Maintaining Good Employee Relations

Chapter 13:
Managing in a unionized
environment
 Managing in a unionized environment
knowledge of labor laws and the Collective Bargaining Agreement
coupled with high-quality communication between employees and
management. Keep developing positive employee relations because
they are possible in a
unionized workplace.
1.Labor Relations
2.Employee relations
 “Industrial Relations”
• Relationship between management and workers particularly
groups of workers represented by a union.
• also referred to as workplace relations.
• Employer-employee relationship covered specifically under a
collective bargaining and industrial relations laws.
• Defined the relationships and interactions between employer and
employees.
• One of the most delicate and complex problems of modern
industrial society.
Aspect of employment
relationship including:

• Human Resources
• Employee relations
• union - management
Labor relations terms
including:
• Collective bargaining
• Worker’s in participation in
decision-making
• grievance
• Dispute settlement
Good labor-management relation

It is central to the concept of industrial

relationships.
Models of Labor Relations

1. Perfect model
2. Polarization
3. Cooperative
4. Co-optive
 The constitution

Article XIII, section 3, Philippine constitution provides the

following:
"The State shall afford full protection to labor, local, and overseas,
organized and unorganized, and promote full employment and
equality of employment opportunities for all.“
"The state shall regulate the relations between workers and
employers, recognizing the right of labor to its just share in the
fruits of production and the right of enterprises to reasonable
returns of investments, and to expansion and growth.“
 The constitution
"It shall guarantee the rights of workers to self-organization, collective
bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities,
including the right to strike in accordance with law. They shall be
entitled to security of tenure, human conditions of work, and a
living wage. They shall also
Participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their
rights and benefits as may be provided by law."
"The state shall promote the principle of shared responsibility between
workers and employers and the preferential use of voluntary modes
in settling disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce their
mutual compliance there with to foster industrial peace."
 Statutory and International Basis of
Right to Self-organization

- The labor Code reinforces this constitutional right to self-

organization (Art. 211). Also, Two Geneva conventions ratified by
our Senate and thus, become part of the law of the land, guarantee
workers the right to self-organization:
• ILO Convention 87 (Freedom of association)
• ILO Convention 98 (Right to collective bargaining)
Collective Bargaining (Labor contract
negotiation)

Is an essential feature in the concept of

social partnership towards which
labor relations should strive.
Strategies in Collective Bargaining

Management's goal in collective bargaining

is to come to an agreement with the union
at reasonable and affordable cost to the
company without risking a strike,
slowdown or other concerted activities.
 Bargaining Stages

Pre-negotiation Process
(Preparation)
Negotiation Proper
Process (Bargaining)
Post-negotiation Process
(Agreement/
administration
Preparation stage
the outcome of collective bargaining can have
profound effect on labor cost and productivity and,
consequently, on the company's ability to maintain
its competitiveness. You
can not just pass the increase cost of labor to your
customers. There's limit to that; otherwise, you will
be pricing your product or services out of the market.
Factors to be considered in the
preparation:
1. Aligning CBA with company's business abjectives
2. Choice and training of the management panel
3. Estimate negotiation timetable
4. Gathering information on issues, parties(union) and
the environment
5. Reviewing the present expiring contract
6. Preparing and analyzing data
7. Anticipating union demands
8. Establishing the possible cost of labor agreement
9. Preparing the economic package
Management must therefore take a hard look at
the following critical issues
in fomulating the economic package:

A. Economic indicators like the Consumer Price

Index (CPI) Inflation Rate;
B. CBA wage survey;
C. Industry/community wage practice;
D. Business goals of the company;
E. Compensation policy; and
F. Capacity of the company to pay.
Factors to be considered in the
preparation:

10. Establishing parameters of authority

11. Finally, preparation of a strike contingency plan
Pre-Negotiations
Communications Strategy
Management should analyze how its company stands in comparison with
competing companies in terms of wages and benefits since negotiation
always centers on the economic context.
Fact about communicating to the employees by
way of factual information through

○ Newsletter
○ Bulletin boards
○ Other communication
media
 The Negotiation
Bargaining Stagestages. Some
goes through various
companies, before the start of the bargaining
session, invite the union officers to an informal
party to "break the ice". Some cynics in the union
might warn their colleagues "beware of the Greeks
bearing gifts".
 The rules include the following:
1. Size and composition of the negotiating panels
2. Frequency of meeting
3. Length of each meeting
4. Venue of meeting
5. Time spent by union during the negotiations on
company time (with pay or
without pay)
6. Postponement of meetings
7. Record keeping
8. Spokesperson from each panel
9. Proper decorum at meetings
 Bargaining Power

Management's and union's

conflicting goals are resolved
through the negotiation process.
 Management's willingness to take a strike
hinges on several factors:
1. Union's economic demand is so great that will have serious impact
on its labor costs and such costs can not be passed on to its
customers without losing its business.
2. its ability to continue to operate for an indefinite period
despite the strike. This can be due to several built-in advantages:
○ it has another operation elsewhere that is not unionized.
○ it has built up enough buffer stock safely warehoused elsewhere to
supply the market for several months.
○ it can continue to operate with its non-union staff including its
supervisory and managerial employees.
○ the union does not have the full support of its general
membership and there are some who will not join the strike.
3. A good strike contingency plan as mentioned earlier.
 Bargaining strategies and techniques

"Bargaining as a love-hate, cooperation-conflict relationship. The

parties have a common interest in maximizing the total revenue
which finances their respective returns. But they take on
adversarial postures in debating how the revenue shall be divided
as between wages and profits. It is the adversarial posture which
has historically set the tone of the relationship."
4 ways in which negotiations can be depicted

1. Poker Game
2. Exercise in power politics
3. Debating Society
4. Process that we recommend
There some tactics that management may apply to conclude an
agreement depending upon some circumstances prevailing at the time1
1. The hard-ball approach
- This may be applied by management if it is ready and
willing to suffer a strike rather than giving in to an onerous
economic demand.
2. The Boulware approach
3. The Marathon approach
- Management strikes an agreement with the union to
negotiate without let up until an agreement is reached on vital
issues.
4. Stroking the Bargaining Zone approach
 To successfully conclude an agreement to
Good faith in the mutual satisfaction of both parties,
bargaining there must be good faith in bargaining.
Good faith generally refers to the duty of
the parties to meet and negotiate at
reasonable times with
willingness to reach agreement on matters
with the scope of representation.
Good faith bargaining requires employers and unions
involved in collective bargaining to:
• Use their endeavors to agree to an affective bargaining
process;
• Meet to consider and respond to proposals made by each
other;
• Respect the role of the other's representation by not
seeking to bargain directly with those for whom the
representatives acts; and
• not do anything to undermine the bargaining process or
the authority of the other's representative.
 CBA Administration

CBA administration and interpretation can be a

challenging task. Supervisors and line managers can
memorize every word of the contract but there could
still be disputes as to its meaning and application.
 Grievance procedure

a formal way for an employee to raise a problem or

complaint to their employer. The employee can raise a
grievance if: they feel raising it informally has not worked.
they do not want it dealt with informally.
 Discipline
- Associated with learning and study - to be a discipline but
susequently,
it has changed its meaning. Discipline is now more associated with
punishment.
It becomes punitive in purpose instead of trying to "learn" good
behavior
and encourage a misbehaving employee to change his ways and
reform.

- The power to discipline is an exercise of management's legitimate

prerogative of control. But this power is not absolute. It is subject to
some
Procedure has 3 fold objectives:
Point to the employee the
error of his/her ways
Set the employee on the path of
improvement
Come to a decision on a fair
sanction for the offense committed
Set the standard of performance
STRATEGIE
Spelled out to and agreed upon with the employee at the start of
his
employment or at the beginning of the rating period. Absence of
these set and agreed standards, employees would have the right
to question the facts put before them and it would be difficult to
let them agree on poor performance or lack of performance.
Set the employee on the path of improvement

Help from the company may be needed. Where performance, for

instance, is due to lack of skills or competencies in some aspects
of the job, then training could be of help. Attitudinal problems
can probably be helped by counseling. Problems of sickness in
the family can perhaps be helped through temporary changes in
the working hours.
Come to a Decision on a Fair Sanction of the
Offense Committed

Positive discipline does not mean that an erring employee shall

be free from sanctions or penalties. Penalties are not meant to
punish but for the employee to learn that misbehavior or poor
performance will not be tolerated. It gives an employee a fair
chance to change his behavior or to improve hir performance.
The Role of HR in Discipline

This does not mean that the HR Egad should be out of the loop
in the disciplinary process. He/she is the consultant of the
company to ensure that the disciplinary procedure is administers
properly and the Rules of Conduct are implemented fairly and
consistently. The HR Head provides the proper forms on
infraction notices, documentation and filing record purposes. It
is responsibility of the HR Head to provide training to
supervisors and managers in the effective handling of the
disciplinary process.
Basic Steps to Follow
The following checklist will be helpful in hangling disciplinary
situations:

1. Gather as many objective and concrete facts as possible.

2. Check the erring employee's previous record of offenses and accomplishments
3. Give him the opportunity to fully state his side of the story.
4. Hold interviews privately so as to protect the integrity and privacy of
the erring employee and the privacy of the others whom you interviewed for further information.
5. Assure the erring employee and those whom you talk with regarding the case
that all their statements will be treated confidentially but at the same time
tactfully warn them that their words will be relied upon as true statements and that
any falsehood will bring them some unfavorable consequences. Check on some
inconsistencies and exaggerations.
6. Hold interviews as soon as possible after the offenses are committed.
7. Exert effort to verify the truthfulness of every statement and every
information.
8. Find out what has been done with similar cases within the section/department
or other sections/departments.
9. Be sure that you are in the right mood before you conduct the disciplinary
interview.
Statuary requirements and advisable steps
1. Write a notice to the erring employee of the
offense committed.
2. Employee, however, may request for an
informal or formal investigation.
3. Allow him to explain or reason out
4. Be calm.
5. Point out the evidence you have and the
evaluations you have made, and let him give his
defense.
6. Criticize the work and/or the work done, not the
worker.
7. Stress the importance of the mistake and of the
correction.
8. Make the employee aware of the reason behind
the rule, regulation or policy.
9. Admit if you discover you are wrong about part
or all of your case.
Statuary requirements and advisable steps
10. Make allowance for honest mistake.
11. Do not let personalities affect your decision.
12. Weigh all facts gathered before and after the
interview before deciding on the disciplinary action that
you will impose.
13. Remember that the burden of proof rests on
management to show just cause for the penalty.
14. Maintain an attitude as this would lead the employee
to believe and feel that you are not going to hold a
grudge toward him in the future.
15. Be prepared to deal with any resentment which may
show. You must also adequately prepare other employees
so that their reaction will be favorable.
16. Consult the legal counsel, if there is any, and the
CEO especially if dismissal is the proper penalty to be
imposed.
17. Provide the right to appeal and specify the procedure
to be followed. The appeal must follow the grievance
procedure as provided in the collective bargaining
Preventive Suspension
pending investigation
Preventive suspension is incident to
investigation. It is justified pending
investigation where the employee's
continued employment poses a serious
and imminent threat to the life or
property of the employer or of the
coworkers. Without the kind of threat,
preventive suspension is not proper.
Weigh all facts gathered after investigation before
deciding

unlike in a criminal case where proof beyond reasonable

doubt is required, only a quantum of proof or substantial
evidence is required that the infraction was committed.
committed a violation of
the rules, check on the following:
1. Know what disciplinary measure has been imposed on similar cases in
your department and in other departments.
2. Ask if has the employee been previously disciplined for the same type
of misconduct. If so, should he receive a more severe penalty.(if the
offense is a different type, it should still be taken into consideration
in ascertaining the penalty to be imposed).
3. ask if the employee has a fair chance to improve. Has he has some
help, advice, or explanation. Does he know what is expected of him. Did
he know the rules or the usual practice.
4. Does the measure you propose or plan to impose fit the violation?
Consider all the mitigating and the aggravating circumstances as well;
and the accomplishments of the offender for which he received some
special citations or awards, and the like.
5. Will the measure prevent a recurrence?
6. Will the same maintain the organizational morale?
7. Will it encourage the employee's initiative?
8. Will it create a desire on the part of the employee to do what is
right.
 The ultimate penalty - dismissal
as indicated earlier, dismissal should be meter out only sparingly. In
discipline, it is managements weapon of last resort. When all
attempts for reform have failed and the erring employee continues to
be an unrepentant recidivist to when the offense is so grave, dismissal
from the company is the only alternative. Also, there are times when
then employee's work is so poor despite several warnings, training or
retraining or where his behavior is
totally unacceptable that leaves no other recourse but to discharge
him from
the service.
 Use Dismissal Sparingly

Two reasons why dismissal of an employee should be used

sparingly

1. humane reasons impel you to think twice before

dismissing and employee.
2. On his own volition or upon the advice of the union or
someone, may challenge
the dismissal as illegal or as an unfair labor practice act.