collective bargaining and workers

8/6/2019 Collective Bargaining and Workers

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Miss M. Legendre (France) ,in Charge of Studies , Dev elopmen t an d Prom otion StudiesService, Paris.

Alexej Mydlik (Czechoslovakia) ,Head, Labour Legislation Se ction , Cz echoslovak LabourResearch Institute, Bratislava.

E. Razga (Czechoslovakia),Head, Foreign Relations Section. Czec hoslovak Labo ur Research

Institute, Bratislava.K. N. Vaid (In dia ),

Director of R esearch, Shri Ram Centre for Ind ustrial R elations,New Delh i .

A. Stu rm thal, Professor of Labor an d Indu strial R elations,Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University ofI llinois, andVis iting As sociate at the Intern ational Institute for La bou r Stud ies,also to ok part, as did E. Rose nstein, De partm ent of S oc iolog y,Un iversity of C alifornia, Berkeley, and Visitor to the Institute , w h ois engaged in research into this topic. Institute faculty membersw h o a t tended the mee t ing , w hic h w as opened by R obert W . Cox,Director of the Ins titute, includ ed Kenneth F. W alker, SeniorStaff Associate, and L. Greyfi de Bellecombe, Staff Associate.

In the current issue of the I.I.L.S. Bulletin, two articles basedo n A level studies are pub lishe d, and futu re issues w ill carry fu rtherarticles based on A level studies of other countries. They arepreceded by an ar t icle w hic h describes the conce ptual f ram ew orkwhich is being adopted in the project and indicates the scope ofthe various B and C level studies and their relevance to variousaspects of the conceptual f ramework.

The Inst i tu te would be grateful to receive information aboutother research relevant to workers ' participation in managementwhich may have been carried out or is currently in progress.

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Workers ' Participation in Management

Conceptual Framework andScope of National Studies

by Kenneth F. Walker,Senior Staff Associate,International Institute for Labour Studies

The widespread interest in workers ' par t icipation in managementeviden t in ma ny countries in the w o rld tod ay reveals a great varietyof approaches to the problem and of inst i tu t ional forms intendedto solve it .1 In order to analyse the actual operation and impactof workers ' participation, and the factors affecting it , i t is necessary for research to probe more deeply than mere institutionaland legal descr ipt ions, or ideological s tatements . While workers 'participation in any particular country can only be understood inits ec on om ic and social conte xt, the c om parative stud y of thefunctions and impact of workers ' par t icipation in a number ofcoun tr ies , using a co m m on fram ew ork of inquiry, w il l help toidentify the s trategic factors which inf luence i ts operat ion.A better understanding of the operation of these strategic factors

is essential to the effective implementation of programmesdesigned to increase workers ' participation, and for assessing thepossibility of adapting the institutions of one country for use inothers .

In planning this project it was found that the great variety ofsocio-economic and poli t ical systems and of inst i tu t ions forworkers ' participation in management made it impossible tostandardise the methods of inquiry at the level of data collection.

Since s imilar functions may be performed by quite differentinstitutions in different countries, and since the significance ofa particular institution or practice may differ according to theso cio -ec on om ic and po lit ical context in w h ic h i t is set, com pletelystandardised procedures for the collection of data could be

1 Fora comprehensive review of the situation in a wide variety of countries,see I.L.O. : Participation of W orkers in Decisions within Und ertakings,Report II, Te chn ical M eeting on the Rights of Trade U nio n Representativesand Participation of Workers in Decisions within Undertakings (Geneva,November 1967).

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m islea din g. For exam ple the role of trade unio ns in relation toinst i tut ions for workers ' part ic ipat ion in the management ofund ertakings ma y need to be interpreted quite different ly in acountry in which trade unions are integrated into nat ional economic pol icy formula t ion and implementa t ion a t a h igh leve lcom pared w i t h a cou ntry in w h ic h un ions ' par t ic ipa t ion islargely restricted to the undertaking level. For these reasons i tw as d ecid ed th at as far as possible the research be ing carr ied ou tas part of the project in various countr ies would proceed within

a general fram ew ork indica t ing the basic issues requ ir ing clarif icat ion and inve st igat ion. This fram ew ork of inqu iry w as set ou t inI.I.L.S. Bulletin, No . 2 , pages 101 to 12 5. O w in g to l im i ta t ionsof resources, however, i t was not possible for the researchinst i tutes making these s tudies to cover the whole range ofissues included in this comprehensive framework. The s tudies ineach co un try therefore select certa in aspects of wo rke rs ' part ic ipat ion for intensive s tudy and concentrate upon the invest igat ion

of the variables considered to be most relevant to the selectedaspects. Thu s the projec t cons ists of a " fam ily " of relatedresearches into various aspects of workers ' participation inm ana ge m ent in a variety of conc rete situa tions , rather tha n of aset of s t r ic t ly s tandardised invest igat ions repl icated in a numberof countr ies .

The conce ptua l f ram ew ork for the projec t is thus d is t inc t f ro mthe research des ign for any of the na tional stud ies. For the pu rpos e

of each of these studies certain variables may be assumed to beindependent, in order to trace their effects upon other variablesassumed to be dependent . The heuris t ic defini t ion of certa invariables as " ind ep en de nt " variables and others as " de pe nd en t "variables for the purpose of a particular investigation is notincons is tent w i th recognis ing tha t in a broader con ceptua l f ramew o rk the variables define d as " inde pe nd en t " may, in fact , dep en do n other variables not inc lud ed in the particular research. Sim ilarly,variables defined as " dependent " for the purpose of a part icularresearch s tud y m ay be t reated in a broader conc ep tual fram ew orkas having effects upon further variables . Another possibi l i ty is

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Diagram 1. A GenePart

Values

Note. - In the diagram under "Aims for workers' participation", "Expectations for workers'participation" and "Workers' participation in practice" each vertical line represents a fieldof managerial decision (e.g. pricing, investment, w ages). Its height indicates the degree ofworkers' participation. If it reaches the top of the box, workers have complete control of thattype of decision.


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pa rt ic ipat ion by som e worke rs in som e dec is ions in som e types ofundertaking wil l be achieved within the f i rs t two or three yearsafter the ini t ia t ion o f a ne w inst i tut ion for wo rke rs ' part ic ipa t ion.

In the centre of Diagram 1 the extent of workers ' part ic ipat ionin various types of managerial decision is represented. The extentof pa rt ic ipat ion w h ic h is a imed at is s h o w n , as w ell as the extentw h ic h is exp ected . In the upper half of Diagram 1 the actual extentof pa rt ic ipat ion is de picte d. The arrow s b etw ee n " a ims " and" expe ctat ions " and the actual extent of p art ic ipa t ion in thecent re of the top ha l f of the d iagramindica te the two-wayrelat ionship between aims and expectat ions on the one hand andthe actual extent of workers ' part ic ipat ion on the other. Theamount of workers ' part ic ipat ion achieved in pract ice is affectedby what is a imed at and what is expected ; what is achieved inpract ice a lso affects what is a imed at and what is expected.

Note that part ic ipat ion may take three broad forms which maycoexis tintegrated (a m od ificat ion of the internal , form alorganisa t ion of the under taking) , bargaining ( th rough thein te rac t ion of the under taking wi th another formal organisa t ion ,the union) and informal (for exam ple ad op tion of a " pa rt ic ipat ive " , decis ion-sharing s tyle of management by a supervisor) .

The extent of workers ' part ic ipat ion in the various types ofman ageria l dec is ion in various types of unde rtaking also depe nds,however, on the propensity to participate on the part of " m a nagers " an d " m anag ed ", and on the participation potential in the

und ertakings in qu est ion . A im s an d expec tat ions lead to the se tt in g up of certa in ins t i tut ion s for wo rke rs ' pa rt ic ipat io n, bu t theextent to w h ic h pa rt ic ipat ion occu rs is determ ined by the s treng thand interaction of the parties ' propensity to participate and thepa rt ic ipat ion poten t ia l in the s i tua t ion. Diagram 2 o n page 143illus tra tes the likely outco m e of various com bin at io ns of these t w odetermining fac tors .

On the right-hand side of the upper part of Diagram 1 are

de picte d t w o sets of va riables described as " interve ning "variables and " performance " variables. The intervening variablesare s h o w n as direct ly depend ent u po n the extent and character

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Diagram 2. Interact ion of th e P art ic ipat ion P oten t ia l of th e Un dertak ing a nd the W orke rs ' an d M ana gers ' Propens i ty to P ar tic ipa te

Participatiopotential

Underakng

Propensity toparticipate

n ^ v

High

Low

Workers and Managers

High

Vitality

Frustration

Low

Formality

Apathy

of the workers ' part ic ipat ion in pract ice . An arrow is a lso drawnfrom these variables to the operat ion of workers ' part ic ipat ion inpract ice . However, s ince varia t ions in the intervening variablesaffec t the working of workers ' par t ic ipa t ion ins t i tu t ions , a r rowsare a lso dra w n to indica te a tw o -w a y re la t ionship be tw een a imsand expectat ions on the one hand and intervening variables on

the other. Those w h o have aims and expectat ions fo r a system ofworkers ' part ic ipat ion in management usual ly have certa in a imsand expe ctat ions in mind for the factors wh ic h are gro up ed in theconceptual framework as " intervening " variables .

The " performa nce " variables are s h o w n as direc t ly de pe nd entupon the intervening variables , but a lso as react ing upon them.A s imilar l ink between aims and expectat ions on the one handand performance variables on the other is a lso shown.

The con tents of the var ious co ncep ts s h ow n in the con cep tua lframework represented in Diagram 1 were discussed in somedetail in 1.1.LS. Bulletin, No . 2 . Var ious ideologica l conce pts g iv in g

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rise to spe cific aim s in relation to w ork ers ' participation inm anage m ent were l is ted on pages 1 08 to 1 1 0 of that issue. Theyincluded concepts of industr ia l democracy (of various kinds) ,con cep ts of wo rkers ' part ic ipat ion as a means of increasingeffic iency, concepts based on ins is tence upon the moral digni tyof human beings and their right to participation (" Labour is not acommodi ty") , and the a im of increas ing indus t r ia l peace bymeans of workers ' par t ic ipa t ion .

The various aspects of workers ' part ic ipat ion in pract ice whichcan be dis t inguished were l is ted on pages 110 to 112 of 1.1.LS.Bulletin, N o. 2. The y cove red th e aspects of man agem ent inw h ic h work ers part ic ipate , the procedures and pract ices by w h ic hparticipation takes place, and the extent and nature of participat i on .

On pages 112 to 1 15 of 1.1.LS. Bulletin, N o. 2 , various types ofimp act of wo rkers ' part ic ipat ion we re l is ted. These inc lude d theimpact on product iv i ty and eff ic iency, on workers ' wel fare and

sat isfac t ion, on na t ion bu ildin g, on the characteris tics o f theunde r taking as a soc ia l organisa t ion w i th in the com m un i ty, ando n trade un ions a nd po lit ical parties. In this l is t a dis tinc tio nwas made between " intervening " variables and " performance "variables only in respect of the impact of workers ' participationon productivi ty and eff ic iency. I t seems more correct , however,to treat the interve ning variables as reflec ting the various immediate impacts of the operat ion of workers ' part ic ipat ion

in management , which may then have further impacts notonly on product iv i ty and eff ic iency but a lso on workers ' wel fareand sat isfact ion, nat ion bu ildin g, the und ertakin g as a socialorganisa t ion w i th in the com m un i ty, and trade unions and pol i t ica lparties.

The propensity to participate on the part both of managers andm ana ged w as discussed on pages 8 0 to 89 of I.I.I S. Bulletin,N o . 2. I t wa s noted that the propensi ty to part ic ipate depe nds

both on ability to participate and willingness to participate, a ndvarious factors w h ic h previous research has sh o w n to affectthese characteris tics were n oted . The p art ic ipat ion poten t ia l of th e

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und ertaking w as discussed on pages 89 to 91 of 1.1.LS. Bulletin,N o. 2, wh ere i t wa s noted that pa rt ic ipat ion poten t ia l depend supon four principal factors

(1) The autonomy of the under taking.(2) Technologica l l imi ts .(3) The d imen s ions of the unde r taking.(4) The l im its set by the form of work ers ' part ic ipa t ion.

I t w il l be seen from Diagram 1 that the con cep tual fram ew orkassumes that each element in the framework interacts withvarious other e lem ents . A m utua l interac t ion is usu al ly de picte d.W hile it is con ceiva ble tha t a s i tua t ion in a part icular cou ntry maybe static for a period of t ime, i t is more l ikely that the situationw il l be in a s ta te of con t inuo us e vo lut ion , the speed of wh ic h maybe considerable .

Scope of National Studies

One of the studies made by the Shri Ram Centre for IndustrialRelations in India investigates certain aspects of the participationpotent ia l of the undertaking for the effect ive funct ioning of ajo in t ma nagem ent cou nc i l , one of the ins t i tu t ions for w orkers 'part ic ipat ion in management fostered by the Government ofIndia. This research seeks to find out how far factors such as the

produ ct marke t, tech nolo gy , the wo rkfo rce , managem ent andthe his tory of unionism in a plant have affected the working ofthe co un ci l . A m on g the genera l hypotheses examined in thes tudy are

(a ) a public sector uni t may have a more effect ive council thanon e in the private sector, as the form er is su pp ose d to be lessorien ted to p rofits and mo re to p ub lic service ;

(b ) the cou nc il is l ikely to func t io n m ore effect ively in a plan topera t ing in a near-monopoly product marke t than in acompet i t ive marke t .

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Th e s tudies in these text ile plants w il l thu s th ro w som e l ight o n

the facto rs affect ing Indian wo rke rs ' prope nsi ty to part ic ipate , andwhich influence their evaluat ion of the operat ion of Indianins t itu t ions for wo rkers ' par t ic ipa t ion . They form a com plem ent to theother Indian s tudies being made by the Shri Ram Centre , whichconcern the impact of various aspects of the part ic ipat ion potent ia l of the undertaking.

The French s tudy being made for the project is a sociologicals tud y in three plants , in w h ic h a tota l of 150 intensive interviews

are being held with samples of rank and f i le workers who playsome role in the workers ' part ic ipat ion ins t i tut ions . Briefer interviews are a lso being held with personnel and production executives , and union off ic ia ls . The interviews explore the respondents 'concepts of workers ' part ic ipat ion, and their evaluat ion of theeffect iveness of various means of suc h p art ic ip at ion . These assessments wil l be interpreted in the context of respondents ' a t t i tudesto u nions , ma nagem ent an d the organisa t ion of the under takings

in w h ic h they w or k. Certa in aspects of the prop ensi ty to part ic ipatewil l thus be explored by this s tudy.In Cz echo slovakia a B level stud y for the proje ct has c ollec ted

cons iderable informat ion on 121 p lants f rom documentaryrecords of the workers ' par t ic ipa t ion bodies and in te rv iews wi tha sample of the personnel at all levels. This study explores theoperat ion of the system of workers ' part ic ipat ion, with part icularreference to i ts role in the fixing of material and other benefits forworke rs , t r a in ing , and manpo wer p lann ing w i th in the undert a k ing . The range of a t t i tudes and ideas among various groups ofworkers and manageria l personnel on ins t i tut ions for workers 'part ic ipat ion is a lso reviewed.

The C level s tudy in Czechoslovakia covers 15 plants morein tens ive ly. In te rv iew s are be ing he ld w i th 30 0 m embers of m anager ia l personnel to ge t a comprehens ive v iew of the func t ioningof workers ' part ic ipat ion from the s tandpoint of various levels ofmanagem ent , w h ich w i l l be compared wi th w orke rs ' impress ions .A survey is being made of the views on the workers ' part ic ipat ionsystem held by part ic ipants in t rade un ion edu cat ion program m es.

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The intera ction of m anagers and w ork ers w ill be stu died inorder to see w h a t styles of ma nag em ent exist, and an attem pt w illbe made to relate differences in style of management to variationsin the education, t raining and outlook of the managers , foremen,tec hn ician s and rank and file w orkers in the particular u nd ertak ing.

Thus the Czechoslovak studies will not only indicate the natureand extent of participation of workers in management butreview many practical aspects of its operation and their implications for the organ isation of the und ertak ing under the Cze choslovak system . Light w ill be th ro w n on the stren gth and basis ofthe propensity to participate among workers of different typesand at various levels of management.

In Spain a questionnaire survey of 100 firms employing moretha n 500 employees is being mad e for a B level study . The survey wil l supply data on managements ' and workers ' v iews on theoperation and impact of works councils, on the state of industrialrelations in their undertakings, and on the value and impact ofpar t icipation through collect ive agreements . Interviews with50 managers and 50 representatives of workers will go moredeeply into these matters.

The B level study in the United Arab Republic involves a questionnaire survey of a large sample of workers qualif ied to vote forthe elected members of the governing boards of undertakings inthe public sector. I t will provide data on the aims and expectations which the workers have of their representatives on these

boards, and will relate these to the workers ' atti tudes to theirwork and to the s tyle of management and organisat ion in theunder tak ing in which they work .

The C level s tudy in the United Arab Repub lic w il l foc us onthe role of elected representatives of the work ers in the go ve rn ingboards of public undertakings.

Possible effects on the boardroom interaction of the electedand other board members of the hierarchical relationship be

tw ee n the m in the formal organisat ion of the unde rtaking w il l benvestigated. Attempts wil l be made to observe board meetings

in progress, bu t it is expected that mos t of the data wi ll be ob tain ed

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by interviewing board members . Quest ionnaire surveys wil l bema de of w ork ers ' a t t i tud es , part icularly as regards the differencesw h ic h intro du ct io n of the system had made . Records of the boardsand of the undertakings wil l be examined in this connect ion. Theelect ions of board members wil l a lso be s tudied to c larify theaims and expectat ions which may be es tabl ished during the e lect ion process , and the groups of workers whom elected boardmembers actually represent.

The s tudies in the United Arab Republic thus focus on theextent to which the system of workers ' representat ion on theboard of management f i ts the expectat ions of workers , and thefac tors wh ic h inf luence the opera tion of the sys tem. The w orke rs 'propensi ty to part ic ipate wil l be compared with the part ic ipat ionpotential available to their representatives.

In Yug oslavia a s tud y co m bin ing levels A an d B w il l review thedevelopment of workers ' se l f -management in tha t country, theevolut ion of the concept and of the legal and adminis tra t ive forms

w h ic h em bo dy i t . It w il l a lso rev iew research into and experienceof certa in spe cif ic problem s, inc lud ing the s ignif icanc e of w ork ers 'se l f -man agem ent for technica l progress , econ om ic dev elopm entand l iving s tandards , experience w ith the edu ca t ion o f w orke rs forworkers ' se l f -management , and the educa t iona l and profess iona lqu al if icat ions of manageria l personnel and the members of m an aging boards under the Yugoslav system of self-management .

The C level study in Yugoslavia covers six plants of over 5,000

wo rkers e ach, and 14 smaller und ertakings . These 2 0 unde rtakingsinclu de a varie ty of s i tuat ion s in terms of te ch no log y, indus tr ia lre la tions , orga nisat ion and eco no m ic results . In each und ertakingthe types and forms of se l f -management wi l l be inves t iga ted ,toge ther wi th the d is t r ibut ion of power wi th in the under taking,the re la t ions be twe en wo rkers and " experts " , the inform ationflow and the process whereby decis ions are made on matterssuch as p roduc t ion , deve lopment , d i s t r ibu t ion , wages , adop t ion

of n ew tec hn ique s , e tc . Th e inquiry w il l explore the a t t itudes ofpersonnel a t a ll levels to the ir w or k a nd i ts orga nisa t ion, in clu din gthe se l f -management machinery, and wi l l s tudy informal in-

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f luences upo n the w or k in g of se l f -ma nagem ent . The impl ica t ionsof w ork ers ' sel f-mana gem ent for efficiency, for the in trod uct io n ofeconomic and technological change, and for the motivat ion ofmanagers , wi l l a lso be s tudied.

These comprehensive studies will thus analyse many practicalaspects of the funct ioning of workers ' sel f-management andindicate how various factors affect managers ' and workers ' propensity to part icipate in a self-management system. The part icipation potential in various types of undertaking under variouscondi t ions wil l a lso be clar i f ied .

In Poland a B level study covers various facets of sociologicalresearch into the concepts of workers ' part icipation held byvarious categories of workers, and into the nature and extent ofpart icipation in the system by workers in these categories.Various aspects of the practical operation of the system of workers' part icipat ion are reviewed, and the social funct ions of theindustrial unde rtaking as a for m of hu m an orga nisation are

analysed. The significance of certain characterist ics of the undert ak ing , such as s ize and tech no logy , for the operat ion of w ork ers 'par t icipat ion is considered. The evo lut ion of concepts of w ork ers 'part icipation and att i tudes to i t are also reviewed.

The C level study in Poland investigates intensively the practical functioning of the organs for workers ' part icipation in sixundertakings which have been studied in detai l for some t ime.

The propensity of various types of Polish worker to part icipate

in management under var ious condi t ions of par t icipat ion potent ial w i l l thu s be s tudied, an d the in teract ion o f these factors w il l beexamined in detail in a few cases.

In the United Kingdom a B level study is making an extensivequest ionnaire survey of the m ethods of neg ot iat ion , jo i nt c on su lta t ion and com m unicat ions w i th in a sample of und er tak ings , andof the processes whereby managerial decisions of various typesare influenced by workers. The nature and extent of such influence will be related to information on the state of industrialrelations in the undertaking, as well as to characterist ics of theundertaking and the management 's approach to the sharing of

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a f inal jud gm en t on the value of work ers ' par t icipation. On the o nehand , the research does not cover all the aspects deserving invest iga t ion . On the other ha nd , even if it d id , jud gm en ts as to thevalue of workers ' par t icipation would s t i l l vary because of differences in values and ideologies. The studies sho uld , how ever,help to clarify the basis of such judgments by increasing ourknowledge of the actual operat ion of workers ' par t icipation.From the po int of view o f practical po licy, the value of th e researchwill l ie in the extent to which it succeeds in specifying the stra

tegic factors which affect workers ' par t icipation, and in indicating h o w th ey exer t their inf luence. The problem of w orke rs ' par t icipation seems likely to test the wisdom of policy makers andthe skill an d g oo d faith of protagonists for the rest of the t w en tiet hcentury.

collective bargaining and workers

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