Ray Fells

Developing Trust in Negotiation

Trust appears to be central in the development of effective workplace and negotiating relationships. However, much of the discussion presumes an understanding of what “trust” is. Seeks to examine the nature of trust and suggests that it relates to risk and the expectations of interacting parties. The means by which trust is established through negotiation, as part of the process of reaching agreement, are explored.

The Living Wage – Policy And Practice

A recent development in addressing the longstanding problem of low pay in the United Kingdom has been the emergence of a social campaign for a ‘living wage’. Using a case study approach this article explores an employers decision to pay the living wage that, in turn, provided both challenges and opportunities for the unions in their dealings with contractors.

Public Sector Labour Relations in Western Australia - An Overview

The election of a LiberalNational Coalition government in 1993 heralded a period of significant and sustained change in Western Australian public sector labour relations. As legislator, the Coalition government embarked upon a program to decentralise and deregulate the Western Australian industrial relations system; as an employer, the government has had to respond to the economic imperatives which have faced most employers in recent years. The result has been a period of major change in the public sector – employment levels have declined as services have been privatised or contracted out; the proportion of non-permanent and part-time employees has risen significantly. Individual workplace agreements have been introduced; individualised performance-related management and reward systems have increased; and the scope for union involvement has diminished, as has the level and density of union membership. The experience of the public sector therefore reflects many of the workplace changes that are also found in the private sector. It also brings the governments industrial relations policies into sharper focus.

Enterprise Bargaining and the Process of Negotiation: A Case Study

Although industrial relations in Australia are undergoing a significant transition towards an enterprise-based System, there has been little research into the man agement-union negotiation process. This paper describes how an employer and two unions reached an enterprise agreement, and examines the choice and inter action aspects of negotiation to explore why and how this was done. The case study demonstrates the characteristics of genuine negotiation and suggests that strong motivation to reach agreement and inherently competitive interaction can have results that meet the needs of the parties.

The Hancock Report and Workplace Industrial Relations

Workplace industrial relations are growing in importance. The extent of plant bargaining and the scope of the industrial relations agenda at that level have developed markedly over the recent past. Such a development risks the growth of an unregulated informal system of industrial relations. While the Hancock Report recognizes the need for more formal dispute and grievance procedures, it does not adequately deal with the problems arising at workplace level. This paper argues for a broad policy of formalized relationships at workplace level by various means but not through legislation.

Preparation for negotiation: Issue and process

Examines the task of preparing for negotiation, making the distinction between preparation for handling the issue and giving consideration to the process itself. Data from 28 negotiation simulations suggest that negotiators will tend to take a position‐based approach on the issue, but at the same time will try and establish orderly if not co‐operative forms of interaction. Suggests some practical implications, the principal one being that more attention could usefully be given to behavioural aspects of the process rather than concentrating on issue‐based strategies when preparing for a negotiation.

The living wage in the UK – an analysis of the GMB campaign in local government

ABSTRACT The adoption of a statutory national minimum wage policy in the UK is proving ineffective in resolving the problem of low pay. The emergence of living wage campaigns in the UK follows similar developments in the USA, and more recently, New Zealand. Rather than focus on a particular employer-specific campaign, this paper explores the campaign of the General and Municipal Boilermakers Union (GMB) in local government which recruits members from low-paid occupations. The 11 local government sector cases examine contracted workers allied to local government services, drawing on interviews with full-time officers, lay representatives and members involved in the campaigns. Nine campaigns were successful and two were not. The Union’s strategy revealed an interplay between industrial and political influences and, despite the social-economic nature of the issue, the limited extent of involvement of social movements in the campaign.

Settlement Process or Tactical Opportunity? Mediation in Industrial Relations

Mediation is often suggested as an alternative method of resolving industrial disputes. However, the precise nature of mediation in the industrial relations context is not clear, and although the emphasis is on a facilitative approach, the evidence from two case studies suggests that a more interventionist approach may be more typical. The case studies also suggest that mediation will be used tactically during the course of a negotiation as well as being a means of bringing the dispute to an end. This opportunity for a tactical recourse to mediation is increased where the legislation seeks to guide or control the conduct of negotiations, as in the case of the proposed amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996. Some implications that arise from this tactical opportunity are explored, including tbe development of a motivational perspective to mediation.

Employer Association Policy on Redundancy and the Practice of Western Australian Companies

The Confederation of Australian Industry’s policy on redundancy The Confederation’s views are expressed in its policy statement, Guidelines for Retrenchment, which was first adopted in 1978. In’these Guidelines, the employers recognize their responsibility for effective manpower planning in the context of a tripartite national planning policy. Should reductions in manpower become necessary at the enterprise level, the Guidelines state that a ’conscious and concerted effort’ will be made: ..

Award Restructuring, Workplace Reform and the Changing Nature of Australian Industrial Relations

This paper examines the changes taking place in Australian industrial relations. It takes as its starting point the policy objective of improving workplace productivity and examines the impact of reforms on this objective using Lewins framework for the analysis of change and a mining operation as a case study. The paper suggests that the reforms are only facilitative and this exposes a reliance on management for the achievement of the policy objective. The dominance of managerial perspective changes the fundamental nature of the industrial relations system and raises several important policy considerations, in particular issues relating to the recognition of trade unions.