⚡ Sources of Conflict
Big Idea: Industrial/employee relations covers the relationship between employers and employees, and how conflicts are prevented or resolved.
- Pay and conditions — employees want higher pay; employers want lower costs
- Working hours and contracts — zero-hour contracts, overtime disputes
- Job security — redundancies, restructuring, automation threats
- Health and safety — inadequate working conditions
- Management style — autocratic decisions without consultation
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🤝 Conflict Resolution Methods
- Collective bargaining — negotiation between employer and trade union representatives on behalf of workers
- Conciliation — a neutral third party helps both sides communicate and find common ground
- Arbitration — an independent arbitrator listens to both sides and makes a binding decision
- Employee participation — involving workers in decisions (works councils, worker directors)
- No-strike agreements — unions agree not to strike in exchange for binding arbitration
- Single-union agreements — employer negotiates with only one union to simplify relations
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✊ Types of Industrial Action
- Strike — employees refuse to work. Maximum disruption but workers lose pay
- Work-to-rule — employees do only the minimum required by their contract
- Go-slow — employees work at a deliberately slow pace
- Overtime ban — employees refuse to work beyond contracted hours
- Lockout — employer prevents workers from entering the workplace
Industrial action is a last resort. It damages both sides — workers lose pay, businesses lose revenue and reputation.