Composite bargaining

This is alleged by workers that productivity bargaining agreements have improved their workload. Introduction of high technology, rationalisation and tight productivity norms have made the life of an employee somewhat uneasy. All of these steps have begun hitting the workers and unions below the belt. As an answer to such difficulty, labour has come to favour composite bargaining. In this technology, labour bargains for wages as usual but goes a step extra demanding  equity in matters relating to work norms, manning standards, employment levels,  sub-contracting clauses, environmental hazards,  etc. While unions negotiate manning standards they make sure the workload of workers does not enhanced, this helps to maintain the status quo as far as employ level is concerned. By negotiating sub-contracting clauses, unions stop management from farming out business to ancillaries. If allowed, such an action might result in lower employment in some of other plant diluting the bargaining strength of unions substantially. Workforce is no longer interested in monetary aspects to the exclusion of work associated matters.

There is no doubt that bonus, wages and other monetary aspects continue to occupy the centre- stage in bargaining sessions. But there is a specific shift towards composite bargaining. Without such type of proactive stand, workers might not be able to withstand the forces of automation, liberalisation farming out business to outsiders and survive. By through composite bargaining unions are capable to prevent the dilution of their power and ensure justice to workers by putting certain restrictions on the freedom of employer. For the employer it is a lesser evil while compared to strikes and lockouts. Apart from regular wage hikes and day-to-day tussles over productivity norms and other associated issues there is at least no risk of workers striking work every now and then. Of course, even this situation might not continue for long. In companies like, SAIL, Bata, GKW, Philips and even TISCO, workforce reduction has to come if they need to survive in a high-tech environment. The compulsion of a free market economy cannot be put aside only for the sake of maintaining the labour force. It is small wonder in spite of serious warnings from companies , unions in the recession-hit automobile sector (, Premier Automobiles, Hindustan Motors, TVS Suzuki, Maruti ,Hero Honda) have either dropped the work force or cut down their benefits.