1

SEMINAR
ON
COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
SUBMITTED TO

PROF. K. CHANDRALEKHA

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL SURGICAL NURSING

ICON.

SUBMITTED BY

MR.NEELAKANDAN. P
MSC [N] I–YEAR
ICON.

SUBMITTED ON;
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COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

INTRODUCTION:

The concept of collective bargaining was introduced very late in India, as

trade unions were formed only in the 20th century. The concept of collective
bargaining attained significance only after 1962. The term ‘ collective’ in
collective bargaining is used because both employer and employees come
together and put a collective effort to establishing mutually agreeable terms and
conditions for employment. It is important to have control over the demands of
employees and autocratic behavior of employer and manager.

DEFININTION:

“Collective bargaining involves a set of procedures by which employee

representatives and employer representatives negotiate to obtain a signed
agreement that describes conditions of employment, especially wages, hours and
benefits”.

“Collective bargaining is a process generally consists of four types of

activities - distributive bargaining, integrative bargaining, attitudinal structuring
and intra- organizational bargaining”.

-WALTON AND MCKERSISE

OBJECTIVES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

 To arrive at an agreement on wages and other conditions of employment.

 To maintain employee-employer relation bilaterally
 To protect the on interest of nurse employees through collective action
 To negotiate voluntarily, yielding some concessions and scarifies by both
parties
 To bargain from a position of strength without exploiting the weakness
 To resolve the differences between nurse employees and management
through negotiation
 To have a peacefully co- existence for the mutual benefits and progress.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

 Collective:- collective bargaining is a two way group process where the
employers representative and employees representatives sit together to
negotiate terms of employment.
 Strength:- both the parties in collective bargaining is strong and equal.
 Voluntary:-both parties come to the negotiation table voluntarily in order
to go in particular negotiation. It is based on discussions, mutual trust, and
understanding.
 Formal :- it is a formal process in which certain employment related issues
are to be regulated at national, Organizational and workplace levels.
 Flexible :- it is flexible and continuous process and not fixed or static.
 Improvement:- It is method to improve the employer- employees relation
in the organization and resolve management and employees conflicts.
 Representation:- collecting bargaining is between the representatives of
employee and management. The management does not directly deal with
employees. It carries negotiations with representatives/ executives of
unions/associations
 Dynamic :- collective bargaining is dynamic, that go on changing over a
period and grows and expand the way of agreement, the way of
implementation and way of discussion
 Continuous :- collective bargaining is continuous and begins with
agreement, the implementation of agreement and further negotiations.
 Bipartite process:-because the employee and employers representatives
negotiate directly face to face across the table.

TYPES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:-

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DISTRIBUTIVE INTEGRATIVE
OR OR
CONJUNCTIVE COOPERATIVE
BARGAINING BARGAINING

PRODUCTIVE COMPOSITE
BARGAINING BARGAINING

1. DISTRIBUTIVE OR CONJUNCTIVE BARGAINING:-

 Economic issues like wages, salaries and bonus are discussed.
 One party’s gain in another party’s loss
 More competitive
2. INTEGRATIVE OR COOPERATIVE BARGAINING:-
 both the parties may gain, or at least neither party loses
 it tends to be more cooperative
 both the parties are trying to make more of something
3. PRODUCTIVE BARGAINING:-
 substantial benefits based on productivity standards
 management control over workplace relations
4. COMPOSITE BARGAINING:-
 wages with equity.

LEVELS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

There are three levels,

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National level

Sectoral level

Company level

1. NATIONAL LEVEL:

It is a bipartitite or tripartite negotiations between union confederations,

central employer associations and government agencies. It provides a floor level
bargaining on terms of employment, often taken into consideration
macroeconomic goals.

2. SECTORAL BARGAINING:-
It accounts for standardizations of terms of employment in one
industry, includes a range of bargaining patterns.
3. COMPANY LEVEL:-
This is supplementary type of bargaining. It emphasizes the point that
bargaining levels need not ne mutually exclusive.

PRINCIPLES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:-

 Principles for the management:
I. The management must develop and consistently follow a realistic
labour policy which should be accepted and carried out by its
representatives.
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II. The management must grant recognization to the trade union without
any reservations and accept it as a constructive force in the
organization.
III. The management should not assure the employee goodwill always
exist. It should periodically examine the rules ad regulations to
determine the attitudes and gain their goodwill and cooperation.
IV. The management should extent fair treatment to the trade union in
order to make it a responsible and conservative body.
V. The management should not wait for the trade union to bring
employee grievances to its notice but should rather create the
conditions in which employees can approach the management
themselves, without involving the trade union.
VI. The management should deal only with the one trade union or
association in the organization.
 Principles for the trade union:-
a) The trade union should eliminate racketeering and other
undemocratic practice with their own organizations.
b) Trade union leaders should apprecialte the economic implications of
collective bargaining, for their demands and generally met from the
income and resources of the organizations in which their members
are employed.
c) 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.
d) trade union leaders should resort to strike only when all other
methods of the settlement of the dispute have failed.
 Principles for both union and management:-
i. Collective bargaining should be made as an education as well as
bargaining process.
ii. Collective bargaining should offer to trade union leaders an
opportunity to present to the management the wants, desires,
grievances and the attitudes of its employees.
iii. There may be mutual confidence and good faith and a desire to make
collective bargaining effective in practice.
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iv. The two parties should meticulously observe and abide by the entire
national and state laws which are appreciable to collective
bargaining.
v. There should be an honest, able and responsible leadership, for this
kind of leadership only will make collective bargaining.
vi. There may be mutual confidence and good faith and a desire to make
collective bargaining effective in practice.

PROCESS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:-

The process of collective bargain involves negotiation and discussion

between the management and union.

1.preparatory
phase

7.enforcing 2.discussion
agreement phase

6.formalizing 3.proposal
phase phase

4.settlement 4.bargaining
phase phase
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1.PREPARATORY PHASE:-

In this phase following activities are carried out:

 Selection Of Negotiation Team: it consists of representatives of both the

parties. They should have adequate knowledge and skills for negotiation.
They must know when to listen, when to speak, when to stand their ground,
when to concede and when to make counter proposal. Timing is important.
 Identification of problem.
 Examination of situation, and issues for negotiation.
 Collection of data: enough supporting data is kept ready. Initially time is
spent to gather relevant data related to issues.
2. DISCUSSION PHASE:-
The following activities are carried out during discussion phase;
 Decide an appropriate time and set a proper climate for negotiation.
 Decision on ground rules.
 Involve in active listening, asking questions, observation and summarizing
decisions.
 Maintenance of mutual trust and understanding.
 Collective bargaining
3. POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES OR PROPOSAL PHASE:
During this phase, there is:
 Initial opening of statements.
 Possible alternatives/opinions to resolve the issues by both parties.
 Brain storming
4. BARGAINING PHASE;-
During bargaining phase, both parties involves in the following activities;
 Problem – solving
 Proposal are set forth

5. SETTLEMENT PHASE:-

After the bargaining phase, settlement phase starts with:

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 Consensus agreement on common decision

 Negotiated change
6. FORMALIZING THE AGREEMENT:-
 Drafting of agreements: After good faith bargaining, a formal document
must prepare. It should be simple, clear and concise.
 Signing the agreement: Both parties sign the agreement and abide by its
terms and conditions.

7. ENFORCING THE AGREEMENT:-

To have the agreement effective and meaning, it should be enforced or

implemented immediately.

IMPORTANT OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

 It is a rule- making or legislative process in the senses that formulates

terms and conditions under which labor and management will cooperate
and work together over a certain stated period.
 It is also a judicial process, for in every collective agreement there is a
provision or clause regarding the interpretation of the agreement and how
any difference of opinion about the intention or scope of a particular clause
is to be resolved. Such interpretation can be left to a joint committee of
worker’s and management representative or the top level management or to
a third party jointly selected by the trade union and the management.
 It is also an executive process, for both the management and the trade
unions undertake to implement the agreement signed, each accepting a
series of obligations under the agreement.

GUIDELINES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

 ELECTING THE AGENT:

Nurses in the private sector are guaranteed legal protection if they seek a
collective bargaining agent. If 30% of the employed nurses have signed
cards signaling their interest in representation, the employer is
prohibited from engaging in anti labour action. After the campaign a
vote is taken; 50% of those voting plus one more person selects the
agent. Nurses represented by a bargaining agent have the right to drop pr
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change the agent by similar campaign of signature (30%) of the affected

members, followed by a vote again requiring 50% plus one person in a
unit- wide election.
 THE ELEMENTS OF A CONTRACT:
 Wages: The foundation of the contact
Nurses wages experienced a dramatic increase during the 1980’s as
a direct result of shortage of nurses. So a contract was set up in which
steps were taken to increase the salary on the basis of the practice. Thus
wage standards continue to be set in those areas that have large numbers
of nurses represented for collective bargaining.
 Seniority rights:
Nurses who remain on staff at an institution accrue seniority rights.
These rights arise from the idea of rewarding permanent employees for
the service and viewing them as assets. Nursing employment contracts
contain profession that give more preference to senior nurses.
 Resolving grievances:
Methods to resolve grievances are an important element of any
agreement. A grievance can arise when provisions in a contract
are interpreted differently by management and employees.
Grievance mechanisms are employed in an attempt to resolve the
conflict with the parties involved. The employer, the employee or
the union may issue a grievance.
 Membership:
The inclusion of union security provision is essential to a sound
contact and one of the defined goals of collective bargaining.
Security provisions include such a measures as enforcement of
membership requirements, which means collection of dues and
access by the union staff to the members.
The types of membership requirements negotiated can affect the
strength and the financial base of the unit.
a. Open membership- there is no negotiation for a member of
nursing staff to belong on invitation to free riders to get
benefits without contributing
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b. Closed shops- which require protective employees to join

before they may be hired, are legal.
c. Agency shop- a modification of the closed shop in which
new employees are required to join the union with a given
period of time.
 Work assignment:

The right and means for a nurse register abjection to a work

assignment is consider essential to a union contract professional
duty implies on obligation to complete an assignment despite the
nurse’s disagreement with it.

 Staffing:
Staffing requirements is mandated by various agency. Various
health care agency have published staffing standards.
 Retirement :
Most pension or retirement programs for nurses have either been
the social security system or a hospital pension plan.
 Health hazards :
Nurses are using collective action to protect themselves against
health hazards and unsafe working condition and to advocate for
positive health and safety programs. For example, OSHA –
occupational safety and health administration.
 Nurse’s control of practice:
The essence of the professional nurse contract is control of
practice. Nurse councils and professional performance committees
provide oppourtunity for the nurses within the institution to meet
regularly. These meetings must be sanctioned by the contract. The
elected staff nurse representatives may have specialized objectives
a. To improve the practice of professional nurses and nursing
assistants.
b. To recommend ways and means of improving patient care.
c. To make recommendation to the hospital management.
d. To identify and recommended elimination of hazards in the
work place.
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 Shared governance:
It is on arrangement of nurses that attempts to emphasis principles
of participatory management in areas related to the governance
and practice of nursing.

 Clinical ladder:
The clinical ladder are career ladder has been designed to provide
recognition of long time career nurses who remain clinically
oriented “ladder” is the result of decontribution of a nurse
researches. The description of the changes in the growth and
development of the nursing knowledge and practice have led to
the development of ladder that can identify and reward the nurse
along the steps from “novice” to “expert”.

MERITS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

 It provides nurses the opportunity to have a voice regarding professional

issues of staffing and working practice as well as wages, benefits and
working conditions.
 Promotes nurses democracy and their participation in management.
 Helps in establishing harmonious relation between nurse employee and the
employer.
 Emphasizes on the interests and benefits of both parties.
 Eliminates unnecessary expenditure and avoids bitterness among nurses and
their employers.

DEMERITS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

 The collective bargaining process may not be fair at all times
 The decision is often influenced by power and politics.
 The immediate consequences of collective bargaining if not fulfilled are
strike or lock-out.

THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT

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It is hereby declared to be the policy of the united states to eliminate the causes of
certain substantial obstructions to the free flow of commerce by encouraging the
practice and procedure of collective bargaining… for the purpose of negotiating
the terms and conditions of employment or other mutual aid or protection.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

Employees have the right to:

 Form, to join or to assist a labor organization of their choice,

 Bargain collectively through that labor organization,
 Engage in concerted activities, and mutual aid refrain from any of the above
activities.

Protects employees by defining and prohibiting unfair labor practices such as;

 Interfering with employees in the exercise of their rights.

 Interfering with the formation or administration of a labor organization.
 Discriminating against employees for engaging in or refraining from union
activities.
 Refusing to bargain with the union that is the lawful representative of its
employees.

GOVERNANCE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

The board of regents is prohibited from bargaining on diminution of tenure,

statutory governance rights and academic freedom.

SUPERVISOR – DOMINANCE:

According to section 8(a) of the LMRA; it shall be an unfair labor practice

for an employer to dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of
any labor organization or contribute financial or other support to it. Since passage
of public law 93-360, however, the internal organization and structure of the ANA
and its constituents have been carefully examined by the NLRB.
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A problem has arisen because the ANA, as a professional association, historically

sought membership from all registered nurses regardless of whether they were
nursing educators, nursing administrators, nursing supervisors, or staff nurse.

PROFESSIONAL- SUPERVISOR-MANAGER:

A decision reached by the supreme court in February 1980 may provide

opportunities for new challenges by hospital administrators. The supreme court,
however, supported the second circuit court and concluded that the faculty as
professional exercising independent judgments, were involved in running the
university and exercised supervisory and managerial functions. They are,
therefore, excluded from the category of employees entitled to protection of
collective bargaining.

As nurses continue to emphasize their rightful place as professional members of

the health care team, hospitals may seek to use that issue to support the exclusion
of nurses who, as professionals, exercise managerial discretion and judgment in
the work.

TO ORGANIZE OR NOT:

As registered nurses becom more knowledgeable about collective bargaining

activities, they will be faced with a variety of decisions. The first decision is
whether to organize. If nurses are seeking improvement in wages, hours, and
working conditions and have found nursing and hospital administrators unwilling
to listen, then collective bargaining may be the best alternative.

During the 1970’s however, improvements in the economics status and working
condition of registered nurses resulted in a changing emphasis toward negotiating
issues about quality of patient care. If nurses are seeking improvement in patient
care, however, are unionization and collective bargaining the best method of
ensuring success? Progressive management in many organizations sought to de-
emphasize adversarial relationships and emphasize job enrichment and team
building programs where employees have more control over how their own work
will be accomplished. In many hospitals, this has resulted in improved quality of
patient care.
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Who should be the bargaining agent?

If nurses decide to organize, they must elect a bargaining representative who can
effectively represent them is the ANA the best choice? The ANA was founded as
a professional association in 1896 and is committed to,

 Work for the improvement of health standards and the availability of health
services for all people.
 Foster high standards of nursing
 Stimulate and promote the professional development of nurses,
 Advance the economic and general welfare

It is also registered as a labor union.

NURSES PARTICIPATION IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:

Collective bargaining for nurses usually occurs in states where there is

significant trade union activity. At present, there are few nurses involved in
collective bargaining. All nurses need to involve and understand the benefits of
unions.

Unions stimulate better hospital management by fostering formal, central

and consistent personnel policies with better lines of communication.

Unions lead to improvement in the work place so that recruitment and

retentions become easier.

SUMMARY:

As far we have discussed collective bargaining, objectives of collective

bargaining, merits and demerits of collective bargaining and characteristics of
collective bargaining and also how to follow the guidelines of collective
bargaining.
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CONCLUSION:

Thus collective bargaining is a process of decision making in joint and

represents a democratic way of life. In collective bargaining, management and
employees come together willing to negotiate and give up some part of their
request in an effort to compromise. Management usually has the authority to hire,
fire and discipline employees.

Journals:

1. Traditional and Non-Traditional Collective Bargaining: Strategies to

Improve the Patient Care Environment
Karen W. Budd, PhD, RN, CNS, Linda S. Warino, BSN, RN, CPAN, Mary Ellen
Patton, RN
Online J Issues Nurs. 2004;9(1) 

Abstract
Acquiring organizational autonomy and control over nursing practice, through a
combination of traditional and non-traditional collective bargaining (CB)
strategies, is emerging as an important solution to the nursing shortage crisis. For
the past 60 years, nurses have improved their economic and general welfare by
organizing through traditional CB, particularly during periods of nursing
shortages. During the past decade, however, the downsizing of nursing staffs,
systems redesign, and oppressive management practices have created such poor
nursing practice environments that improvement in wages no longer is viewed as
the primary purpose of CB. Much more essential to nurses is assuring they have a
safe practice environment free of mandatory overtime and other work issues, and
a voice in the resource allocation decisions that affect their ability to achieve
quality health outcomes for patients. The thesis presented in this article is that
traditional and non-traditional CB strategies empower nurses to find such a voice
and gain control over nursing practice. This article describes the current shortage;
discusses how CB can be used to help nurses find a voice to effect change;
reviews the American Nurses Association's (ANA's) history of collective action
activities; explains differences between traditional and non-traditional CB
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strategies; and presents a case study in which both strategies were used to improve
the present patient care environment.

Int Nurs Rev. 1985 Jul-Aug;32(4):112-8.

2.Collective bargaining and organized nurses: correlation of support and

participation.
Beletz EE.
Abstract
The objective of this article was to list identified personal characteristics which
are intrinsic to the respondents, irrespective of their profession or employment,
and which influence their viewpoints and participation in collective bargaining.
Little information is reported in the nursing literature which points out the
similarities of nurses to other subsets of society. The belief systems of various
sub-group affiliations can have greater influence on one's opinions than one's
socialization to professional values or exposure to particular environments. The
current investigation was of an explorative nature. Moreover, as with many
surveys, the applicability of findings is limited to the respondent population. No
significant correlations were identified for nurses who are financially dependent
on the income from their position, union membership of a family member,
hospital size, shift worked or full-time/part-time employment status. The
identified correlates of participation in collective bargaining as seniority in
bargaining units and employment, hierarchical employment position and
involvement in the organizing campaign were consistent with findings regarding
blue collar unionists. Perception and militance correlates of age, seniority in the
profession and the bargaining unit, race, religion, sex, employment position,
membership in the professional association prior to collective bargaining,
involvement in the initial organizing campaign and geographic location are also
supportive of previous findings. The major finding of this investigation was that a
tendency toward negative perceptions was associated with a proclivity toward
militance. This was particularly true for the professional model of collective
bargaining.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
PMID:3849521[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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 Journal- www.google.com
http# collectivebargaining.com