Canadian Cases in Labour Relations and Collective Bargaining, by Hem C. Jain, Don Mills (Ontario), Longman Canada Limited, 1973, 211 pp.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline and assess the role of industrial relations in introducing work-family-related policies and investigate the drivers, nature and scope of contract provisions that were bargained in the following domains: flexible working arrangements, leave schemes, care services and other supportive arrangements. Analyses draw on information filed in a unique and restricted access repository, the SEcond-level Collective Bargaining Observatory (OCSEL) held by Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori (CISL), one of the major trade union organizations in Italy. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents and examines, by means of descriptive statistics and content analysis, available information on 285 company-level agreements around work-family-related issues that were signed in Italy between January 2012 and December 2015, in the aftermath of the great recession. Findings Work-family issues do not seem to be a major bargaining concern. The availability of specific arrangements is mostly limited to the domain of working time flexibility and it is not quite innovative in its contents. Besides, there is little evidence that the mutual gains rationale is embedded in collective bargaining in the field. However, mature and well-established labour relations result in more innovative and strategic company-level bargaining that is also conducive to work-family-related arrangements. Research limitations/implications The sample is not representative. Thus, the results obtained in this study cannot be extended to make predictions and conclusions about the population of collective agreements negotiated and signed in Italian companies in the period under scrutiny. Originality/value Research on the industrial relations context that lies behind the design and implementation of work-family workplace arrangements is still limited. Furthermore, the evidence is inconclusive. This manuscript intends to address this research gap and provide a much more nuanced understanding.

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COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR GREATER PRODUCTIVITY: SOME FACTORS IN THE AMERICAN LABOUR RELATIONS SYSTEM POSSIBLY GENERATING GREATER PRODUCTIVITY

British Journal of Industrial Relations ◽

10.1111/j.1467-8543.1967.tb00507.x ◽

1967 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 190-197

Author(s):

M. S. Ryder

Keyword(s):

Collective Bargaining ◽

Labour Relations

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Book Review: Labor-Management Relations: Collective Bargaining: Contemporary Canadian Labour Relations

ILR Review ◽

10.1177/001979398704000214 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 290-290

Author(s):

Roy J. Adams

Keyword(s):

Collective Bargaining ◽

Labor Management ◽

Labour Relations

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Power and Function in Labour Relations

Relations industrielles ◽

10.7202/1021910ar ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 441-452

Author(s):

H. D. Woods

Keyword(s):

Collective Bargaining ◽

State Intervention ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Power Relationship ◽

Policy Decisions ◽

Labour Relations ◽

American Case ◽

And Function

Summary The Author contends that the legal framework which has developed in Canada to deal with collective bargaining has been less favourable to the emergence of strong unions and effective collective bargaining than in the American case. This is explained better by fortuitous (and notably constitutional) circumstances than by calculated policy decisions. Canadian pragmatism in this field has led to a relatively massive State intervention which has strongly affected the basically unstable power relationship between labour and management. And the trend is increasing.

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DETERMINING THE THRESHOLD FOR ORGANIZATIONAL RIGHTS: THE LEGAL QUAGMIRE FACING MINORITY UNIONS RESOLVED – South African Post Office v Commissioner Nowosenetz No (2013) 2 BLLR 216 (LC)

Obiter ◽

10.17159/obiter.v34i3.12012 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Clarence Tshoose

Keyword(s):

Collective Bargaining ◽

South African ◽

Trade Union ◽

Trade Unions ◽

Post Office ◽

Labour Relations ◽

Industry Level ◽

Pluralistic Approach ◽

The Right ◽

Conditions Of Employment

The issue of organizational rights facing minority unions has been a quagmire since the advent of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995(hereinafter “the LRA”). This quagmire exists, notwithstanding the fact that the Constitution affords every trade union the right to engage in collective bargaining (s 23 of the Constitution, 1996). The acquisition of organizational rights by trade unions plays a crucial rolein as far as collective bargaining is concerned. It is through collective bargaining that unions are able to negotiate with employers regarding the terms and conditions of employment. Commentators have often viewed the LRA as favouring larger unions and as conferring clear advantages on unions with majority support at the industry level. Chapter III of the LRA regulates collective bargaining. Whereas this chapterostensibly promotes a pluralistic approach to organizational rights it is unequivocally biased towards majoritarianism. This is the case despite minority trade unions fulfilling an important role in the current labour system especially when it comes to the balance of powerin the employment arena. In light of the above, the legal quagmire faced by the minority unions in the quest for acquiring organisation rights in terms of the relevant provisions of the LRA is clearly illustrated by the decision in South African Post Office v Commissioner Nowosenetz No ((2013) 2 BLLR 216 (LC) (hereinafter “ the South African Post Office case”)).

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THE CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY TO ENGAGE IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Obiter ◽

10.17159/obiter.v31i1.12383 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Angela Patricia Molusi

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Collective Bargaining ◽

Case Law ◽

Labour Relations ◽

The Law

The law regarding collective bargaining in South Africa has been interpreted in two ways; the Labour Relations Act (LRA) refers to a duty to bargain collectively, while the Constitution refers to a right to engage in collective bargaining. These two interpretations have been subjected to judicial criticism (SANDU v Minister of Defence 2003 3 SA 239 (T) I; SANDU v Minister of Defence 2004 4 SA 10 (T) II; and Minister of Defence v SANDU 2007 1 SA 422 (SCA) III (hereafter “SANDU I, II and III”)). These cases are relevant in terms of the courts’ interpretation of collective bargaining as a duty or freedom. They are currently the main cases dealing with this issue in South Africa. This has created doubt as to whether the distinction provides an acceptable basis to use the terms interchangeably, both by the courts as well as those involved in collective bargaining. The purpose of this paper is firstly to sketch the landscape of South Africa’scollective bargaining jurisprudence, touching on the current legislation and secondly to give an overview of why collective bargaining is a necessary tool to balance power in the workplace. I shall examine the discourse as to whether the term “collective bargaining” creates a duty to participate (which can mean compelled) in collective bargaining on the part of the employer, as opposed to a right to engage in collective bargaining (which is voluntary). Lastly, the author will attempt to show the thread of how the courts have answered the question in case law.

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Changements technologiques et rapports collectifs du travail

Les Cahiers de droit ◽

10.7202/042792ar ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 3-37

Author(s):

André C. Côté

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Collective Bargaining ◽

Technological Change ◽

Technological Changes ◽

Labour Relations ◽

Collective Agreements ◽

Commission Report ◽

Teleological Interpretation ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

This paper focusses on the relationship between technological change and the labour relations system circumscribed by the Québec Labour Code. While a teleological interpretation of bargaining rights of certified associations by labour jurisdictions seems to have dealt adequately with the impact of such changes on certification, the doctrine of residual management rights, in the context of fixed-term agreements entrenched in the Québec Labour Code, appears to be, in the opinion of the author, unduly rigid and restrictive. The Freedman Report on Railway run-through and the subsequent discussions surrounding the Woods Commission Report in the 1960's, resulted in the inclusion in the Canada Labour Code of provisions pertaining to the possible adjustment, through collective bargaining, of collective agreements in the context of such technological changes. Various provisions to the same effect have subsequently been inserted in the Labour Codes of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British-Columbia. The Report of the Beaudry Commission recently proposed that the Québec Labour Code be similary modified by the inclusion of analoguous provisions. The author suggests that a reform along the lines thus suggested is, in principle, desirable to ensure a more equitable adaptability of our legal categories to the imperatives of technological change.

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The Impact of the Labour Relations Act on Minority Trade Unions: A South African Perspective

Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad ◽

10.17159/1727-3781/2013/v16i4a2416 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 284

Author(s):

Johan Kruger ◽

Clarence Itumeleng Tshoose

Keyword(s):

Collective Bargaining ◽

South African ◽

Trade Union ◽

Trade Unions ◽

Freedom Of Association ◽

Labour Relations ◽

Labour Standards ◽

International Labour Standards ◽

The Right ◽

The Impact

The advent of the new political dispensation in 1994 heralded the coming of a new labour dispensation. Labour relations and labour policies changed significantly from that which prevailed under the previous government. The review of the labour legislation framework was at that stage a priority for the new government, with specific focus on the review of the collective bargaining dispensation. The abuse of trade unions under the previous government gave rise to a unique entrenchment of labour rights in the Constitution. The drafters thereof were determined to avoid a repetition of this abuse after 1994. Section 23 of the Constitution goes to great lengths to protect, amongst others, the right to form and join a trade union, the right of every trade union to organise and the right of every trade union to engage in collective bargaining. In furtherance of section 23(5) of the Constitution, the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 was promulgated. One of the most significant changes of the LRA was that it now provided for legislated organisational rights. Commentators have often viewed the LRA as favouring larger unions and as conferring clear advantages on unions with majority support at the establishment or industry level. It is within this context that this article examines the impact of section 18 of the LRA on the constitutionally entrenched right of every person to freedom of association, the right of every trade union to engage in collective bargaining, and the right of every trade union to organise. Furthermore, this article explores the justifiability of the impact of section 18 on minority trade unions in terms of international labour standards and the Constitution. In part one the article examines the concept of majoritarianism, pluralism and industrial unionism in the context of South African Labour market. Part two deals with the impact of section 18 of the LRA on minority Trade Unions. Whilst part three explores the concept of workplace democracy. Part five investigates the applicability of international labour standards in the context of the right to freedom of association. Part four ends up with conclusion and recommendations on the impact of section 18 of the LRA.

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