Deck 13: Comparative Global Industrial Relations

Question 1

What are the key components of globalization, and how can they influence collective bargaining?

Answer 1

Key components of globalization:
Globalization is the process of interchange of products, services, ideas and views among the different countries. It is a process of transnational integration of human and non human activities. The different components of globalisation are as follows:
• Foreign direct investment is the type of international investment which is made by a direct investor in one country in an enterprise resident in another country.
• Multinational enterprise is an entity which operates its business in more than one nation.
• Deregulation is the process of reduction of power of government in a particular industry to enhance competition.
• Import and exports also play an important role in the globalisation in the present era.
These components of globalization influence collective bargaining a lot. The power
of unions decreases with the rise of multinational enterprises in the nation. The growth of
multinational companies and the increase of employment lead to lower labor standards.
In order to invite the foregin direct investment the government try to lower the labor
Standards. At the same time, the increase of labor market also showed a great affect on the collective bargaining. Therefore, the component of Globalization shows adverse effects on the growth and existence of the labour in the home countries.

Question 2

As arbitrator, what would be your award and opinion in this arbitration?

Answer 2

Opinion as an arbitrator:
According to the European Commission, employers of other Member States may be obliged to provide other elements of pay in addition to normal hourly pay. For example, an employer in the U.K. may be required to compensate its construction workers posted outside the U.K. for the medical bills because they will not have access to U.K. health care coverage outside the country.
According to the German government, the hours worked by employee requiring high degree of quality or special constraint or danger are economically more valued. So, bonuses relating to such hours must not be taken into account in the calculation of minimum wage.
As an arbitrator the above arguments are correct and appropriate for implementation.

Question 3

Discuss the challenges that globalization presents to trade unions and how trade unions are responding.

Answer 3

Challenges faced by trade unions by globalisation:
Globalisation is the process of interchange of products, services, ideas and views among the different countries. It is a process of transnational integration of human and non human activities. Globalisation has presented significant challenges to the trade unions. These challenges can be summarised as follows:
• The new forms of work organisations have been created because of the globalisation. These different work organisations are:
- Outsourcing
- Sub-contracting
- Contract labour and
- Other non-traditional forms of employment.
• The increase in the competition and flexibility has increased fierce completion in the work force and increased work pressure.
With an intention to face the Globalization, the trade unions responded by reflecting themselves with three main functions:
• Market function - To present the problems and interests of the workers through the collective bargaining.
• Class function - To fight for the rights and increase the status of the workers.
• Social function - To improve the living standards of the workers by providing the minimum facilities.

Question 4

Identify the key, relevant section(s), phrases, or words of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and explain why they were critical in making your decision.

Question 5

Why did the industrial revolution, the democratic revolution, and the rise of capitalism result in different labor movements in Anglophone, European, and Far East countries?

Question 6

What actions might the employer and/or the union have taken to avoid this conflict?

Question 7

Using one of the countries described in this chapter, discuss how its government attempted to suppress, then tolerate, and then support unions and why.

Question 8

Why was the International Labour Organization created, and what influenced its structure and its mission?

Question 9

What beliefs of the British labor movement influenced its post-World War I development?

Question 10

Compare and contrast the industrial relations system in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Question 11

Describe the various ways European work councils are organized and their purpose.

Question 12

Explain the reasons for a dichotomy in European countries between union membership and collective bargaining coverage.

Question 13

Labor union membership dropped in most nations after the 1950s. What were the common reasons in the countries discussed in this chapter, and what were the unique reasons?

Question 14

Why and how is the Japanese tradition of lifetime employment changing?

Question 15

What recent events led to higher wages in China?

Question 16

How should the court decide this case to support the European Union's commitment to labor mobility between Member States? Explain.

Question 17

Contrast and compare the situations of compelling Germany to grant child-raising benefits to the plaintiff, a resident of Austria, with the state of Illinois granting state unemployment benefits to a resident of Indiana.

Question 18

What are some of the reasons that the ILO does not defer to national procedures, such as U.S. courts defer to arbitration, before hearing a labor complaint?

Question 19

If the practice of the Ministry of Industry had been to return loaned personnel on a routine basis, give some of the reasons why the union in this case would have believed Laganier was being discriminated against.