Unit 2 - Human Resource Management
2.7 - Industrial/Employee Relations
Industrial/employee relations describes the ways employees and employers interact, focusing on how workplace disputes, cooperation, and negotiations are managed. Good relations lead to productivity, morale, and business success.
Sources of Conflict in the Workplace
- Pay and Benefits: Disputes over salary, overtime, or perks (e.g. staff feel underpaid or bonuses are cut).
- Working Conditions: Health, safety, hours, job security, workload, or environment.
- Change and Uncertainty: Restructuring, new technology, redundancies, mergers, changing job roles.
- Management Style: Autocratic/authoritarian decisions, lack of communication/consultation.
- Job Roles: Ambiguity or dispute over responsibilities, promotion opportunities, unfair treatment.
- Personal Factors: Clashes of personality, values, background, or discrimination.
- Unrealistic Demands: Excessive targets, deadlines, under-resourcing.
Approaches to Conflict in the Workplace
- Proactive Approach: Address issues before they escalate through clear policies, regular feedback, employee training, and open-door management.
- Collective Bargaining: Negotiation between employer and a group (union/representatives) to agree on working conditions, pay, etc.
- Direct Negotiation: One-on-one or small group discussions to resolve concerns quickly and personally.
- Third-Party Intervention: Involvement of mediators, arbitrators, or government tribunals if direct talks fail.
- Formal Procedures: Using grievance and disciplinary policies, escalation routes, written records.
- Empowerment & Participation: Giving employees voice (suggestion schemes, consultation committees, team meetings).
Example: A proactive company provides regular staff Q&A forums and transparent pay review processes to avoid grievances.
Approaches to Conflict Resolution
- Mediation: A neutral third party helps both sides reach a voluntary agreement.
- Arbitration: An independent expert makes a binding decision after hearing both sides.
- Negotiation: Both parties dialogue directly, seeking compromise (win-win or give-and-take).
- Conciliation: External conciliator improves trust/communication to resolve stalemates.
- Industrial Action: If unresolved, employees may strike, go-slow, or work-to-rule; employers may lock out staff (usually last resort).
- Disciplinary processes: Apply clear, fair consequences as per company policy.
- Legal Redress: Internal processes exhausted, parties may appeal to courts, labor boards, or government agencies/laws.
Example: If mediation fails in a pay dispute, the union and employer submit to binding arbitration by a labor relations board.
Summary Table: Industrial Conflict Sources & Responses
| Source of Conflict | Response/Resolution Method |
|---|---|
| Pay & Benefits | Collective bargaining, mediation, arbitration |
| Working Conditions | Consultation, formal grievance, government inspection |
| Discrimination | Legal redress, conciliation, formal complaint policy |
| Excessive Demands | Negotiation, workload reviews, union actions |
| Poor Communication | Management training, empowerment, team meetings |
Key Takeaways
- Identify main sources of workplace conflict: pay, conditions, management style, change, roles, discrimination.
- Approach conflict proactively (prevention) & reactively (negotiation, mediation, arbitration).
- Resolution aims: restore productivity, morale, and relationships; minimize disruption; apply fair & legal outcomes.
- Managers need communication, fairness, and respect for legal/ethical frameworks in conflict management.