Collective Bargaining

Description of Collective Bargaining. Explanation.

Definition Collective Bargaining. Description.

Collective Bargaining is normally seen as a negotiation method between representatives of the union and of the employer, to determine wages, hours, and various Employee Benefits through direct negotiations. But it can also be used to mean a sort of negotiation process between the employer and any group of employees for certain sets of objectives where both of them have common interest. The workers derive this power by coming together, that is by being united.

If their viewpoint - demands - are not considered, they have the power of withdrawing their services or adopting other actions which will adversely affect the employer. Thus the collective bargaining draws its power from the strength of being united.

The employer can ill-afford to neglect these actions as the concerted action by the workers can result in low output and monetary loss. The employer thus agrees to negotiate the matter and the bargaining process begins. Since both the employer and workers have areas of common interest, the bargaining is not stretched too far, because, then it will be counter productive.

The underlying force behind the collective action is the assumption - valid enough - that the employees and employer have vital common interests.

Compare with: Force Field Analysis  |  Six Change Approaches  |  Core Group Theory  |  Bases of Social Power  |  Coalition  |  Loss Aversion Bias

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End of description Collective Bargaining. An explanation.