Industrial relations

Employee groups and employer groups often negotiate (try to come to an agreement) on pay and conditions of work. Because negotiations are taking place between representatives of groups, this is called collective bargaining.

Industrial dispute is where there is a breakdown in industrial relations. An industrial dispute can lead to some kind of industrial action being taken by one side or the other.

Employees can take various levels of industrial action. These include:

-Overtime bans

-Working to rule (production slowed as a result of all rules and regulations being followed to the letter)

-Go-slows (continuing with the job but at a much reduced rate)

The most serious action is for employment to withdraw their labour altogether in a strike. Strikes may be selective, short (1-day strike) or total. Striking workers may also picket to try to persuade others not to work. Strikes are damaging to both employers and employees.

On the employers side, those in dispute may, in certain cases, be dismissed or the emmployer may refuse to allow them to work (a 'lock out').

Because such tactics are so damaging, there are laws to try to stop industrial dispute getting worse. Should negotitations break down, there are bodeies in place to help. The main body is the Advisory. Concilliation and Arbitration service (ACAS), which provides a service to help industrial disputes through negotiation and agreement. it can:

-advise

-concilliate: try to get the two sides agree.

-Arbitrate: Make a ruling between the two sides.

In some businesses a single union agreement is negotitated so that the employers have to deal with just one union, This benefits employers, but it may also may help workers, if everyone is represented by the same union.