Topic 8 - Industrial Action Tutorial Solutions Shivani Swastika Lal - 2007004229

Topic 8 – Industrial Action
Tutorial Solutions
Shivani Swastika Lal – 2007004229
1. Employers or workers take industrial action to settle a dispute over working conditions at
work. Making sure your employees are motivated is crucial. This could lead to strike
action if workers are dissatisfied with their working conditions or are demotivated.
Industrial action will significantly affect an organization’s performance, profitability and
credibility. Industrial action is typically a last resort for workers who believe that the
management or shareholders of the company have not taken their interests and views into
consideration. Industrial action aims at putting pressure on employers to compromise and
agree to the demands of the workers.
 Although the strike is only one of a number of actions that can be categorized as
industrial action, it is not the exclusive domain of workers and unions that
management may also instigate.
 The potential for industrial action in the negotiating phase is a constant, central
but usually quiescent factor and its use reinforces the relative bargaining
advantages between the parties and serves as an inducement to make
compromises that will lead to an appropriate solution.
 The strike may be part of the social-political processes within society as well as
the mechanism of collective bargaining, both industrial and organizational.
The primary role of industrial action is to allow workers and trade unions to assert control
in the collective bargaining process by bringing temporary disruption into the
organization's economic and authority relations.
2. Industrial action is any temporary termination of regular work practices undertaken

unilaterally by workers (whether through their unions or not) or management in the
collective bargaining process with the intention of exerting leverage. Industrial action
typically occurs when a labor dispute cannot be resolved through negotiation. Forms os
Industrial Actions are as follows:
 Strike-where employees deny employer jobs.
 Action short of a strike-where employees take action such as regulating, slowing
down, banning overtime or calling for bans.
 Lock-out-a job stoppage where the employer stops workers from working
 Overtime ban – mutual refusal to work outside of usual agreed working hours,
thereby impacting production rate;
 Go slow – work without enthusiasm and at a lower efficiency than normal
 Withdrawal of cooperation – withdrawal of members from joint organizations, in
particular those related to consultation and productivity; excessive use of
structured procedures; rigid definition of any status quo provision; lack of
flexibility on the part of employees and their representatives in solving work
problems.
 Work to regulate – specifically defining the duties defined in the employment
contract, contractual agreement, job description or other laws (e.g. safety
procedures) and providing specific management instructions for conducting the
work.
For example, if a group of workers strike to make the work of the rest of the workers
difficult or less effective, then the employer can declare a lockout until the workers
end the strike. Another situation where an employer is permitted to enforce a lockout
is to prevent slowdowns or sporadic work-stops. Factory occupation has been the
typical way workers' movement reacted to lockouts.
3. Strikes-A strike is a very effective tactic that trade unions and other labor groups are
using to get their demands accepted. Generally, it means leaving work by a group of
employees to put pressure to bear on their boss so that their demands are accepted. When
workers in a given industry collectively cease to work, they are said to be in strike. A
group of staff in a strike decide to stop demonstrating about anything they believe is
unjust where they work. Laboratories are withholding their services to pressure their
employment or government to meet their demands. Strikers' demands can range from
demanding higher pay or improved health to pursuing improvements in the workplace
environment.
Lockouts-A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer does not allow workers to
work. Employers are announcing that they should place pressure on their staff. This is
separate from a strike where workers are refusing to work. A lockout is therefore the
weapon of employers while a strike is being raised on the part of employees. A lockout
can occur for a variety of reasons. If only part of a trade union votes to strike, a lockout 's
purpose is to put pressure on a union by reducing the number of members that can work.
There are many types of industrial action:
Method Description Impact
Production will be stopped leading

Employees occupy their
to customers going to the
Sit in workplace in order to prevent
competition to fulfil their
any work from taking place
needs/orders
Method Description Impact
Overtime Employees refuse to work any Employees refusing to do overtime

ban overtime hours may lead to deadlines not being met
Employees will only carry out

Decreased levels of production could
Work to the duties that are specifically
lead to delays in orders creating a
rule listed in their contract of
bad reputation for the organization
employment
Employees will complete all Customers will be lost due to orders

Go slow their duties but at a slower not being produced in the required
pace timescale
Production within the organization is

Employees refuse to go to stopped which could lead to the
Strike
work organization being unable to fulfil
orders or meet customer demand
Employees stand at the Picket lines outside an organization

Picket line / entrance to the organization can lead to a poor image and a fall in
protest with banners to demonstrate share price due to the poor reputation
against the organization of the organization
An industrial action is any action that can impact the terms of a contract taken by
employees working together to compel their employer to "accept or not accept terms or
conditions of employment or change them." Examples of industrial action include a rule-
making position, a picket, an overtime ban or a strike.
4. Industrial action is 'official' if it is officially supported by a trade union and members of

that trade union take part. If you are involved in industrial action against your employer,
you are likely to be in violation of your work contract and thus, by taking industrial
action, you are unlikely to get paid. You will, however, be protected from being
dismissed for taking industrial action provided that your union follows the proper
procedure when it is organized.
 Unofficial industrial action is not coordinated by any trade union, and is not the
responsibility of any. You usually have no right to demand wrongful dismissal if
you are dismissed when engaging in this form of action.
 Constitutional actions refer to the requirement that no industrial action be taken
during the collective bargaining period. The effect of such a provision during the
collective agreement currency relative certainty and peace.
 Unconstitutional actions refer to industrial action that is initiated in contravention
of a clause, generally in grievance / controversy proceedings, stating that
industrial action should not be taken by either party until all stages of the
proceedings have been exhausted.
 Demonstrative action – is to emphasize the importance workers attach to the
contested question, or to demonstrate their disappointment with the progress of a
negotiation.
On the other hand, strength measures include a more sustained use of industrial action as
an integral part of the negotiation process and with the aim to affirm or change the
perceived relative bargaining advantage between the parties.
5. Where employees or unions seek change management, if they want to maintain the status
quo, they can adopt a passive approach by simply saying no in the negotiations and thus
placing the responsibility on employees or unions to take the initiative and take
responsibility for using direct industrial actions to pursue their claim.
 Similarly, if management policies change, if employees or unions fail to
implement their plans, they will follow a tactic to enforce new contracts
unilaterally and once again put the pressure on employees or unions to take
concerted industrial action as a way to prevent the shift.
 Management does have a range of unique acts at its fingertips which can be
considered to include the arbitrary use of industrial resources. It may of course
dispense with employee service either on a temporary basis (lockout) or on a
permanent basis (dismissing workers and hiring replacements).
 Management may also use their ultimate closing or threatening sanction to close
the organization. Because of its implied permanence, the use of this sanction can
be considered a much more powerful sanction than the temporary work stoppage
by strike action by the employee.
 Similarly, it can be argued that management has the power and the responsibility
to arbitrarily enforce new working conditions (including removal of overtime or
acceleration of work) and to take disciplinary measures against workers who fail
to consider a shift or, as an answer to a job to rule, prohibit overtime or go slow.
 Such actions can be seen as ways of handling industrial action (intended to place
pressure on workers to change their positions).
6. Strike propensities apply to the degree to which leaders of the union are able to go on
strikes. Factors relevant to organization, which can influence the tendency to strike:
 Organization size – large organizations tend to have higher rates of unionization,
greater focus on formalized partnerships, and more divorce from management of
workers than small organizations.
 Patterns of production and technological change – erratic patterns of production
recurrent changes or crises, or rapid technological changes decrease
organizational stability, and can generate feelings of vulnerability and stress,
raising the potential for industrial action.
 The nature of work – the form of assembly line work, with its associated job-
deskilling, close monitoring, fatigue and discontent, tends to generate greater
employee dissatisfaction than other systems of work.
 Price and business conditions – pressure on sales, income and costs is likely to
clash with employee management over the achievement of job savings.
7. A trade dispute 'means any conflict between employers and employees related to the
employment or non-employment of any individual, or any terms or conditions affecting
or affecting the jobs.' A conflict between employees and their employer that relates to one
or more of the following in whole or main: -
 Terms and conditions of jobs or under which any worker is expected to work.
 The dedication or non-engagement of one or more employees, or the termination
or suspension of jobs or job duties.
 Work allocation or employment duties, as between workers or groups of workers;
 Discipline Matters.
 Labor union membership or non-union membership on the part of workers.
 Facilities for trade-union leaders.
 Negotiation or consultation equipment and other processes relevant to any of the
above topics, including acceptance by employers or employers' association of a
trade union's right to represent workers in all such agreements or consultations.
8. Strikes and Lockouts objectives are —

 To understand that the obligation that a union and employer negotiate with each
other in good faith does not preclude the legitimacy of such strikes and lockouts;
 Define lawful and unlawful lockouts and strikes; and
 To ensure that when a strike or lockout in an important service is threatened there
is an opportunity for a negotiated solution to the problem.
Sections 174 - 184

 It stipulates the procedures to follow before a strike or lock-out takes place
 It sets out lawful and illegal strikes and lockouts
 The Secret Ballot (s175)
 Mandate to strike valid for 6 months
 Notice (Lock outs) (s176)
 6-month notice valid
Lawful strikes / lock outs (s178)

 Exhausted by health and safety procedures provided under HASAWA,
 Ministry authority to claim unlawful strike (s180)
 Employment Court power to discontinue (s181) on request by union, employer or
minister.
Other Issues:
 Employer not responsible for salaries (s182),
 Strike records (s183)
 Prohibition on expulsion as a member of union (s184)
Unlawful strikes / lock-outs (s177)

 Within 21 days of commencement of the bargaining,
 Reported to PS after dispute,
 No secret ballot / opinion,
 Against settlement / decision,
 Continues after it has been declared unlawful
Strikes (s186)
 (Must) Secret Ballot
 28 Days’ notice
(S187) Lock outs

 28 Days’ notice
 Lock-out notice to display

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Topic 8 – Industrial Action

2. Industrial action is any temporary termination of regular work practices undertaken

Method Description Impact

Production will be stopped leading

Overtime Employees refuse to work any Employees refusing to do overtime

Employees will only carry out

Employees will complete all Customers will be lost due to orders

Production within the organization is

Employees stand at the Picket lines outside an organization

4. Industrial action is 'official' if it is officially supported by a trade union and members of

8. Strikes and Lockouts objectives are —

Sections 174 - 184

Lawful strikes / lock outs (s178)

Unlawful strikes / lock-outs (s177)

(S187) Lock outs

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