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Labour Relations

In: Business and Management

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Chapter 16: Labour Relations
Labour union: an officially recognized association of employees practicing a similar trade or employed in the same company or industry who have joined together to present a united front and collective voice in dealing with management.
-the purpose of unionization are to influence HR policies and practices that affect bargaining unit members such as pay and benefits.

Labour- management relations: the ongoing interactions between labour unions and management in organizations
-managerial discretion and flexibility in dealing with employees and in implementing and administering HR policies/procedures are reduced.

Collective agreement (union contract): a formal agreement between an employer and the union representing a group of its employees regarding terms and conditions of employment.

Collective bargaining: negotiations between a union and an employer to arrive at a mutually acceptable collective agreement

-an organization’s labour relations strategy, one component of its HR strategy, is its overall plan for dealing with unions, which sets the tone for its union-management relationships.

-union acceptance strategy- view the union as the legitimate representative of the employees.
-union avoidance strategy- prefer to operate in a non unionized environment. (Walmart)

-to avoid unions, companies can either adopt a:
-union substitution approach- become so responsive to employees’ needs that there is no incentive for them to unionize
-union suppression approach- when there is a desire to avoid a union at all costs (Walmart)

Canada’s Labour Laws
-Canadian Labour laws have two general purposes: 1. To provide a common set of rules for fair negotiations 2. To protect the public interest by preventing the impact of labour disputes from inconveniencing the public.
-common characteristics of labour relations

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