scholarly journals Supportive Legislation, Unsupportive Employers and Collective Bargaining in New Zealand

2011 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Foster ◽  
Erling Rasmussen ◽  
John Murrie ◽  
Lan Laird
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Sharp Decline ◽  
Employment Relationships ◽  
Union Renewal ◽  
Employment Legislation ◽  
The Impact

In New Zealand in the 1990s, labour market decentralization and new employment legislation precipitated a sharp decline in unionism and collective bargaining coverage; trends that continued well into the 2000s even after the introduction of the more supportive Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA). The ERA prescribed new bargaining rules, which included a good faith obligation, increased union rights and promoted collective bargaining as the key to building productive employment relationships (Anderson, 2004; May and Walsh, 2002). In this respect the ERA provided scope for increased collective bargaining and union renewal (Harbridge and Thickett, 2003; May, 2003a and 2003b; May and Walsh, 2002). Despite these predictions and the ERA's overall intent, the decline in collective bargaining coverage begun in the 1990s has continued unabated in the private sector. It has naturally been questioned why the ERA has not reversed, or at least halted, this downward trend. So far research has focused on the impact of the legislation itself and much less on employer behaviour and perceptions, or on their contribution to these trends. This article addresses the paucity of employer focused research in New Zealand. The research explores views of employers on the benefi ts of collective bargaining, how decisions to engage or not engage in collective bargaining are made and the factors instrumental to them. It is demonstrated that the preferred method of setting pay and conditions continues to be individual bargaining. This is especially so for organizations with less than 50 employees, by far the largest majority of fi rms in New Zealand. Frequently, these smaller organizations see no perceived benefits from collective bargaining. Overall, these fi ndings suggest that despite a decade of supportive legislation there are few signs that the 20 year decline in collective bargaining coverage in New Zealand will be reversed.

scholarly journals The Impact of the Employment Relations Act 2000 on Collective Bargaining

1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett Lineham ◽  
Louise Fawthorpe ◽  
Boaz Shulruf ◽  
Stephen Blumenfeld ◽  
Roopali Johri
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Impact

This study carried out by the Department of Labour in 2007/08 aims to assess whether there have been any significant changes in the coverage of collective bargaining that can be attributed to the Employment Relations Act 2000. The research draws on administrative data relating to union membership and collective bargaining coverage, as well as qualitative data from employers, employees, union representatives and other employment relations stakeholders. The research shows that collective bargaining has yet to regain pre Employment Relations Act levels. Collective bargaining remains concentrated in the public sector, with low density in the private sector. The study concludes that the effects of the Act on collective bargaining are chiefly observed in the recovery of collective bargaining in the public sector, and the continued decline (in general) in the private sector. The research offers no indications that these patterns will change.  

scholarly journals The Impacts of Good Faith on Collective Bargaining: a New Zealand Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Julie May Polakoski
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Employment Relations

<p>This paper explores the protective strength of the good faith reforms as enacted under the Employment Relations Act 2000 and subsequent legislation on the collective bargaining rights of workers. Interviews were conducted with numerous unions and employers in New Zealand to discover how the good faith reforms have impacted their dealings with one another with regards to collective bargaining.</p>

scholarly journals The Impacts of Good Faith on Collective Bargaining: a New Zealand Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Julie May Polakoski
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Employment Relations

<p>This paper explores the protective strength of the good faith reforms as enacted under the Employment Relations Act 2000 and subsequent legislation on the collective bargaining rights of workers. Interviews were conducted with numerous unions and employers in New Zealand to discover how the good faith reforms have impacted their dealings with one another with regards to collective bargaining.</p>

scholarly journals The Impacts of Good Faith on Collective Bargaining: a New Zealand Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Julie May Polakoski
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Employment Relations

<p>This paper explores the protective strength of the good faith reforms as enacted under the Employment Relations Act 2000 and subsequent legislation on the collective bargaining rights of workers. Interviews were conducted with numerous unions and employers in New Zealand to discover how the good faith reforms have impacted their dealings with one another with regards to collective bargaining.</p>

scholarly journals The Impacts of Good Faith on Collective Bargaining: a New Zealand Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Julie May Polakoski
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Employment Relations

<p>This paper explores the protective strength of the good faith reforms as enacted under the Employment Relations Act 2000 and subsequent legislation on the collective bargaining rights of workers. Interviews were conducted with numerous unions and employers in New Zealand to discover how the good faith reforms have impacted their dealings with one another with regards to collective bargaining.</p>

Fissured Employment and Network Bargaining: Emerging Employment Relations Dynamics in a Contingent World of Work

ILR Review ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 001979392096418
Author(s):  
Mark Anner ◽  
Matthew Fischer-Daly ◽  
Michael Maffie
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
State Policies ◽  
Work Relationships ◽  
Symbolic Power ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Managerial Control ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Employment Relationships ◽  
Firm Strategies ◽  
Network Bargaining

For decades, direct employment relationships have been increasingly displaced by indirect employment relationships through networks of firms and layers of managerial control. The firm strategies driving these changes are organizational, geographic, and technological in nature and are facilitated by state policies. The resulting weakening of traditional forms of collective bargaining and worker power have led workers to counter by organizing broader alliances and complementing structural and associational power with symbolic power and state-oriented strategies through what the authors term “network bargaining.” These dynamics point to the limitations of dominant theories and frameworks for understanding employment relations and suggest a new approach that focuses on a range of direct and indirect work relationships, evolving forms of worker power, and networked patterns of worker–employer interactions.

scholarly journals AN ANALYSIS OF THE GOOD FAITH BARGAINING PRACTICE IN THE TRADE UNION RECOGNITION PROCESS: REFORM OF THE MALAYSIAN TRADE UNION LEGAL FRAMEWORK

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 501-524
Author(s):  
Siti Suraya Abd Razak ◽  
Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmod
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Recognition Process ◽  
Primary Focus

The trade union recognition process is a pre-requisite to the collective bargaining action of a trade union. The recognition is important to ascertain the competency of a trade union and the acceptance by the workers to represent them in the collective bargaining action with the employer. However, the ambiguities in the existing legislations on the trade union recognition process in Malaysia and the anti-union practices of the employer are currently depriving the workers of their rights to negotiate for better working conditions. The primary focus of the present work is to identify the weaknesses of the recognition legal framework and the anti-union practices of employers in the recognition process of trade unions. Secondly, is to critically analyse the good faith bargaining practice in other countries and its significance to the recognition process in Malaysia. To explore the anti-union tactics perpetrated by employers, semi-structured interviews have been conducted to analyse the trade unions’ experience in their recognition claims. This research employed a qualitative approach as the instrument to study the good faith bargaining practices in the Australian and New Zealand labour law framework. The findings reveal that the good faith bargaining practices in Australia and New Zealand have improved the odds for trade unions to represent the workers in negotiating collective agreements. The study finally concludes that in order to reform the recognition process of trade unions in Malaysia, the good faith bargaining practice should be implemented in the nation’s industrial relations law framework.

scholarly journals Enterprise gamification systems and employment legislation: a systematic literature review

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Hinton ◽  
Lincoln C. Wood ◽  
Harminder Singh ◽  
Torsten Reiners
Keyword(s):  
Game Design ◽  
Employee Motivation ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Employment Relationships ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
Recent Innovation ◽  
Employment Legislation

A recent innovation in employee motivation systems is the introduction of ‘gamification’, which refers to the use of game design mechanics and principles to influence behaviour to enhance staff motivation and engagement. Enterprise gamification systems aggravate the differences in information availability between employers and employees, and employees who may be forced to adopt such systems may be placed under stress, worsening employment relationships in the workplace. Therefore, this research examines the potential legal implications of gamified employee motivation systems. This study undertook a systematic review of enterprise gamification and then used thematic analysis coupled with a review of legislation to examine whether gamification in workplaces meets the legal obligations of employers under their ‘duty of good faith’ in the New Zealand context. We find that carefully designed enterprise gamification systems should provide sufficient information and clarity for employees and support positive employment relationships. Deployments of enterprise gamification systems should be carefully planned with employee consultation and feedback supporting the introduction of an enterprise gamification system. Future research should look beyond the ‘good faith’ obligation and examine the relationship between gamification systems and the law on personal grievances.

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