Dual Commitment- Unionized Employment

Dual Commitment- Unionized Employment

An employee is required to simultaneously manage the role of being union-represented and being a company employee by complying with the standards and rules set by the employer while actively participating in union activities such as collective bargaining (Araki, 2007). Employees also manage both roles by involving the union and employer in complaint procedures, work rules, wages, employee promotion, firing, workplace policies, and safety and benefits (Leat, 2007).

One of the areas of conflict is compensation and benefits. In most instances, unions negotiate for better compensation and benefits for employees, but employees may not be willing to pay the negotiated amount of compensation and provide the required benefits due to the organization’s budget. The second area of conflict is layoffs. In most instances, employers may consider laying off employees to cut costs while unions act against it to protect employees from being unemployed. Another area of conflict is work safety. This has become a significant area of conflict, especially in the manufacturing and construction sectors, where employees require safety materials. Unions may negotiate for better work safety and mobilize members to strike to ensure that the employer provides a safe working environment, while employers may be reluctant to provide the safety gear required for employees to cut operation costs.

These conflicts can be resolved through joint partnership arrangements between an employer and the unions to ensure that the interests of the workers are addressed in real time without any bias and are also handled professionally. These partnerships can also promote employee participation in decision making hence making it easier to come to a favorable agreement on specific issues, including worker safety, compensation, and benefit (Paraskevopoulou & McKay, 2016). Unions and employers can also partner to form policies that protect employees’ interests, especially regarding job security and workplace safety.

References

Araki, T. (2007). Decentralizing industrial relations and the role of labour unions and employee representatives.

Leat, M. (2007). Trade unions. Exploring Employee Relations, 256-306. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-7506-6939-9.50009-1

Paraskevopoulou, A., & McKay, S. (2016). Workplace equality in Europe: The role of trade unions. Routledge.

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Unit 3 DB: Dual Commitment
In unionized employment, an employee is simultaneously a company employee and union-represented.
How does the employee manage both roles? What are the major areas of conflict? Can they be resolved? If so, how? If not, why?

Relate to your peers’ responses by giving an example of a company, personal experience or historical event where both commitments were achieved or abandoned.