MG316: ASSIGNMENT 1

(S11112841)
Name: Iaonibutina Tirintetaake

MARCH 10, 2017

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
Suva, Fiji
 MG316: ASSIGNMENT 1 (S11112841)

“Employment and Industrial relations” was usually regarded as one of the least exciting areas of
social analysis. It contain features were the most crucial part of the organization in the means
that they can caused corruption or complicated issues if they does not managed well. However,
the vehicle of the essay is to compare and contrast the main features of employment and
industrial relations in USA and UK. Those features are; the three main parties such as trade
union, employer associations and the state. The discussion also focus on the IR legislation,
dispute resolution system as well as major changes that taking place since 1980s in USA and
UK. The last part of the discussion is based on Kiribati from the pacific islands countries whose
contains any features of employment and industrial relation that exist in USA and UK.
Firstly, trade union embodied individual employees who are characterized as the member of the
union by bargaining or negotiating with the management (employer). In ER and IR, the formal-
ization of the trade union is the result of the dissatisfaction overcome by employees where they
forced them to unite in order to protect and promote their common interest against the employer.
As seen in UK, there were three types of trade union exist such as craft union, general union and
industrial union. While in the USA the types of trade union emerged are craft unions, industrial
union, and industrial worker of the world/radical trade union. In comparison of the trade union in
UK and USA, it obvious that the craft union is one of their similarities in terms of the first union
emerged during 1790s (Chand, 2017). Another similarities is that trade union role is to protect
the members and promote their interest so that what found on both UK and USA’s trade union.
However, there are various differences of trade union in UK and USA. One is the union member-
ship in UK was larger than compared in USA. In regard to Leo Wolman (1973) he displayed the
union membership in UK in the year 1897 to 1915 is 2,638,000 while UK union membership is
2,135,600. While in the year 1915 to 1920, UK trade union membership is 3,989,000 while USA
is 2,465,200. Another major differences is that trade union in USA was more weaker compared
to trade union in UK. Jensen (2004) stated that UK had a strong trade union because, “trade
union and employers voluntary agreed on subject concerning collective bargaining, and the state
was non-intervention”. Here, it very different with the trade union in USA “‘business trade
union’ main aim is to co-operate with employers and engage in reaching a collective agreement
via collective bargaining” (Chand, 2017). Hence, trade union has playing important role for the
employee by protecting and promoting their interest from the mismanagement of the employer. It
was considered as the first party that exist as part of the Employment and Industrial Relations.

Secondly, employer association is the second party of ER and IR which consist of employers. It
was formalized to counter the action caused by the trade union to protect the employer interest.
According to BusinessDictionary (2017) employer association define as, “Organization of em-
ployers generally from the same industry working together for the interests of all member com-
panies on tasks like trade union negotiation, sharing information and advice, and approaching
other companies”. Salamon (2000: 268) stated that, “the main focus of the employers’ associa-
tion is the regulation, directly or indirectly, of employment relations”. Thus, there are some simi-
larities of employer association in UK and USA. The first one, employer association in both
countries apply collective bargaining as part of agreement tools between them and the trade
 MG316: ASSIGNMENT 1 (S11112841)

union. They also attempt to influence the government economics as well as industrial relations
policies (Chand, 2017). On the other hand, the employer association in UK was supported by the
European Union via collective bargaining, while in USA there is a consultant who help out em-
ployer by advising them on how to avoid unions. In USA there was no single major employer as-
sociation not like in UK that Confederation of British Industries (CBI) considered as the largest
and most influential body (Chand, 2017). Another differences is that in USA they used scientific
management as part of the management style while it not practiced in UK. Therefore, employer
association is the second important features of ER and IR that exist to prevent the employer from
the aggressive of a trade union and also to regulate the employment relationship.

Thirdly, the state is the third and last important party of the Employment and Industrial Rela-
tions. The state play an important role in the ER and IR by regulating the relationship between
the employer and the employee as well as providing mechanisms for reconciliation of disputes.
The similarities of the state major role in UK and USA is providing civil servants (Chand, 2017).
Chand (2017) stated in both countries (UK and USA), that the state was provides opportunities to
job seekers as the same as the employers’ role. He also mention that in both countries the state is
providing mechanism tools for settling conflict between the employer and employee as well as
restrain the power of the management and protect the interest of the employee. The state also en-
act employment and industrial relations legislations (Chand 2017). This legislation was control
the relationship by ensuring that the employer and the union should comply the legislation of
their relationships. On the other hand, the state in UK was considered as ‘voluntarist’ because of
low involvement in regulating the employment (Marchington, et al., 2011). While in USA the
government has play much role in regulating the employment. According to Katz & Colvin
(2011) stated that, “in the 1964, the government prohibited discrimination in employment on the
grounds of race, color, sex, religion or national origin”. In this case, it very clear that the state in-
volvement in USA was more active than the state in UK via regulating the employment relations.
Therefore, the state is considered as the most powerful party in ER and IR relations whereby it
trying to control the relationships between the employer union and the employee union through
the legislations that they established.

Furthermore, Industrial Relations legislation is a tools that consist of act that provided by the
state to guide the employer and the union via employment relationship. The IR legislations is one
of the most important component in ER and IR because it avoid problems that can overcome ei-
ther by the employer or the unions. In UK and USA, IR legislation was play an important role to
regulate the employment relationships. It obvious in UK that there are IR Legislation being pass
by the state, such as trade union act (1871) which allowed the formation of trade union with their
right to bargain. While in USA, the state passed National Labour Relations Act (1935) to gives
trade union the right to recruit members as well as to collective bargaining (Chand, 2017). How-
ever, IR legislation in UK and USA were different in some areas because they are independently
enacted by the state from a different country with a different context. Here it means that the prac-
tice of legislation depends on the types of the state and it involvement in the employment rela-
 MG316: ASSIGNMENT 1 (S11112841)

tionship. Therefore, IR legislation was generally regulate the relationship within the organization
or between the employer union and the employee union to create a friendly environment of an
organization as well as a country.

In addition to that, dispute resolution system considered as a method that was practiced for set-
tling matters. In ER and IR, dispute resolution system was focus on a method that could be used
for reconciliation whereby the dispute was settle through a step by step. If the first system cannot
solve the problems then the second will be settle the matters till it was solved. In UK the dispute
resolution was carried out first within the organization in dispute and the management which
consist of local employers’ association representative, a union branch secretary, and lay union
officials. If the dispute was not solve then the next stage was depending on the employer associa-
tion and the union involvement, it can move up to a district or regional level. The next stage will
involve national official of the employers’ associations and the appropriate trade unions while if
the issues was not solve then an independent third party will involve whose decision will be
binding (Chand, 2017). In USA, dispute resolution system was settled by the Federal Services
Impasse Panel where the panel used to mediate, fact finding or arbitration to resolve disputes
(Katz et al, 2011). Hence, the dispute resolution system in UK and USA was so different in the
ways the dispute was settled.

Moreover, there are major changes has been found in USA and UK within an ER and IR com-
pared to the past. Chand (2017) identify major changes that take places in ER and IR in UK and
USA which are; “decline in employment in the ‘manufacturing sector’ and increase of jobs in the
‘service sector’, change in composition of labor market i.e more immigrant and women workers
are entering the labor market, and increasing ‘labor market flexibility’”. It obvious that the
changes in USA was started during the 1980 where Ronald Reagan become as an USA president.
In UK, President Thatcher has brought changes to the ER and IR by reforming some concepts to
fulfill the employers demand and that the same with President Ronald Reagan in USA. They
tried to meet the employer demand of ‘labor market flexibility’, ‘deregulation of business laws’
and deregulation of labor laws’. Those changes had link with the new government system who
play much role in reforming IR legislation to avoid issues that was felt by the country and the
people such as depression.

Finally, the feature of employment and industrial relation that exist in Kiribati (one of the Pacific
islands) are trade union and the state. The first union exist in Kiribati was Civil Services Associ-
ation (1953), while in the 1971 General Workers Union (BKATM) was formed plus other six
union that registered in 1976 (Prasad, et al., 2003). Prasad (et al, 2003) also stated that Kiribati
Trade Union Congress (KTUC) is an umbrella body for all the union in Kiribati and it consist of
seven members during the 1982 and eighteen become registered in 1992. The largest trade union
in Kiribati is the Kiribati and Tuvalu Seamen’s Union with the membership of 2,000. Accord-
ingly, Kiribati Islands Overseas Seaman Union (KIOSU) was go against the government and the
employer (South Pacific Marine Service) for the renewal of the collective agreement, while the
employer refused to negotiate and threaten the union and the government by replacing I-Kiribati
 MG316: ASSIGNMENT 1 (S11112841)

seamen with Filipinos (Prasad et al, 2003). According to Hince (1992) stated that, Botakin
Karikirakean Aroia Tan Mwakuri Union is a key union in Kiribati who carried out a trauma
strike in the 1980 that caused serious damage to the government like setting fire to government
house, and some members were spend much their time with their family. During this strike one
member was shot by the police during a night chase. In the aftermath, the government was ad-
dress their weakness based on the Industrial Code to increase the employee input to problem
solving at the workplace and establish a proactive mechanism for considering and determining
changes to the National conditions of services. Thus, it is obvious that the involvement of the
employer association in the Industrial relation in Kiribati was limited where most of the relation-
ship was between the employer and the employee.

In conclusion, ER and IR is an environment that the friction between the employee and the em-
ployer existed in terms of employment relationship. This was result with the existence of union
who’s embodied employee and the employer, trade union and the employer union. The state was
become involved to regulate this relationship by protecting the weaker (the employee) and re-
strain the power of the powerful (employer) within the organization. It also passed act that can
become as blueprint for the ER and IR relationship. Accordingly changes to IR’s features were
also take place in order to create harmonious relationship between the employer union and trade
union. Those changes was playing much by the state’s role of the country as what been found in
USA and UK. It very obvious that there are some features that presented in Kiribati and those
features are trade union, employer union and the state. In Kiribati, the feature of IR and ER that
commonly practiced in Kiribati is the trade union and the state. The employer association was
not involve in the relationship, the employee union action was always stabilize by the govern-
ment through reforming the IR legislation to accommodate the employee union disputes.

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 MG316: ASSIGNMENT 1 (S11112841)

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