Advanced Business Policy, OD and ADR
on employment issues that take place in the workplace between management and trade union representatives or officials;
5. Features of the industrial relations scene such as union membership in the workplace, the check off and strikes.
The outcomes of these processes are various forms of procedural and substantive agreements and employment procedures, including harmonization of terms and conditions, and the approaches used by organizations to manage with and without trade unions.
3.3 The role of Trade Unions
Trade unions have been view as:
1. Collective employee organizations established to protect employees from arbitrary actions by employers in matters of pay and working conditions.
2. As promoters of the legitimate interests of people at work. In practice, they have also played an important role in the political life of many countries, and, to a lesser extent, in its social affairs. As will all organization providing a service to the community, the ability of trade unions to exercise power and influence over users of their service depends on the relative demand for tat service. Thus, when demand for skilled labor in economy is high, trade unions are in a relatively powerful position to negotiate on behalf of that labor. They are also able in such circumstances to employ a wide range of sanctions against employers. When demand for labor is slack and unemployment is high, trade union power to influence events becomes more limited.
3.4 Disputes and Sanctions
No relationship is without their difficulties, and Employee Relations is no exception. However sound the underlying relationship between a management team and their workforce may be, there is always scope for mistakes and misunderstanding on both sides. It is prudent, therefore, to devise an agreed procedure or policy to be followed by the parties if a dispute arises.
The disagreement between an employer and employee can be devided into two categories:
Collective disputes - involving issues taken up on behalf of groups of employees by their representatives. (Simply referred as disputes)
Individual disputes - involving individual employees only (referred as grievances)
Dispute procedure as practiced in Tanzania is a follows:
First Stage Union representative raise issue with department/section manager
Second Stage Issue is discussed by Company Personnel Manager/and the local trade union representing worker of such sector e.g. Trade union representing Hotel and tourism sector
Third Stage Issue is discussed by the Company management and the National Trade union officers or the National Labor Tribunal
Final stage If internal stages have been exhausted, either side may seek conciliation via The National Labor Tribunal or both sides may agree to seek some form of arbitration, mediation or negotiation.
CHAPTER FOUR: ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ADR) METHODS
There are alternative dispute resolution methods that are put in place to enable Employer and employee relation stays in harmony all the time in order to increase productivity [next page]