Employment Relations in the U.K: Past and the Present - Essay Example

Employment Relations in U.K - Past and the Present /Essay using MLA Technique By.R.Subba Rayudu 11th April, 2008 Brief Overview: This paper discusses the importance of proper employment relations, employment relations in U.K in the past, problems faced by all the stake holders in employment relations, influence of Europe on employment relations in U.K, Present scenario and lessons learnt from the past. Introduction: Employment relations, presently in Human Relations are calling the shots. Probably a decade ago its importance was grossly under rated and under valued. The case I'm dealing with chosen, employment relations previously in U.K and presently, is typical example of the impact of globalization and calls for need to innovate and change constantly along with the changes in the industry. Employment relations in U.K, were a victim of improper communication between the stake holders and the stake holders pursuing their own interests rather than the common industry interests. As a result the scene was chaotic and conflicts rose between the Union strongholds, managements of various organizations and the Government. It is almost impossible to single out any part to blame but collectively employment relations suffered greatly, as a result economic growth took the back seat and new employable areas almost vanished. When situation looked grim and almost impossible to repair dramatic changes took place. Europe, which has adapted well to the call for change in Human relations has acted like a catalyst in the change movement that took place in U.K. Surprisingly, stake holders in Employment relations in U.K, responded positively to the call for change and mended their ways. Situation bettered and employment relations are definitely looking clear and focused to let changes take place. What brought such a sudden change in their attitude is proper dialogue and a establishment of a transparent communication among the stake holders. It is not that there is no communication system previously, They have learnt what are the communication barriers which are hampering the process and they have successfully removed them. Change Management- the order of the day: The concept - employment relations bring out the participation of stake holders in building healthy and prospective relationships. This academic essay focuses on identifying the stake holders, their responsibilities, roles they have played and the type of transition that has taken place in U.K. In the present day industry to change is the norm of the day. Any organization which has remained static and resisted changes has been phased out. Human Relations Management over the last decade has learnt how to adapt to changing situations and guide the organization towards achievement of its objectives by innovating and changing. The changes are not without their due share of problems. U.K in the past was haunted by colonialism and a high degree of collective bargaining among the workers. Trade Unions and Labor Unions ruled the roost for most of the period and actually crippled the economy and productivity. However the situation took a turnaround and seems a much brighter scene than the past. What caused this turnaround is the never say die spirit of the Brits and the positive influence of the European market as a whole on U.K. Stakeholders in employment relations: Employment Relations is "Maintaining all possible contacts with the participatory involvement of public, the corporate, the Government and the Unions and generate value for the organization". (Public & Industrial Relations, P.34, 35, 2005, V.K.Gupta). I have observed the participation of the all the above said stake holders and the respective roles played by them in the problem phase and the solution phase. Some of the stakeholders are: i. The Management of various organizations. ii. Respective Employees and their individual actions. iii. The role played by Trade Unions & Employee Welfare Organizations. iv. Policies laid by the Government and lack of proper implementation. Thorns in the path: Generally employment relations lies between the corporate and the public, the organization and its share holders, suppliers, the management and employees within the organization and the relation between Employee unions and the management. Problems creep up because of lack of proper communication, disputes and disagreement on particular issues. According to Hazard, A popular U.K magazine, which is backed by Trade Union Congress there were plenty of problems management are posing for the workers. They cited problems such as "new technologies and the lack of privacy rights at work mean bosses can monitor employees constantly and secretly, which is bad for their productivity and health".("stop snooping",Hazard, U.K.Magazine, July 1, 2004), ( Appendix # 1). From the management side they had their quota of complaints as well. According to recent surveys around 65% of the companies are unable to calculate the losses from absenteeism of workers. They had no idea the impact of these losses on their indirect costs. The academia pledged that these "UNION Wars" have to change their direction and approach from that of a confrontation approach to a participative approach and frame a constructive agenda that meets the demands of the ever and constantly changing competitive and globalised economy. On February 19, 2001 "TUC (Trade Union Congress) claimed that more than 20,000 accidents and major injuries and a third of sick leaves could be avoided with a more participative approach of the management and the employees".( Hazard, U.K.Magazine, July 1, 2004) Management and Unions Crossing Swords: During the 1990's to the early 2000's U.K industry suffered because of poor communication between the Management and the Employees. Each had their own share of complaints, partly true and partly exaggerated. One more glaring concern is the lack of Government intervention to solve these disputes. Despite the academia's trumpet calls for Government's intervention and the need to settle the issues through proper dialogue U.K government never really ventured to solve the disputes. In U.K all the trade unions if they have to act as official agents for employees have to register themselves by submitting an a return to the "certification officer", so far 67 unions are acting as agents and are under TUC(Trade Union Congress). More than 230 such organizations have submitted their returns for consideration from March, 2000 to April, 2001. The reason for providing these figures is to understand the dominance of the trade unions in controlling Employment relations. More than 6 million people are registered under various unions. Individualistic & lethargic work Culture: Partly the problems are a result of the work culture that used to prevail in U.K. When the world is competing to have theirs own share in a globalized economy, Industry in U.K remained static, conservative representing their traditional, true laid back working methods. As a result modern approaches were never really thought about Many popular English Magazines like "The Telegraph" quoted popular work place practices such as "internet addiction" and improper utilization of man hours. Employees are rarely learning modern approaches in the work place. What was important is to adopt a style of functioning which does not have a major impact on their technology and finance yet should be able to accommodate changes. Disciplinary Management style - a reason for unrest: Previously the management approach was that of controlling and monitoring the employees. They felt that the Unions are provoking employees and turning them to rebel against management policies and decisions and felt that they need to control this tendency. Where they failed to turn the tide into their favour is because of their central tendency approach. The applied the scale in common and failed to distinguish the genuineness of cases. Some how corporate were circumspect in involving workers in decision making. Moreover in issues like grievance handling, compensation and employee development and career building employee participation was observed to be minimal. Poor Employee Grievance Redressal: "Between January, 2001 and 2002 around 470 employees have brought employee tribunal claims where the allegations were mainly sexual harassment and discrimination on grounds of racism". (The Experiences of Sexual Orientation and Religion or Belief Discrimination Employment Tribunal Claimants, Denvir A, Broughton A, Gifford J, Hill D; Acas Report; April 2007.) With all their knowledge and expertise in employment relations the corporate in U.K should have handled the situation better. Excessive involvement of Unions: Because of their strong existence, Unions tried to monopolize matters showing a bullish approach even in matters needing better dialogue and understanding. Their demand approach did not auger well with the management and up to some extent with the government as well. When they resisted unions, it churned up trouble. Europe as a Change Agent in U.K's Employment Relations: In their article "Employment Flexibility and Industrial Relations arrangements at Organization level: A comparison of five European countries", the authors Michael Morley and Thomas Turner discussed about a major factor, Employment flexibility through methods such as temporary jobs, fixed term work contracts and job sharing. These types of flexible employment are possible due to the degree of association of Unions with the managements and their role as change agents. Union membership decline - a reason for change: Over the last 20-30 years Union memberships across Britain fluctuated sharply. Union membership enrollment literally came to a stand still during the early 1990's. Although little changes were observed there after they were primarily due to the growth in public sector employment. For example in 2003, the number of members in Trade Union was less than 7 Million and union density was around29.3 percent. In 2003, the union density in public sector was around 59% and 18 percent in the private sector. Less use of collective bargaining - reason for change: Over the last two decades surveys have shown that collective bargaining has declined with less and less participation of Unions in these matters. The figure came down sharply from around 71% in 1984 to 54% in 1993, a dramatic happening in such a short span of time (Millward et al.2000:197). Conservative governments in force - from 1970 to 1997 - sought to bring down the influence of trade unions in organizations. As a result they have privatized many public sector organizations, compulsory participatory tendering, tight public expenditure limits have brought down the influence of TUC as a whole on organizations. Another interesting fact that was observed is the affect of collective bargaining on payments of employees. It showed that only 32% of the employees were affected by collective bargaining (Palmer et al, 2004:35). Unions as Change Agents: Unions in U.K understood that there is major shift in progression and immediately accepted the changes. Because of their positive participation, change management movement in U.K has become feasible. The greater degree of freedom, involvement and recognition provided to the Unions by some of the managements acted like catalysts in the change. Union leaders changed their stance from 'Reactive' to 'proactive'. Actually it is a gamble that paid of well for many of the managements. The more recognition they got made them less susceptible to jeopardize their jobs. Union leaders became more loyal in creating 'job regulations' and offering better services to employees. Employers and Employees as stake holders: Employers and Employees understood the flexibility that temporary jobs or fixed term contracts offer, hence the change. The problem Organizations had previously is lack of participatory approach. Employees never considered jobs to be permanent and hence they were on the look out for better offers. Employees often complained about employers being harsh to them and not receiving due attention form employers. Employers on the contrary had their share of troubles. H.R managers always had to worry about recruitment from external circles. The quality and the intentions of those who were applying for jobs were rather poor, people were looking for part time employments and were not clear of their future career options. This is mainly because of poor communication between management and its workers. Presently, however, the situation has improved considerably. This is probably because managements and Government has realized the necessity to create more employability options. Change in Work Culture - A necessary Change Agent: Presently in U.K, their approach towards work practices did change considerably. It is partly because of Globalization and the advent of "Japanization". There are enough evidences to suggest that the Japanization is working well despite the fact there are some regional changes are there. The process of employment restructuring is an ongoing process the results of which can be estimated in the due course. i.Employee participation and adoption to changes: Because of the advent of globalization, changing economic scenario employees understood the need to change and accepted work place challenges, which was never a scene in the past. ii. Better handling of Grievances: Especially in the corporate and Government run organizations efficient use of systems prevented grievances of concern. Change from a Disciplinary Management style to a Participative Management: Even the corporate have learnt the lessons well from their past mistakes.By adopting models such as *"Japanization"( Appendix # 3) and other *"zero tolerance measures" (Appendix # 4) they were able to obtain a participatory management model. Better handling of grievances such as compensation management was managed efficiently by adopting global parameters. Concepts such as "performance based pay" were used through flexi time and flexi pay method. Sir Geoffrey Owen, a senior fellow at London School of Economics said in a recent interview the need for participation of academicians in corporate governance issues of corporate. This as he has observed will eliminate the possibility of poor administration of corporate governance. One more example is the participation of organizations such as ACAS which aims to improve organizations and working life through better employment relations. Experienced advisors from ACAS help organizations improve worker productivity through impartial advice, training, information and a range of problem resolution services. Another such example is the 2004; workplace employment Relations survey (WERS), the survey is jointly sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry, The Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration of Service, The Economics and Social Research Council and the Policy Studies institute. The purpose of each survey is to provide large scale statistically reliable evidence about a broad range of employment relations and industry practices across almost every section of economy in Great Britain. Conclusion: The concept - employment relations bring out the participation of stake holders in building healthy and prospective relationships. Employment relations in U.K, were a victim of improper communication between the stake holders and the stake holders pursuing their own interests rather than the common industry interests. It is almost impossible to single out any part to blame but collectively employment relations suffered greatly, as a result economic growth took the back seat and new employable areas almost vanished. By changing to a participatory approach the corporate, government, employees and unions have successfully challenged the questions once haunted them in U.K. Globalization and its influences in the form cross cultural relations, different work ethics have their due share of saying too in the success story of employability relations in U.K. Appendix: i.1 July 2004 - 'Stop snooping', a report in a recent edition of the TUC backed Hazards magazine, says that new technologies and the lack of privacy rights at work mean bosses can monitor employees constantly and secretly, which is bad for their productivity and health. ii.19 February 2001 - The TUC claims that 20,000 major workplace injuries a year could be prevented, and a third of a million days sickness absence avoided if more businesses and unions took a partnership approach to issues of health and safety. iii.Japanization, a concept of employment relationship model exercised by "Japanese Management", which deals with labor utilization and wage setting. ("Modern Concepts in Management", ICFAI Journal, ICFAI Press publication, 2004) iv. "Zero Tolerance", a model exercised by Government and Management of corporate towards unruly behavior exhibited in work places. ("Modern Concepts in Management", ICFAI Journal, ICFAI Press publication, 2004) References 1. Public & Industrial Relations, P.34, 35, 2005, V.K.Gupta 2. Hazard, U.K.Magazine, July 1, 2004. 3. Modern Concepts in Management", ICFAI Journal, ICFAI Press publication, 2004 4. Acas Report by Denvir A, Broughton , A Gifford, April 2007. Employment Flexibility and Industrial Relations arrangements at Organization level:A comparison of five European countries. By Thomas Turner, Michael Morley 5. "Employment Flexibility and Industrial Relations arrangements at Organization level: A comparison of five European countries"- By Thomas Turner, Michael Morley, 2002, P.430-432 Read More