Post on 04-Jun-2018
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Comparative analysis of
Industrial Relations in UK,USA,
Japan, Germany and Sweden
By DEVAN GOPAL
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Industrial Relations in Japan
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Main Features
Kaisha system: System of workersparticipation(where individuals are involved indecision making)
Ringi Sido:Method of decision makingGroup decision making where a properdecision making sequence is used
Seamondstriangle of Discretion :InStrategy formulation, discretionary power ofdifferent level of management
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Trade unions The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo)
The National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren)
Level of wage negotiations
Wage negotiations named Spring Wage Offensivetake placeeach spring as a concerted effort of most labor unions.
Minimum wage Minimum wages are determined through the investigation and
deliberation of the Minimum Wage Council, and differ acrossregions and sectors.
Employers' associations The Japanese Federation of Employers Associations
(Nikkeiren)is the main employers association.
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Promotion of employee participation in profits and enterprisesresults (Pepper)
Employee participation in company results has been increasing andnew benefit structures have been emerging, e.g. a stock option scheme
Formal / official arbitration
The Labour Relations Commission provides conciliation, mediationand arbitrationfor labor disputes. The Prefectural Labour RelationsCommission carries out initial examination and the Central LabourRelations Commissionmanages re-examination
Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitrationvoluntary The Labour Relations Adjustment Law provides for a system of
addressing disputes between labor and management includingconciliation, mediation and arbitration with a strong emphasis on thevoluntary settlement of labor disputes
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General description / Legal framework
The Japanese constitution guarantees fundamental rights:
Freedom of association,
Freedom of collective bargaining
Freedom to act collectively (Art. 29)
The Trade Union Law defines trade unions (Art. 2) and unfair
labor practices (Art. 7). The Labour Relations Adjustment Lawprovides labor dispute settlement procedures
Maximum duration of probationary period
During the probationary period, workers that have beenemployed for more than 14 days must be provided at least 30
days advance notice by the employer in case of dismissal
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Regulations on individual redundancy
Firms are allowed to dismiss workers with 30 days of
notice. Management must demonstrate "just cause" before
discharging employees
Limitations on working time
Special regulations governing the protection of femaleworkers in terms of overtime, rest-day work and work at
night have been abolished
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Industrial Relations in Sweden
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Some charctersitcs features of work place
bargaining in Sweden
There is no uniform structurefor workplacebargaining.
Process is largely fluid and flexibleone rather
than well defined and highly structured. Workplace negotiation is more informal and
unwritten.
Scope of bargaining is limited in terms ofissues. Most common issues are Wage andsalary.
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Relationship between workplace bargaining and
strikes:
The strikes in Sweden metal working Industry was usedas means to force the management to either concede
higher wagesor to extend the scope of workplace
bargaining, especially manning ,hiring/firing issues.
The management rarely brings in third parties to
assess in negotiation.
In Sweden rates of pay, other conditions of employment
of the majority of wage and salary earners are settled by
collective agreements.
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The employees in Sweden are highly unionized
:95% of manual workers, 70% white collar
workersemployed in manufacturing industry belong
to trade unions.
Collective bargainingin Sweden is still basicallydecentralized affairswhich in practice leaves a good
deal of room for negotiation of agreements both at the
level of Industry and in individual firm method.
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Industrial Relations in Germany
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Main features of structure and functions of IR
in Federal Republic of Germany
The trade unions are mostly organized at industry level.
Certain rights have been established enabling every employeeto participate through his elected representatives at plant levelin some areas of management activity.
The trade unions institutionally are not present within theundertaking. Their influence is indirect; operating mainlythrough personal link between works council members andunion members on account of the fact that many Works
Council members hold union office.
Management has to report to the works council about theeconomic situation of the undertaking every three months.
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Collective Bargaining:
In Germany, under Collective Agreements Act, the validity of a
collective agreement is not conditional upon govt. approval.
The German Statute law has nothing to say regarding the actualprocess of collective bargaining or settlement of disputes arising inthat connection. Rules in this respect have largely been worked out
by court decisions mainly by Federal Labor Court and FederalConstitutional Court.
The DGB and BDA organizations have special departments
concerned with collective bargaining matters from which theiraffiliates can obtain information and advice.
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Labour Participation in Management:(Co-
determination)
All the companies in coal, iron and steel industries with over 1000employees are subject to codetermination law of 1951. All other companies
with 500 to 2000 employees are subject to Workers Constitution Act of
1952, and those with over 2000 employees (except coal, iron and steel)
must adhere to the Co-determination Act of 1976.
General Feature of Co-determination;The system is based on three main institutions
Works Council
Supervisory Board
Labour Directors on the management boards Legal rights and obligation of the work councils:
The right to co determination
The right to consultation and participation.
The right to information.
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General description / Legal framework:
The German constitution, the Basic Law (Grundgesetz),guarantees
Right to free collective bargaining
Freedom of association (Art. 9, Section 3;)
There is no uniform regulation under German labour law:
No statutory minimum wage
Nor a statutory right to strike.
The task of the trade unions and the employers' organisations:
To lay down the conditions of employment in comprehensivecollective agreements and
To adjust agreements to the prevailing economic and social
developments.
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Limitations on working time:
Statutory limit: 48 hours/week.
Maximum duration of probationary period:
In general, no more than 6 months. 14 days' notice requiredduring the probationary period .
Regulations on individual redundancy:
The period of notice is 1 to 7 months. It may be shortened orextended by collective agreement or extended on the basis ofindividual contracts. Notice may be given only for objectivereasons. The average redundancy pay is 13 weeks' pay.
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Industrial Relations in United
Kingdom
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Employers' associations
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI)is the main
representative body of employers. Its membership includes
both firms and industry-based associations.
Trade unions
The Trades Union Congress (TUC)is the umbrella
organisation of the trade unions. The TUC has no power tobargain directly with employers; its main functions are the
representation of the trade union movement as a whole and
trade union education. There are over 200 registered unions in
Britain, roughly 70 of which are affiliated with the TUC.
Level of wage negotiations
Wage determination in the UK has always been more
decentralized than elsewhere in Europe.
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The legal framework of IR in UK:
The improvement in the functioning and status of
organizations of workers and employers Protection of Trade unions members and officials.
Regulation of terms and conditions of employment.
Streamlining the procedure for settlement of trade
disputes.
Provision to strengthen the process of collective
bargaining
The govt. passed the Trade union act in 1871 torecognize trade unions and their acts as legal.
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The legal position was further strengthened by a series of Actsand these being:
The Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act, 1875 The Trade disputes Act, 1906
The Trade Union Act, 1913
The Trade disputes and trade Union Act, 1927
The Trade Union and Labor relations Act, 1974
The Employment Protection Act, 1975
Along with the trade unions, the govt. has also provided forstatutory recognition of employers association as legal
corporate bodies under the Trade union and Labour RelationsAct, 1974. Under this Act Associations have the same right asTrade unions.
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Security of Employment;Discharges, dismissal or redundancy
serves as the potential cause of trade disputes.
The Act governing security are:
Contracts of Employment act, 1963 and 1973 The redundancy Payments Act, 1965 and 1969
The Trade union and Labour Relations Act,1979 and 1976
The Employment Protection act ,1975
Settlement of Trade
The Govt. has enacted laws if the parties dont settle their disputes
by collective bargaining.
In 1896 the conciliation act was passed to establish the conciliation
procedure. In 1919 another law providing voluntary arbitration
through a statutory industrial court was passed.
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Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitrationvoluntary:The ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service ) is the main
body involved in conciliation and arbitration.
Formal / official arbitration:The CAC (Central Arbitration Committee) originally had a wide range of
powers. Most of its functions, however were abolished in the 1980s. Nowits role is limited to voluntary arbitration that is not binding but usuallyaccepted.
Industrial Tribunals:Tribunals normally consist of 3 members: a lawyer as chairperson, arepresentative of employers and a representative of employees. Industrialtribunals have jurisdiction only in so far as it is specifically given to them
by Parliament.
Regulations on individual redundancy:
The statutory minimum period of notice is 1 to 12 weeks depending on theduration of employment. If the length of continuous employment is lessthan two years, the period of notice is one week. For each additional year
of service, it increases by one week up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
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Industrial Relations in USA
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Employee involvementThere is a ban on non-trade-union representation in theworkplace to prohibit companies from setting up companydominated labour organisations and thus excluding trade
unions from their companies.
Employers' associationsSince collective bargaining typically occurs on a company-by-company basis (or even on an establishment-by-establishment
basis within an individual company), there is no nationwidegroup representing employers in collective bargaining.
Trade unionsThere is a nation-wide organization of unions --- the American
Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations(AFL-CIO) --- as well as state-level versions of the AFL-CIOthat represent unions in government affairs protection
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Minimum Wages:
Federal law sets a minimum wage covering most employment.
Some states have higher minimum wages, and the number ofstates with higher minimum wages generally increases if the
federal minimum wage is left unchanged for three or more
years
Level of wage negotiations
Decentralized system, with negotiations typically occurring
between the "local" of a national union and an individual
employer. Craft union "locals" may negotiate with
representatives of a local employer organization .
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Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitration - voluntary
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (a federal
government agency created in 1947) and several state-levelmediation and conciliation services provide contract
negotiation mediation, preventive mediation, arbitrationservices, and alternative dispute resolution on a voluntary basisto union and employer negotiators and to union and
management parties of a labor dispute.
Formal / official arbitration
Mandatory arbitration is rarely imposed.
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General description / Legal framework
The federal government provides a statutory framework for
contracts between employers and employees.
The federal government also sets the statutory minimum wage,although state governments are free to establish a higherminimum wage.
Under federal labor law, non-management workers who areemployed more than 40 hours per week must be paid at anovertime rate of at least 150 % of their standard pay for hoursin excess of 40 hours.
There are no federal and few state laws providing protectionagainst worker dismissal
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Trade Union Density
28.9
24
91.1
32.9
14.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
GER JPN SWE UK USA
Countries
%ofwageandsala
ryearnersbeing
unionm
embers
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Bibliography Mamoria and Mamoria, Dynamics of Industrial Relations, 14th
revised edition, 2002, Himalya Publishing House, Mumbai.
Bhatia, S.K., International Industrial Relations, 2nd edition, Deep andDeep Publications, New Delhi.
Ahuja, K.K., Industrial Relations, theory and practice, 1stedition,1988,Kalayani Publishers ,New Delhi.
Gower, European Labour Relations Gower publishing, England,Volume I,2001
Gower, European Labour Relations Gower publishing, England,Volume II,2001
Niland R. John, Lansbury D. Russell, The future of IndustrialRelations-Global change and challenges, Sage publications,1994
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OnLine Sources
Carley Mark, Industrial relations in the EU,
Japan and USA, 2003-4, European industrial
relations observatory on-line, published on
10-03-2005 (www.eiro.org)
International Reform Monitor's data-base on
Industrial Relations (www.reformmonitor.com)
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THANK
YOU