Given the history of union-management relations, why doyou think mediation tends to be so successful at resolving bargaining impasses?
Given the history of union-management relations, why do
you think mediation tends to be so successful at resolving bargaining impasses?
Unions have historically been the major avenue for workers to advance their workplace grievances through industrial relations platform. Workers have gained the right to organize themselves into unions. These are often referred to as free trade unions since it is neither controlled by the government or the employers. Each country has their own form of unions and the strategies adopted by unions vary considerably from country to country. There has been a different approach that both unions and employers have adopted based on the demand for work and economic and political climate of the country. Unions give priority to worker interests and usually employers are interested in productivity and profit margins. These are naturally adversarial positions and employers are often reluctant participants in collective bargaining.
Oddly, opposition to unions are often most expressed in capitalistic economies and totalitarian regimes. This is one of the reasons why the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively is normally protected by law in democracies worldwide. Employers choose to negotiate with unions that have the largest membership of their employees. There is historical evidence that unions have improved the wages benefits, hours of work, conditions of work, fringe benefits, perquisites among others. Unions have also contributed to benefits such as paid vacations, sick leave, pensions, seniority provisions, apprenticeship and training programs and rules, procedures, practice for redressing grievances and conflict resolution mechanisms.
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