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

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

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

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

5) 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?

 

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

 

Globalization refers to the ever growing interaction and interdependence among the worlds economies, cultures and populations via inter-border trade of products services and ideas. The key components of globalization are:

• Deregulation
• Imports and exports
• Multinational enterprise
• Foreign direct investments

 

These components tend to influence collective bargaining a lot and this can be seen by the power of unions decrease while multinational enterprises rise in an economy. There are lower labor standards as a result of a rise in employments and the growth of multinational companies. To increase foreign investments, the government could lower labor standards, which will affect collective bargaining. Therefore, globalization affects the growth and the existence of labor in the home country.

 

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

 

Created after the first world war, in the year 1919, the International Labor Organization (ILO) had a mission of peace keeping among the societies with were divided by class in labor and capital. Its mission stated that social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace. It has a tripartite organizational structure with representatives of the government, workers and employers in its body.

 

The International Labor Organization's (ILO) mission and structure were influenced by:

• poor treatment of employees
• unequal pay for equal work
• exploitation of children as employees
• unreasonable wages for the employees
• unreasonable working hours for the workers
• the need for time off of work for the employees ( one day a week)

 

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

 

The development of the British labor movement occurred in the 1920s. Several beliefs led to this development and they include:

There was a belief that there was a need for proper labor and employment laws

There was also a belief that better working conditions would increase productivity

There was a belief that the needs and interests of the urban working class were not being presented well, to the government

 

 

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

 

A work council is an elected or chosen group of employees who represent all the other employees in company meetings with their employers to discuss matters of common interests. European Works Councils (EWCs) are therefore the relevant information bodies that are responsible for the presentation of employees in the European multinational companies. Workers are informed, through the councils of any developments in the European level that could affect their employment and any consultations on the progress of the business is done via them.

 

Organization of work councils

Every member state of the European Union can create a work council. The model of organization amongst the European Work Council involves:

• National level arrangements for the policies
• Local arrangements for the policies
• Council members elections.

 

Purpose of European Work Councils

• reduce workplace conflict
• increase the bargaining power of the workers
• enacting public policies that correct market failure

 

 

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?

 

A labor union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve a common goal like better working conditions, higher pay, better pay etcetera.

After the 1950s, the membership in labor unions took a large decline as a result of the following factors:

• changing composition of jobs
• changes in workforce demography
• lower interest by workers to join the unions
• reduced union power
• globalization

Step-by-step explanation

explanation

(kindly note that number 5 lacks the book's topic but is covered, with references from several books)

 

Key components of globalization

 

• Deregulation - This is the reduction of government power in an industry or sector to increase competition. This allows for the introduction of new foreign investors which encourages globalization.
• Imports and exports- These play a major role in the globalization process as they are the commodities that enhance the interactions of different nations
• Multinational enterprise- a company, or firm which has businesses in more than one nation. this enhances the globalization via the creation of connections amongst the nations.
• Foreign direct investments- this is investments taken by a person or firm in one nation while they operate in another. this increases globalization by ensuring that persons travel between the two nations.

 

Influences of ILOs mission and structure

 

• Poor treatment of employees- Before its creation, there were no rules governing the employee treatment. As a result, the workers had to contend with terrible work environments and constant harassments by their superiors.
• Unequal pay for equal work- Payments were done unequally before the creation of ILO. This was regardless of the equal amount of work done. ILO was created to try and rectify this
• Exploitation of children as employees- As rules regarding child labor were not yet properly stated and the punishments for child employment not clear, children were constantly being used as employees. This created the need for a group to champion for their rights, hence the ILO.
• Unreasonable wages for the employees- Payments were done in accordance to the employers decision, not according to the scale of work. This led to a need for a worker friendly organization to try and assist
• Unreasonable working hours for the workers-The hours of work were also very long. Without rules, employers took every advantage they could of the employees. This led to the creation of ILO.
• The need for time off of work for the employees-Employees tended to work everyday without fail. The creation of the ILO took care of that by stating that every worker should have a mandatory rest period of one day a week

 

 

Belief of the British Labor Movement

 

• There was a belief that there was a need for proper labor and employment laws- The laws in place beforehand were not properly stated with regards to the employers-employees relationship and their expectations. This led to the development of unions and the growth of the labor movement.
• There was also a belief that better working conditions would increase productivity- This belief was correctly thought out. The result of the belief was the creation of safe working areas for the employees, with the developments of newer employee retention tactics. This led to a keen interest by employees to joining the labor movement which made it grow nationally.
• There was a belief that the needs and interests of the urban working class were not being presented well, to the government- This led to the creation of the labor party which was created to represent the employees need in the government. As a result, more workers were inclined to join the union to get proper representation.

 

Describe the various ways European Work Councils are organized and their purpose.

 

Member states of the European Union have a right to create a work council in an organization with at least 1000 employees, or 150 in the European Economic area. The organization model of a EWC is comprised of: general arrangement for labor are made in the national level by the relevant national unions and national employer associations then local firms meet with the council to rectify and fit the arrangements from national to local levels. Members of the work council are then elected by the labor force of the company for a four year period, or by a board of directors.

 

Purpose of European Work Councils (EWC)

 

• Reduce workplace conflict- via enacting proper laws to govern this
• Increase the bargaining power of the workers- gives the employees a voice
• Enacting public policies that correct market failure- this increases the employee productivity.

 

Reasons for decline in memberships of labor unions

 

• changing composition of jobs- Jobs which were primarily for a specific gender or specified workers are changing. This means that the unions are no longer fighting for the opening of gender specific jobs hence less persons need them
• changes in workforce demography- The persons who are currently working have no need to join the labor unions as they find they do not have time to keep up with the old ways.
• lower interest by workers to join the unions- Younger people are less inclined to join labor unions as the times are quickly changing and the labor laws are now being followed.
• Reduced union power-the power of unions has also reduced significantly as a result, less and less people are inclined to join them.
• globalization- With the world becoming a village, it is now harder to unionize as persons are working all over the world. This has resulted in a massive decline in the union memberships.