
for GM
m The deal encouraged GMs progress in
revitalizing their product portfolio,
strengthening their brands, reducing
structural cost and growing the business
globally
m It increases empowerment of employees

m It increases trust between both parties

m It helps organizations sustain in emerging

competitive environment

m It improves progress of both workers and

management partners
Size doesn·t matter!

!