Recently Increased International Attention -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Recently Increased International Attention? Answer: Introduction Recently increased international attention has been attached to non union form of employee representation. This is because the representation gap in various countries is growing as membership of the union is declining. Another reason for the growth of Non-union representation is the rising evidence of advantages of representative employee indulgence for enterprise efficiency and flexibility. However the reality in relation to the Australian attempt towards employee participation has not been discussed much. According to (Patmore, 2013) a Non-union representation can be defined as a kind of representation mechanism which is present along with or in place of trade unions. This form of representation historically gas been most common in Australia. The effectiveness of the non-union form of representation has not been tested much in relation to its composition, independence form things such as managerial influence, representation made by such bodies as well as their accountability (Estre icher, 2013) The purpose of this paper is to analyze to what degree the non-union forms of employee representation and voice would ease the issues which have risen in the seven eleven case. The analysis would be supported with respect to evidence for non-union forms of employee representation. The purpose of the paper is also to provide recommendation in relation to the changes required in the bargaining structure operating in the retail industry in order to avoid and address the issue which arose in the 7 eleven case appropriately. The recommendation would be provided business on the effectiveness of the Australian bargaining structure as well as appropriate policy examples from other countries. Eleven Case As discussed in the Assessment 7 Eleven is a well known franchisee working in Australia which have which have indulged in unethical and illegal activities in relation to how they treat and deal with the employees. The news about the incident spread very fast and thus it led to the lunching of an enquiry by the Fair work Ombudsman in the year 2014. The focus of such enquiry was of whether the organization was appropriately abiding by the employment policy, procedures and legislations or not. It was found by the inquiry that the franchisee was providing poor working condition to the employees who were mostly oversee workers such as less leaves and increased working hours. The inquiry also found that the wages which had been provided by the franchisee to the employees were significantly less than the minimum wages required to pat to a person working in Australia. Through implementing these illegal and unethical practices the organization was striving to make increased profit at the cost of its employees. Non-Union Employee Representation According to (Sheldon, Nacamulli, Paoletti, Morgan, 2016) for many years collective bargaining and unions have been used to manifest employee representation and voice in the employment relationship in Australia. However, such a situation no longer exists. In the present employment worlds most of the employees are not a member of a union but are represented and their voice is exercised through various other arrangements and mechanisms. These arrangements can take the form of a work council, supervisory boards representation and representation made by employees. There are various organizations such as in our case the 7 eleven franchisee who does not have a proper union representation. In such organization the non-union forms of employee representation can be very helpful for the employees to raise their voice and concerns to the heard by those who are responsible. According to (Kersley, et al., 2013) organizations which have a non-unionized work place are provided with considerable fr eedom in relation to the process of dismissal. Unionized workplace have to undertake a significant time consuming process with respect to dismissal. In use of non-union forms of employee representation not only takes away the time and complexity required in the process of dismissal but also ensures that the representatives of the employees raise a significant voice in relation to an act of the employer which they do not consider as fair. They have the power to escalate the issue to the owners and managers and if not satisfied they can further raise the issue with the authority. The functioning of the non-union forms of employee representation is based in the English proverb which suggests that united we stand and divided we fall. According to (Van Wanrooy, et al., 2013) who had surveyed more than 40 case studies in relation to Non union form of representation provide that although this form of representation make the functions of the HR managers difficult in organization, but for organizations like the 7 eleven where there is no management of employees the form of representation can be significantly useful towards assuring the actions of the employers are kept under a check. A disadvantage of non union employee representation which have been provided by (Kaufman Taras, 2016) is that although the form of representation allows for the input of employees in the decision making process the final decision making power still vests in the management. This is one of the most significant disadvantage which could been seen in the application of the non-union forms of employee representation in the 7 eleven case. When the supreme power is in the hands of the management it would not be possible for employees to raise th eir voice and even if they do the voice is not going to be heard. This disadvantage can only be mitigated by proving increased powers to the employees in relation to bargaining and raising their voice. The problem can also be solved by the non-union forms of employee representation by extending their reach to beyond the managers and owners of the organization to the employment authorities of the country (Fossum, 2014) Through the above discussed characteristics of the non-union forms of employee representation it can be suggested that it would be only able to solve the issue which arose in the 7 Eleven case if the reach of the representatives of the employees is extended beyond the owners to the legal authorities like the Fair work ombudsman. Where the unities through traditional unions are absent it is not easy for the employees to raise their voice against the discretion of the employer. However the problem can be solved if the non-union forms of employee representation raise their voice in unity against any unfair practices which is conducted by the employer in relation to the work place (Sheldon, Nacamulli, Paoletti, Morgan, 2016) Collective Bargaining (Question 2) Collective bargaining is the process through which unions negotiate in relation to their rights in the work place such as leaves, working conditions and wages. Since 2007 there have been significant reforms in the industrial relation policies in Australia. There was an expectation that the fair work Act would introduce traditional structure of collective bargaining in Australia. However a much more strange process of collective bargaining had been introduced by the Fair Work Act. during the initial stages of the Act there had been a fair number of collective bargaining arrangements lodged in Australia, however the number started to fall considerably from 2012 till the present. There was a constant debate over the fact that too much power has been provided to the unions which are misusing it to cause trouble and hardship to the employers. However there have been no concrete evidence provided in relation to such debate. According to (Bailey, Price, Pyman, Parker, 2015) the density of the unions are declining considerably. The same situation is in relation to the non union representation but such representation showed a rise from 2014. However as stated by (Berg, Kossek, Baird, Block, 2013) these arrangements are only documented and not bargained for in the absence of a proper union and are merely forwarded for the process of Audit. Recommendations The first and foremost recommendation which would be provided by this paper in relation to the collective bargaining structure in Australia that it is required by the government to identify and recognize the fact that it is not easy to achieve genuine co-operation in the workplaces of Australia and the policies such as bargaining in good faith may be useful buy are not sufficient for the present condition (Ribeiro, 2016). Increased compliance and strict implementation of laws are required to ensure a proper bargaining structure is created. The relationship which exists between representatives of the employers and the trade unions is often perceived as fair. However the negotiations which take place are difficult and it is generally not easy to conclude the agreements which have been commonly accepted. The bargaining process is often slowed down due to the process of long lasting rounds of negotiations. The major reason for such problem is that there is a lack of authority between the negotiators to come to a final discussion. Thus such representatives have to be provided increased authority as it is done in the United Kingdom (Pekarek Gahan, 2016).Collective bargaining in relation to the employer are only limited to only the signatories. However the situation needs to be changed and all employers should be brought into the coverage of collective bargaining. The most problematic negotiations are those which are relate to the increase in wages and problems relating to payment. A third party which is also known as the social partner in Slovakia is a good way of making the parties to the process if collective bargaining comes to a conclusion (Patmore, 2013).Such a third party may also act as a witness and evidence in relation to the process of bargaining and the decision which had been reached. The introduction of a mandatory third party in the collective bargaining process in Australia can also enhance the quality of the process in the country Conclusion Through the above discussion it can be concluded that the non-union form of employee representation come with both advantages and disadvantages. However the popularities of such representations in Australia have significantly increased during the last few years. Evidence suggest that although the non union forms do not have much authority in relation to the workplace they can be useful for providing support to the employees in work places like the 7 eleven franchisee. Collective bargaining is the best process available to the employees in relation to their rights in the work place. The process can however be enhanced in Australia by following the above discussed recommendations. References Bailey, J., Price, R., Pyman, A., Parker, J. (2015). 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Pekarek, A., Gahan, P. (2016). Unions and collective bargaining in Australia Accounting .. Journal of Industrial Relations, 58(3), pp.356-371. Ribeiro, A. T. (2016). Recent Trends in Collective Bargaining in Europe.E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies. 5(1). Sheldon, P., Nacamulli, R., Paoletti, F., Morgan, D. E. (2016). Employer association responses to the effects of bargaining decentralization in Australia and Italy. Seeking explanations from organizational theory.British Journal of Industrial Relations, 54(1), 160-191. Van Wanrooy, B., Bewley, H., Bryson, A., Forth, J., Freeth, S., Stokes, L., Wood, S. (2013). The 2011 workplace employment relations study. First findings.