Process of Collective Bargaining

1. Preparation: At the very first step, both the representatives of each

party prepare the negotiations to be carried out during the meeting. Each
member should be well versed with the issues to be raised at the meeting
and should have adequate knowledge of the labor laws. The management
should be well prepared with the proposals of change required in the
employment terms and be ready with the statistical figures to justify its
stand.

On the other hand, the union must gather adequate information regarding
the financial position of the business along with its ability to pay and
prepare a detailed report on the issues and the desires of the workers.

2. Discuss: Here, both the parties decide the ground rules that will guide
the negotiations and the prime negotiator is from the management team
who will lead the discussion. Also, the issues for which the meeting is held,
are identified at this stage. The issues could be related to
the wages, supplementary economic benefits (pension plans, health
insurance, paid holidays, etc.), Institutional issues(rights and duties, ESOP
plan), Administrative issues (health and safety, technological changes, job
security, working conditions).

3. Propose: At this stage, the chief negotiator begins the conversation with
an opening statement and then both the parties put forth their initial
demands. This session can be called as a brainstorming, where each party
gives their opinion that leads to arguments and counter arguments.

4. Bargain: The negotiation begins at this stage, where each party tries to

win over the other. The negotiation can go for days until a final agreement
is reached. Sometimes, both the parties reach an amicable solution soon,
 but at times to settle down the dispute the third party intervenes into the
negotiation in the form of arbitration or adjudication.

5. Settlement: This is the final stage of the collective bargaining process,

where both the parties agree on a common solution to the problem
discussed so far. Hence, a mutual agreement is formed between the
employee and the employer which is to be signed by each party to give the
decision a universal acceptance.

6. Formalizing agreement: After both parties have arrived at an informal

agreement either in the normal/initial process or through overcoming
bargaining impasse, it is written. The written form of the agreement
usually consists of the terms and conditions of agreement, the date from
which it comes into effect, the duration for which it will remain in
operation and the names of the signatories of the agreement. The
agreement so prepared is then sent to the laborers and management for
its ratification and approval. The representatives of both the parties may
not have ultimate authority to decide some issues referred to collective
bargaining and included in the agreement. These need to be ratified by
both the parties.

7. Enforcing Agreement: Once an agreement is ratified and approved,

what next remains left is its implementation. The way it will be
implemented is indicated in the agreement itself .The agreement must
be implemented with full magnanimity in terms of its letter and spirit by
both the parties from the date of its operation as mentioned in the
agreement. This is the duty of the Human Resource Department to
ensure the proper and full implementation of all provisions given in the
agreement.