International Institutions and Employment Relations - Essay Example

International Institutions and Employment Relations Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Question 1-Saudi Arabia Employment relationships are all about maintaining good, positive working relationships between employer and employee to ensure employee satisfaction and high morale. Employment relations are especially important in ensuring that a mutual relationship exists between the two. On the other hand, the employment relationship system can be described as a guideline to how employment relations should be structured and look like in a given country or state (Bamber, Lansbury & Wailes 2011). Because of the interrelationships that exist among different countries and affiliations to various international bodies such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), many countries have been forced to introduce employment relations policies that conform with international standards and are agreeable to other member countries. The ILO, for instance, has been instrumental in influencing its members to enact employment relations policies that uphold social fairness in the workplace. This can be demonstrated through the Philadelphia Declaration of 1994, the Rights of Work of 1998, and the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on June 10, 2008 (International labor Organization 2008). The ILO upholds such values as integrity, work ethics, social equity, justice, fairness, diversity management and equal employment opportunities for all. The ILO declarations have continued to influence employment relationships in different countries, the latest example of which is Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront in enacting and upholding various values put forward by the ILO in the workplace both in the private and public sectors. ILO landmark declarations have been used in Saudi Arabia to emphasize the need to ensure progress in terms of justice in the country’s workplaces. The country has committed itself to championing the ILO’s goals by ensuring that a Decent Work Agenda is advanced. The Decent Work Agenda, as provided for by the ILO, aims to promote fair globalization and accelerate the process of institutionalizing social fairness at country level (Bamber, Lansbury, & Wailes 2011) . Because Saudi Arabia has a high birth rate, creating employment opportunities for all has been a source of concern for the government for many years. According to Saudi Arabia’s Labour Regulation, the country should be working towards ensuring that employment contracts are made based on the interests of the employer and the employee. The contract for employment in Australia before the enactment of the Labour Regulation of 2005 was done casually, and employers were allowed to inform prospective employees about contracts through of word of mouth and not in writing. However, since the enactment of the Labour Regulation of 2005, employers are legally obliged to enter into written contracts with prospective employees. This is especially important in ensuring that contracts with employees are not terminated unfairly and information for pursuing fairness and justice is not interfered with. Entering into a written contract has helped many workers in the country to ensure that their rights to work are not violated by their prospective employees. This is because before the Labour Regulation of 2005, employers could clearly state terms of employment, such as duration of employment, wage rate, time of pay, other accruing benefits and whether probation applied in the contract. This kind of situation gave absolute power to employers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to take advantage of the country’s large workforce. It is important to note that in Saudi Arabia currently some of the employment terms such as working hours, leave, holidays and the process of terminating employment are not dealt with in the contract but according to the Labour Regulation, thus ensuring consistency in all workplaces Bamber, Lansbury, & Wailes 2011). The Labour Regulation of Saudi Arabia now provides for normal working hours to be eight hours for six days a week, and an extra 48 hours worked per week must be compensated for at overtime rates, except in some areas of work such as catering. According to the ILO, recommended working hours should not exceed 48 hours a week and any extra worked hours should be compensated accordingly. With the enactment of the ILO Declaration of 1944 and 1998, employees were not protected from working long hours without pay (International labor Organization 2008). The ILO also provides for the needs of its members by requiring that employers have ensured their workplaces are safe for all of their employees. This is to make sure that all workers are protected and covered while working in high-risk facilities or being exposed to other potential vocational injuries. A high-risk facility is one that is subject to hazardous substances or waste. According to the Labour Regulation of Saudi Arabia, employers are now expected to work together with the Ministry of Labour to assess the status of their facilities based on ministry and regulation guidelines. Further, the Minister for Labour is now empowered to make decisions concerning what he considers to be a safety issue and make adequate arrangements both for the employer and the employee to ensure that likely accidents and injuries are prevented. These safety protection measures have been dealt with at length in the ILO declaration of labour protection, which demands that various nations make it mandatory for national institutions to ensure the creation of healthy and safe working environments (International labor Organization 2008). Labour Disputes have remained a big challenge in many workplaces. This is because the parties involved lack the proper policies to handle industrial disputes concerning disagreements over salaries and work benefits, employment contracts and employee status in the workplace. Many employees feel underpaid or consider their other benefits, such as insurance, medical cover and overtime, to be inadequate. This discontent often prompts employee-employer disputes as each party seeks to take its stand on the matter. In the past, it was not easy for employees to champion their views without being victimized and having their contracts terminated. However, according to Chapter 8 of the Labour Regulation Act, employers could use a tripartite approach to deal with labour issues rather than terminating individual contracts in the name of insubordination. The tripartite approach allows for the respective government agencies, employees’ representatives and employers to work together to produce a solution that will end a given labour stalemate (Bamber, Lansbury & Wailes 2011). Question 2-Virgin Australia The three reference frames, ‘unitarist, pluralist and radical’, as presented by Alan Fox (1974), provide for different ways in which managers may look at employment relations in the workplace. Depending on the manager’s view, respective reference frames are applied in different organisations. A reference frame can be described as a viewpoint that an individual may have that will help shape employment relations in an organisation and at the same time make sure that any emerging employment relations challenges are tackled accordingly. In employment relationships the tug has been between the unitarism and pluralism reference frames. This is because they both provide alternatives to employment relations. It is all about deciding whether to follow a unified and common purpose where the team has common interests according to the unitarist view, or engages in a democratic state where divergent interests exist and where the government seeks to restore some kind of equilibrium. According to Alan Fox (1974), in terms of the unitarist reference frame, there is only source of authority and loyalty is the keyword, which is why this reference frame suggests teamwork. On the other hand, from the pluralist perspective there are various sources of authority, attachments and interests, and employment relations are about balancing the interests of different parties. Therefore, negotiations are considered appropriate in creating the required employment relations (Bamber, Lansbury & Wailes 2011). The radical reference frame, on the other hand, maintains that in the workplace, capitalism is ever-present and interests are always between capital and labour. The manager with the radical view sees work relations as a force against this stand. The radical reference frame maintains that inequalities between power and economic wealth in the workplace is a reality. In this regard, therefore, conflict is always common and the use of employee trade unions is considered a very natural way of dealing with any capitalist attempts to exploit employees. To illustrate how these three reference frames have been applied in the workplace to shape employment relationships, the case of Virgin Australia serves as a good example. Virgin Australia is an airline company that has been operating in Australia since 2000. However, with the launching of the new brand, Virgin Australia, in 2011, and with John Borghetti as the new CEO, the airline industry game has changed radically, more especially with the recent endeavour to restructure employment relationships in the company. First and foremost, the radical view has been the common reference at the company. The radical reference frame, more than the other two reference frames, recognizes that differences exist between capital and labour interests in the workplace and that the way to manage them is through negotiation using the trade unions. This can be demonstrated by the most recent pay increase of 28% for the company’s pilots, a deal they negotiated over two years. VIPA was the trade union that was used to steer negotiations. It was the first major enterprise agreement negotiated by VIPA, the largest union for Virgin Australia pilots. It looks like it (VIPA) offers the best deal in terms of employment contracts as opposed to the others. Given the duration of the negotiations, it is very clear that the stand taken by the two opposing parties is founded on the radical view in which strong positions are taken between the capitalist wealth creators and company employees. However, the need to take the agreement to the pilots for final voting and approval demonstrated the element of pluralism in shaping employment relationships in companies. Approval of the agreement was to be determined through voting, and a simple majority was to determine its fate. Many believe the arrival of John Borghetti as new company CEO cleared the way for faster negotiations and the delivery of good employment relations. This is because the new CEO sought to benefit the company, and therefore recognized the need to consider the interests of employees. In addition to the pay rise, the negotiations also gave rise to negotiations between the managers and pilots, the introduction of a credit card system, agreement on overtime measurement and performance, a new insurance package, and back-pay increases. From this scenario it is clear that in workplace and employment relations, the unitarist reference is no longer possible. However, pluralism and radicalism still exists. This is because wealth creation is in the interests of the capitalists, while good working terms are in the interests of the employees. This is confirmed by the use of negotiations and trade unions to design employment relations within the organisation (Bamber, Lansbury & Wailes 2011). Reference Bamber G., Lansbury, R. & Wailes N. (2011). International and Comparative Employment Relations: Globalisation and Change, 5th Edn. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. International Labor Organization. (2008). ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization. Retrieved August, 2012 justice/WCMS_099766/lang--en/index.htm Read More