Industrial Relations
We are currently living in a world where industrial peace has to be fostered. This can only be done using industrial relations. The mechanisms inherent in this concept can serve for the benefit of both managers and employees. These two parties can freely discuss the state of affairs before doing something important. The significance of industrial relations can be highlighted by the removal of doubts that were earlier present in the minds of workers and administrative employees.
Therefore, industrial relations are nothing but an effective mitigation instrument intended to minimize the occurrence of misunderstandings and slipups. It can be concluded here that even a peaceful workplace environment critically depends on industrial relations. Consequently, this leads to prosperity and the development of another important workplace concept – industrial democracy. The latter means that the government validated the involvement of all kinds of workers into the process of making serious organization-related decisions that may have a critical impact on the employees themselves.
Hence, there is a necessity to develop positive industrial relations and promote joint consultations. Such collaboration benefits all of the parties involved in the communication. When industrial democracy is in place, we may witness maximum employee output because they are motivated to lead the organization. This organizational progress is shared among all the members of the organization. On the other hand, healthy industrial relations have several positive effects solely on the workers. First of all, it efficiently protects them from unethical management decisions and limits the level to which workers can be exploited.
Industrial relations also contribute to a decent level of salary and give workers the possibility to resolve all the work-related issues. Interestingly, industrial relations protect management as well. For instance, a manager is in full right to apply specific disciplinary punishments in the case if an employee showcases indiscipline or ill behavior. Numerous examples show that even the overall level of productivity can be increased using the promotion of industrial relations and democracy.
Industrial Revolution
The impact of the Industrial Revolution cannot be underestimated as it provided us with numerous advances and triggered the all-around development process. This event took over science, construction, technology, agriculture, and numerous other areas where the process of innovation was either stagnant or absent. Also, the Industrial Revolution led to a direct rise in the amount of produced goods and provided services.
The latter seriously affected the economy and strengthened the positions of the countries where industrial revolutions took place. For example, one of the consequences of the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century is a significant rise in demand for crops. Our population grows incessantly, so it is important to make the best use of all the new technologies that appear due to the revolution. Again, if we take a look at the Industrial Revolution that occurred throughout the 18th century, we will see that agricultural productivity relied solely on the development of new technologies intended to increase crop yields.
One may always come back in time to the period when the nobles owned the land, and the tenants worked for them. Nonetheless, the Industrial Revolution allowed the government to make changes in the legislation and create specializations. This allowed the introduction of the divide et impera approach that is popular even in today’s working environments. One of the most vivid examples may be the division of agricultural duties – in England, the majority of farmers concentrated on grain crops while their Scottish counterparts specialized in rearing sheep.
Today, the consequences of the Industrial Revolution can be described as increased trade rates and improved economic diversity. The whole concept of mass production would not be existent without the Industrial Revolution and its impact on foreign trade. The large-scale modern production paves the way for future technological innovations. It is safe to say that one day, history will repeat itself and we will witness another increase in the output efficiency and numerous technological advancements.
Within the framework of this discussion, we cannot miss out on the future of unions either. The current situation hints at the fact that there are numerous directions to investigate and conquer. This is why industrial relations are so important. The task for HR professionals becomes more complex with every other year, but we have to continue developing unions. Even though the long-term outcomes of this movement are unclear, the short-term impact of unions is evident.
The Importance of Canadian Union Movement
When we speak of unions, we should always remember the Canadian union movement. From the history of unions, we all know that it took numerous efforts to create and maintain them. One of the things that should be known is that we do not learn about unions in school. It took the Canadian union movement a lot of time to have the right to create unions, and the impact of this event has to be addressed at both short- and long-term scales.
In perspective, the Canadian union movement allowed the workers to fight for their rights and get rid of unsafe working conditions. Today, we cannot imagine working for six days straight or being not able to receive sick leave. The existence of such circumstances triggered the advent of the relatively young Canadian union movement. At the same time, it is rather scary to realize that such conditions are still present in some organizations.
The development and maintenance of the Canadian union movement give us the chance to negotiate benefits and appreciate the profits of having financial security. Indirectly, the short-term impact of the presence of a union movement consists of the eradication of stress and the creation of a secure working environment. On a bigger scale, workers can spend time with their families and receive an acceptable salary because of the existence of worker unions.
This leads us to the idea that we should never take for granted our jobs and security. The creation of the Canadian union movement also bears numerous connotations to employers’ moral beliefs and their employees’ hard work. The existence of such an organization prepares us for a better future where the benefits of having a job are available to everyone
The Structure of Canadian Unions
The structure of Canadian unions contributes to the discussion on the subject of a regression that currently overwhelms the country. The cumulative growth of these structures impacted even other countries that followed the Canadian example and started their union movements as well. One of the aspects of the structure of Canadian unions that can be critically evaluated is the membership in these national unions.
First of all, the members of the union gain access to different pricing politics and the ability to bypass the growing unemployment level. Nonetheless, the growth of the union is not subject to the theory on which it is based. The process of acquiring union membership in Canada does not raise any limitations in terms of national union growth. Here, we may not apply the saturation hypothesis – this means that the current structure of Canadian unions does not support any major changes in their policy or logical structure. All the previous attempts to revise the public policy turned out to be unsuccessful due to the difference between the traditional views on union growth in different countries.
One of the most important points concerning the structure of the Canadian unions is its internationally approved approach. Their strategy revolves around the idea that all the development can be disaggregated (within both private and public sectors). Another exclusive benefit that is characteristic of the Canadian unions is the regionally-based governance that allows them to run different public sector unions at the same time. In perspective, we have to pay attention to the development of new institutional variables that will make it possible to outline a new union growth model for the Canadian union movement.
The Organizing Campaign (Why Unions Matter?)
When we speak of the union activists, there is a rather common opinion among them that the younger population does not do anything regarding the promotion of unions. Nonetheless, numerous real-life examples show us the other side – where the youth is ready to take on the challenge and get involved. Most probably, if someone asked the majority of the Canadian youth, they would hear in return that unions are rather beneficial and have to be mobilized recurrently.
The organization of a union may lead to a situation where negotiations become much easier. In perspective, such a campaign might be needed to raise the Canadian standards of living even more and develop several social programs that would guide the process of the unionization of the country. Why is it so important? Because unions are proved to be a life-bettering experience regardless of the area of living. Despite the popular belief, quite a few of union-specific benefits are available to all Canadian citizens.
On the other hand, we may also hypothesize that the existence of unions is intended to help everyone to live a better life and create more job opportunities for those in need. The concept of a union is synonymous with fairness – this is one of the main reasons for creating an organizing campaign. Unions give each worker the possibility to hear and be heard. Also, we should consider the process of globalization because the international nature of Canadian unions can be useful throughout the process of standing up against prejudices and numerous violations of human rights.
Union Recognition
From the existing information, it can be concluded that union recognition is a concept revolving around the idea that an employer should be able to negotiate with the union (the concept of collective bargaining will be discussed a bit further). The importance of union recognition can be outlined by the fact that it allows the representatives of any given organization to negotiate terms and conditions of their contracts and the size of their salary.
It can also be marked that salaries in unionized organizations are relatively higher than those in the so-called conventional organizations. It may be safe to hypothesize based on all the reviewed information that even the level of job satisfaction is higher among the employees that are members of Canadian unions. One of the advantages of having access to union recognition is the ability to receive consultations and resolve several issues that cannot be resolved throughout a common dispute. Unionized workplaces that embraced union recognition are safer than their non-unionized counterparts as their frontrunners realize the importance of workplace safety and employee health and their consequent impact on the output.
Nonetheless, the number of responsibilities also grows bigger because several additional questions have to be addressed as soon as the organization becomes unionized. The concept of union recognition also includes the idea of fully representing the organization, but this may end with the union asking for legal advice from third-party organizations. In the case where a conflict arises, unions are responsible for reestablishing the status quo as well. This is why managers and supervisors from unionized organizations have to be knowledgeable in terms of legal procedures and the subsequent risk assessment.
Collective Bargaining
Despite all the complications, the idea of unionizing and promoting collective bargaining is still prevalent in Canadian territory. The benefits of the collective agreement are currently supported by approximately one-third of Canadian employees, and this fact cannot be overlooked if one has to evaluate the impact of collective bargaining on the country. Regardless of the benefits of unionization, only about one-fifth of the youth have access to particular union-related advantages.
Here, it may be concluded that we have to pay more attention to engaging younger workers into the unionization process. The influence of unions on the Canadian economy and industrial relations cannot be underestimated due to several reasons. First of all, the country’s economy may suffer majorly in the case if unions will not receive enough recognition. Second, the social impact of unionization also has to be included in the equation. One of the projected outcomes of the absence of unions is poverty.
Without unionization, we will be subject to abusing offshoring. Instead, we have to find ways to invest more in our society and create more high-quality job opportunities. The absence of collective bargaining would also lead to the future where there is only a small number of middle-class representatives. The process of economic growth would become slower and that, in turn, would generate financial stagnation.
Currently, the manufacturing sector in Canada goes through a rather tough time because collective bargaining principles are in decline. Thus, the concept of collective bargaining may be expected to contribute to the development of more inclusive workplaces and equal salaries. The community, in association with numerous Canadian organizations, has to maintain the process of unionization. Within the framework of the current journal entry, it can be established that unions (and the concept of collective bargaining that was developed owing to their exclusive input) positively affect both Canadian private and public sectors.
All the employees across the country that take part in the unionization process can share their opinions regarding wages, working conditions, and a variety of bonuses. This give-and-take approach is the future of the Canadian organizations that are willing to be as profitable as possible.