Resolving Conflict In The Workplace

Question 1

What is industrial relations

Answer 1

Industrial relations refer to the relationship between employer and employees in an organisation.

Question 2

What is employee motivation

Answer 2

Happy employees tend to be more motivated and put in greater effort for the business. Employee morale, motivation, and productivity increase.

Question 3

What is recruitment and retention

Answer 3

It is easier to recruit and retain staff when there are positive industrial relations. Employees who like their workplace seek new jobs less often and take fewer days off. Staff turnover and absenteeism decrease

Question 4

Delegation and intrapreneurship

Answer 4

Employers can delegate some decision making to trusted employees and employees are more willing to voice ideas and suggestions that may benefit the business.

Question 5

Industrial action

Answer 5

Employees are more likely to speak to management about problems before they develop into serious issues. Good communication means less workplace conflict including disputes and strikes

Question 6

Change

Answer 6

Employees are more accepting of change in the workplace when the employer is open and honest about the reasons why changes are needed.

Question 7

Disputes over pay

Answer 7

Employees can make four different pay claims or there are four possible reasons an employee may give to their employer justifying a pay increase.

Question 8

What is a pay claim

Answer 8

A pay claim is a demand made by employees to their employer for an increase in pay

Question 9

Cost of living claim

Answer 9

Workers request a pay rise when the cost of living increases due to inflation. If the rate of inflation is 3% employees want at least a 3% pay increase. For example, workers at three UK Cadbury plants won an inflation linked pay rise of 3.2% in 2019.

Question 10

Comparability claim

Answer 10

Workers seek comparable pay to workers doing a similar job in a different business. For example, Dublin Bus drivers called for a pay rise to match the wages secured by Luas drivers.

Question 11

Relativity claim

Answer 11

When the pay of one group of workers is linked to that of another group in the same business, despite them being different roles. For example, Northern Irish dairy co-op Dale Farm had a relativity claim from maintenance workers, who wanted the same wage increase as its production workers.

Question 12

Productivity claim

Answer 12

A pay claim for meeting performance targets or to compensate for changes to the role. In 2019 AIB workers received an average of 3% performance related pay increase.

Question 13

Disputes over working conditions/hours/duties

Answer 13

Workers may object to their working conditions, hours or duties. There may be health and safety issues, unpredictable hours, or a lack of training for new work practices. For example, second level teachers were in dispute over changes to their teaching duties and hours related to new assessment procedures for junior cycle.

Question 14

Disputes linked to unfair dismissal

Answer 14

A dispute may arise if employees feel that someone has lost their job unfairly, e.g. through discrimination, or if they believe managers forced to make redundancies have chosen workers they wanted to get rid of rather than using a fair system such as last in first out. Employees may fear for their own job security in the future.

Question 15

Disputes related to the introduction of new technology

Answer 15

There may be resistance to the introduction of new technology if there is belief that there has not been adequate training provided and the use of the new technology will lead to increased workloads and it may lead to staff redundancies.

Question 16

Disputes over redundancy payments

Answer 16

Staff may be unhappy with the way colleagues have been chosen for redundancy or with redundancy terms offered by the employer

Question 17

What is a trade union

Answer 17

A trade union is an organisation set up to protect and improve the rights and interests of the workers it represents, especially on issues of pay and conditions of employment. Employees pay an annual fee for trade union membership. It is easier for many people together to protect their common interests than it is for individuals. Example: INMO (Irish nurses and midwives organisation).

Question 18

Name the functions of a trade union

Answer 18

1. Fight for better pay and working conditions for union members
2. Represent employees in disputes
3. Provide information on employees rights and entitlements
4. Protect union member interests

Question 19

Fight for better pay and working conditions for union members

Answer 19

The trade union may have professional negotiators who will bargain with the employer on behalf of the trade union members. These professional negotiators may get a better deal for their members than if each employee negotiated for themselves

Question 20

Represent employees in disputes

Answer 20

If an individual employee has a dispute with her employer the union will take up her case. She does not have to negotiate with her employer. The union will represent her and negotiate on her behalf. The union will pay any legal bills necessary to fight for her rights

Question 21

Provide information on employees rights and entitlements

Answer 21

The trade union provides its members with information on their legal rights and entitlements such as minimum wage, legally required rest periods, etc. this help ensures that the employee is not exploited by employers. It can also provide them with legal advice.

Question 22

Protect union member interests

Answer 22

The trade union will work to protect its members interests. It will use its strength in numbers to work to keep their jobs. If members do lose their jobs, the trade union will work to get them the best redundancy payment possible.

Question 23

Benefits of trade union membership for employees

Answer 23

1. Protects employment rights
2. Information and support
3. Better pay and working conditions

Question 24

Protect employment rights

Answer 24

Trade unions inform members of their rights in the workplace and fight for them if these rights are threatened.

Question 25

Information and support

Answer 25

Trade unions advise and represent union members in a dispute with their employer. A union can provide expert negotiation on behalf of employees and may pay legal bills.

Question 26

Better pay and working conditions

Answer 26

Trade unions negotiate with employers and the government for better pay and conditions.

Question 27

National level

Answer 27

Trade unions can raise awareness of employees concerns by informing the public and the media. For example, when Irish nurses and midwives took industrial action over their pay and staffing concerns, the INMO made press releases and over 60,000 members of the public signed its petitions.

Question 28

What is the ICTU

Answer 28

The Irish congress of trade unions is an umbrella organisation of over 40 trade unions in Ireland, representing about 800,000 workers.

Question 29

ICTU aims:

Answer 29

1. Provide training and information to trade unions and their members
2. Help resolve disputes between unions and employers
3. Negotiate on behalf of unions in national pay agreements with the gov, and social partners

Question 30

Benefits of a trade union for employers

Answer 30

1. Faster negotiations
2. Introducing change
3. Improved health and safety

Question 31

Faster negotiations

Answer 31

It is faster for employers to negotiate with the shop steward, rather than with individuals or groups of employees. This saves the business time and money.

Question 32

Introducing change

Answer 32

It can be easier for the employer to introduce change such as new technology. The shop steward can explain to the employees why the changes are needed.

Question 33

Improved health and safety

Answer 33

Employees inform the shop steward of health and safety issues in the workplace. This information can be passed to management and can help to improve health and safety at the firm

Question 34

What is bargaining?

Answer 34

Bargaining is when employees and managers meet to discuss a wide range of issues including pay and working conditions. It can be conducted in the following ways:
1. Individual bargaining
2. Collective bargaining
3. National collective bargaining

Question 35

Individual bargaining

Answer 35

Individual employees meet with the employer to negotiate the best pay and working conditions for themselves. This often occurs in businesses where there is little or no trade membership.

Question 36

Collective bargaining

Answer 36

The employer negotiates pay and conditions of employment with groups of employees, often represented by the trade union shop steward

Question 37

National collective bargaining/social partnership

Answer 37

This involves the social partners negotiating pay and working conditions at a national level. The aim of this type of bargaining is to achieve moderate wage increases in return for positive industrial relations in the economy and reductions in income tax for employees.

Question 38

What are social partners

Answer 38

Social partners are groups that work together with the government to achieve an agreed goal, which benefits all groups involved e.g. moderate pay increases in return for improvement in public services. Example: IBEC

Question 39

Types of industrial action

Answer 39

Despite managers and employees engaging in bargaining, sometimes conflict between the parties cannot be resolved. This may lead to employees taking industrial action, including:

Legal: Illegal:
Official strike Unofficial strike
All out strike Wildcat/lightening strike
Work to rule Political strike
Token stoppage
Overtime ban

Question 40

Official strike

Answer 40

Employees refuse to enter the workplace and perform their normal duties. An official strike requires:

A secret ballot to be held
At least a weeks notice of industrial action is given to the employer
The strike action is approved by the trade union
Trade union members may receive strike pay from their trade union during an official strike.

Question 41

All out strike

Answer 41

All employees in the business go on strike, even employees who are not directly involved in the dispute. ICTU approval is needed for this type of industrial action.

Question 42

Work to rule

Answer 42

Employees carry out their workplace duties as stated in their contract of employment or job description. They do not carry out any other duties, e.g. nurses would not perform any cleaning or admin duties.

Question 43

Token stoppage

Answer 43

Employees refuse to work for a short period of time. This gives the employer a warning that more serious industrial action will be taken in future if an agreement is not reached. E.g. nurses at Sligo General Hospital staged a one day stoppage to protest against job cuts and the non - renewal of temporary nursing contracts.

Question 44

Overtime ban

Answer 44

Employees refuse to work overtime for the employer. This may put the employer under pressure to resolve the issue quickly so the dispute does not have a negative impact on the business, e.g. missing deadlines.

Question 45

Unofficial strike

Answer 45

Employees take strike action but do not meet all or some of the requirements of an official strike, e.g. they do not conduct a secret ballot. Trade union members do not receive strike pay.

Question 46

Wildcat/lightening strike

Answer 46

Employees take strike action without giving any warning to the employer. These disputes are often resolved quickly.

Question 47

Political strike

Answer 47

Employees leave the workplace to protest against the government’s actions, e.g. the introduction of new laws. This is an illegal form of strike action, as employees should not punish their employer for a dispute they have with the government

Question 48

The impact of industrial action on stakeholders

Answer 48

Industrial action taken by employees can have a negative impact on the organisations stakeholders

Question 49

The impact on employers

Answer 49

Industrial action disrupts business activity and may result in missed deadlines, e.g. failure to fulfil a customers contract or order. This can damage the firms reputation and cause financial losses. Time and effort usually spent on business goals are instead focused on the conflict

Question 50

The impact on investors

Answer 50

Trade disputes are bad publicity. If a share price falls the market value of the investors shares falls. Profits can fall during this industrial action, leading to lower dividends for investors

Question 51

Impact on employees

Answer 51

The longer the industrial action continues, the greater the threat to the employees job security. Loss of motivation, conflict with and loss of trust in the employer are also a negative impact. If the dispute involves a strike, employees are not paid wages and may have to live on their savings.

Question 52

Impact on suppliers

Answer 52

Suppliers mat not be paid by a business experiencing industrial action in the agreed time. They may be unable to pay their own bills and could go out of business. Suppliers may be less likely to give credit in the future and may insist on immediate payment.

Question 53

Impact on the government

Answer 53

Industrial action can reduce government tax revenue such as income tax from employees. This results in less government income to spend on public services like health and education. If a business closes down on employment assistance costs will increase for the government

Question 54

Impact on consumers

Answer 54

Consumers may be unable to buy goods and services due to industrial action and decide to purchase a different brand or from different competitors. They may continue to purchase from competitors in the future.