Collective Bargaining

1. Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at reaching agreements to regulate working conditions. The interests of the employees are commonly presented by representatives of a trade union to which the employees belong. The collective agreements reached by these negotiations usually set out wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs.[1]
The union may negotiate with a single employer (who is typically representing a company's shareholders) or may negotiate with a group of businesses, depending on the country, to reach an industry wide agreement. A collective agreement functions as a labor contract between an employer and one or more unions. Collective bargaining consists of the process of negotiation between representatives of a union and employers (generally represented by management, or, in some countries such as Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands, by an employers' organization) in respect of the terms and conditions of employment of employees, such as wages, hours of work, working conditions, grievance procedures, and about the rights and responsibilities of trade unions. The parties often refer to the result of the negotiation as a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or as a collective employment agreement (CEA).
2. Collective bargaining is a process in which working people, through their unions, negotiate contracts with employers to determine their terms of employment, including pay, health care, pensions and other benefits, hours, leave, job health and safety policies, ways to balance work and family and more. Employees jointly decide their priorities for bargaining.
Union employees choose who will speak for them in bargaining sessions with the employer, and vote to accept or reject the contract reached by the employer and employee bargaining committees. A ratified contract legally binds both sides—management and workers—to the contract terms.
3. Collective bargaining is specifically an industrial relations mechanism or tool and is an aspect of negotiation applicable to the employment relationship. In collective bargaining, the union always has a collective interest since the negotiations are for the benefit of several employees. Where collective bargaining is not for one employer but for several, collective interests become a feature for both parties to the bargaining process.
4. Collective Bargaining is the process by which a group of employees negotiate with the employer in order to bring about an agreement that regulates working conditions. The interests of the employees are generally represented by the members of a trade union to which the employees belong. This collective bargaining model rests on the worker's representatives submitting proposals that they consider ideal, but show willingness to settle for less, and the management willing to concede more than what they publicly acknowledge.
Meaning:
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiating between management and workers represented by their representatives for determining mutually agreed terms and conditions of work which protect the interest of both workers and the management. According to Dale Yoder’, “Collective bargaining is essentially a process in which employees act as a group in seeking to shape conditions and relation_ships in their employment”.
Michael J. Jucious has defined collective bargaining as “a process by which employers, on the one hand, and representatives of employees, on the other, attempt to arrive at agreements covering the conditions under which employees will contribute and be compensated for their services”.
Thus, collective bargaining can simplify be defined as an agreement collectively arrived at by the representatives of the employees and the employers. By collective bargaining we mean the ‘good faith bargaining’. It means that proposals are matched with counter proposals and that both parties make every reasonable effort to arrive at an agreement’ It does not mean either party is compelled to agree to a proposal. Nor does it require that either party make any specific concessions.
Why is it called collective bargaining? It is called “collective” because both the employer and the employee act collectively and not individually in arriving at an agreement. It is known as ‘bargaining’ because the process of reaching an agreement involves proposals and counter proposals, offers and counter offers.
Objectives:
The basic objective of collective bargaining is to arrive at an agreement between the management and the employees determining mutually beneficial terms and conditions of employment.
This major objective of collective bargaining can be divided into the following sub-objectives:
1. To foster and maintain cordial and harmonious relations between the employer/management and the employees.
2. To protect the interests of both the employer and the employees.
3. To keep the outside, i.e., the government interventions at bay.
4. To promote industrial democracy.
Importance:
The need for and importance of collective bargaining is felt due to the advantages it offers to an organisation.
The chief ones are as follows:
1. Collective bargaining develops better understanding between the employer and the employ_ees:
It provides a platform to the management and the employees to be at par on negotiation table. As such, while the management gains a better and deep insight into the problems and the aspirations of die employees, on the one hand, die employees do also become better informed about the organisational problems and limitations, on the other. This, in turn, develops better understanding between the two parties.
2. It promotes industrial democracy:
Both the employer and the employees who best know their problems, participate in the negotiation process. Such participation breeds the democratic process in the organisation.
3. It benefits the both-employer and employees:
The negotiation arrived at is acceptable to both parties—the employer and the employees.
4. It is adjustable to the changing conditions:
A dynamic environment leads to changes in employment conditions. This requires changes in organisational processes to match with the changed conditions. Among other alternatives available, collective bargaining is found as a better approach to bring changes more amicably.
5. It facilitates the speedy implementation of decisions arrived at collective negotiation:
The direct participation of both parties—the employer and the employees—in collective decision making process provides an in-built mechanism for speedy implementation of decisions arrived at collective bargaining.
Source: Wikipedia