GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF NURSING,

BILASPUR (C.G.)

SESSION – 2021-22

SUBJECT – NURSING MANAGEMENT

SEMINAR ON
COLLECTIVE BARGANING

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
MS. TRIPTI ASISH MS.PRAKASHNI
ASSOCIATE PPROFESSOR M.Sc. NURSING II YEAR
M.Sc. (COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING)
 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
INTRODUCTION
Collective bargaining is a mode of fixing the terms of employment by means of bargaining between
organized body of employees and an employer or an association of employees acting usually through
authorized agents. The essence of collective bargaining is bargaining between interested parties and not
from the outside parties. The term collective bargaining is used because both the employees and employer
come together and put a collective effort to establish mutually agreeable terms and conditions for
employment.
Due to rapid social change and dissatisfaction with values and norms, the nurses are also striving towards
collective bargaining in order to meet their personal and professional needs. Although the nursing
profession has been represented by a professional association say ‘Trained Nurses Association of India’
since 1908, interest in labour unions is increasing due to administrative practices, support the interest in
labour unions.

MEANING OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

It is made up from two words collective which means “Group” and bargaining which means “proposals
and counter proposals.” So it is the process in which representatives of a labour organization and the
representatives of business organization meet and attempt to negotiate a contract or agreement, which
specifies the nature of employee-employer union relationship.

DEFINITION
According to Tudwig Teller “Collective bargaining is an agreement between a single Employer or an
association of employer or an association of employers on the one hand and the labours union at the other,
which regulates the terms and the conditions of employment.”
Collective bargaining has been defined as the technique that has been adopted by unions and management
for compromising their conflicting interests.
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.
According to Beach “Collective bargaining is concerned with the relations between unions reporting
employees and employers (or their representatives).
According to Encyclopaedia of social services, “Collective bargaining is the process of discussion and
negotiation between two parties one or both of whom is a group of persons acting in concert”.

HISTORY OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

o The concept of collective bargaining was introduced very late in India as trade unions were found
only in 20th century.
o The concept of collective bargaining attained significance only after 1962.
o The phrase of collective bargaining was coined by “Sydney and Beatrice Webb and Great Britain.
 o In the year 1913:The California Legislature extended the eight hour law to pupil nurses.
o 1919:-Formation of the union of Stewards and Nurses.
o 1930:-The National Labour Relation Act (NLRA) established.
o 1934:-ANA actively campaigned for the eight –hour per day.
o 1941:-California state nurses association represented nurses concerns before the labour board.
o 1946:- The California Nurses Association became the first nurses association to represent nurses.

OBJECTIVES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

The objectives of collective bargaining are:-

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

 To maintain employee and employer relation bilaterally.
 To protect the interests of nurse employees through collective action.
 To negotiate voluntarily, yielding some concessions and sacrifices by both parties.
 To bargain from a position of strength without exploiting the weakness.
 To resolve the differences between nurse employers and management through negotiation.
 To have a peaceful co-existence for the mutual benefits and progress.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

The following are the characteristics of collective bargaining:-
Collective:- Collective bargaining is a two way group process where the employers representative
and the employees representative sit together to negotiate terms of employment.

Strength:- Both the parties in collective bargaining is strong and equal.

Voluntary:- Both the 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 and static.

Improvement:- It is method to improve the employer –employees relation in the organization and
resolve management and employees conflict.

Representation:- Collective bargaining is between the representatives of employees and

management. The management does not directly deal with employees. It carries negotiation with
the 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 the 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 the employer representatives negotiate directly face
to face across the table.

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 relationship between nurse employee and employer.
 Emphasizes on the interests and benefits of both the parties.
 Eliminates unnecessary expenditure and avoids bitterness among nurses and their employers.

DEMERITS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

 The collective process may not be fair at all the times.

 The decision is often influenced by the power and politics.
 The immediate consequence of collective bargaining if not fulfilled is strike or lockout.

TYPES OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

According to Fosson JA, there are four types of collective bargaining distributive, integrative or
cooperative, productivity and composite bargaining.
Distributive or conjunctive bargaining:-

 Economic issues like wages, salaries and bonus are discussed.

 One party’s gain is another party’s loss.
 More competitive.
Integrative or cooperative bargaining:-
Both the parties may gain, and at least neither party loses.
It tends to be more cooperative.
Both the parties are trying to make more of something.
Productivity bargaining:-
Substantial benefits based on productivity standards.
Management control over work place relations.
Composite bargaining:-
Wages with equity.
Process of collective bargaining:-
The process of collective Bargaining involves negotiation and discussion between the management
and union. It is a complex process involving a number of procedures, techniques and tools. The
process consists of five main steps.
1. Preparatory phase:-
In this phase following activities are carried out.
 Selection of the negotiation team: It consists of representatives of both the parties .They
should have adequate knowledge and skills of negotiation. They must know when to
listen .when to speak, when to stand in the ground, when to concede and when to make
counter proposal.
 Identification of problem
 Examination of situation, and issues for negotiation.
 Collection of data: Enough supporting data is kept ready .Initial 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.
 Maintenance of mutual trust and understanding.
 Involve in active listening ,asking questions, observation and summarizing decisions,
 Collective bargaining.

Possible alternatives or proposal phase:- During this phase there is:-

 Initial opening of statements,
 Possible alternatives opinions to resolve the issues by both the parties.
 Brainstorming

3. Bargaining phase:-
During the bargaining phase, both parties involves in the activities:
 Problem solving
 Proposals are set forth.

4. Settlement phase:-
After the bargaining phase, settlement phase starts with;
 Consensus agreement on common decision.
 Negotiated change

5. 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 it’s terms and
conditions.

6. Enforcing the agreement:-

 To have the agreement effective and meaning, it should be enforced or implemented
immediately.
Role of TNAI in collective bargaining:-
According to trained nurses association of India, the association cannot be legally appointed as a
negotiating body at a local, state or national level. It is also well documented that the nurses
formed the service association in various states and in many places they also joined as
paramedical workers, and even fourth class employees union, where they loss their professional
standing. Keeping in mind the necessity to better conditions for nurses and to maintain the
dignity and standard of nursing profession, the association framed following regulations.
 To approach union state governments and other employing agencies to form Grievances
Committees solves all the local problems, personal or professional, wherever possible.
 To have a state level committee with a TNAI representative to act as a arbitrator in cases
referred to by the local Grievances Committee.
 To encourage and assist state government Nurses Service Associations in recognizing
negotiating bodies by the employers.
 The association would extend cooperation and create opportunities for joint activities and
action under terms and conditions, where the State Government Nurses Association already
exists.
 TNAI and its members will not support any strike controlled or voted by any union and
organization other than nurses.
 The TNAI members may support a strike action where the welfare of the members of the
profession as a whole or the improvement of nursing services to the community and the State
Government Nursing Association and the State branch, TNAI agrees under the following
conditions:-
o The grievances if exist, be thoroughly investigated by the Government Nurse
Association and send a letter to the local or state TNAI executive.
o The state branch executive, TNAI, should be satisfied with the report.
o The association will legally approach the authority for correcting situation.
o If no action is taken by the authorities despite all efforts, the members of the
government nurses association will ask to vote for strike.
o A strike notice should be given at least two months before the date of strike. During
this period the effort should be made to pursue the authorities and the public should
be informed through the media about the grievances of the nurses; the consequences
on the care of patients and the public; the efforts already made; assuring the public to
provide nursing care to all seriously ill patients and emergency cases during the
strike; and asking for support from the press and public.
o Action plans to be used including rendering emergency nursing care during the strike
should made jointly by the Government Nurses Associations and TNAI.
 o Inform al members about the action plan and to act as professional during the strike.

NURSES UNIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS

 Since its inception, the ANA has had an active interest in the economics security of nurses. The
original purposes of ANA was "to promote the use full and honor, the financial and other interest
of the nursing profession"- Flannigan-1976. Although this statement was useful in helping to
shape the role of the profession in supporting collective bargaining for nurses, the ANA did not
officially adopt an economic security program that included collective bargaining for nurses
through the Economics and General welfare program, which currently is called the Department of
labor Relations and work place advocacy.

 The ANA is a registered labor organization, but it does not engage in direct collective bargaining.
The actual certification of units, negotiation of contracts, and administration of contracts is
conducted by the SNA.

 The SNA have the freedom to independently decide their own level of participation regarding
collective bargaining.

 In 1983, the nursing leaders established their first organisation, the American Society of
Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses, one of whose purpose was a commitment to
promote the general welfare of nurses.

 In early 1900s, working conditions and salaries for nurses were extremely poor.

 In 1929, some nurses began to recognize that protest and collective action were necessary if the
conditions of the nurse were to improve.

 In 1945, Shirley Titus, then the executive director of the California nurses association, chaired a
committee to study the employment conditions of nurses; as a result of the findings of this
committee, ANA adopted what was called the economic security program.

 In 1974, the health care amendments referred to earlier made it possible for nurses to use legal
sanctions if necessary to ensure bargaining related to conditions of employment.

 Since the passage of these amendments, many state nurses associations (SNAs) have qualified as
a legal bargaining agents for nurses. In 1982 ANA changed structure to become a federation of
state association. This change has rendered the state associations more direct representation of
their member nurses.
CONCLUSION

According to Tudwig Teller “Collective bargaining is an agreement between a single Employer or an

association of employer or an association of employers on the one hand and the labours union at the
other, which regulates the terms and the conditions of employment.” The objectives of collective
bargaining are:-To arrive an agreement on wages and other conditions of employment ,to maintain
employee and employer relation bilaterally. 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.
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