The Impact of Collective Bargaining on how a Business is Run

(403 Words)
Collective bargaining is the process by which employers interact with workers who have collectively formed a group, often in the form of a union. Instead of negotiating with employees on all of the different issues on an individual basis, employers deal with one or a few who represent the whole. There are a number of ways that collective bargaining can influence how a business is run.
With collective bargaining, employees generally have more power than they would have when working alone. When the employees have banded together, they can provide a formidable force and stand on much more even ground than if they were just acting on their own. They will bargain on any number of employee issues, which often include pay raises, hours, benefits and worker conditions.
The business will have to take the workers much more into account when making decisions. They cannot just make arbitrary decisions on hiring, firing, promotions or raises as they could without collective bargaining. This can be an advantage for some.
Without this process, an individual employee may not have a choice but to take whatever decisions that company hands down. With collective bargaining, however, the employees stand together, and they may provide sanctions by all even if it is only one employee that is slighted. For instance, they may have the power to go on strike if the company does not make decisions that they like. Thus the company will have to consider its workers more. They may offer better working conditions or pay.
Collective bargaining is not all bad for a company. It can make it easier to deal with worker relations since they will deal with one entity on many issues. It can give them a way to peacefully negotiate and come up with agreements on a wide range of issues instead of having different contracts all over the place.
A business that has collective bargaining will need to have staff or people whose duties include these negotiations. They will also need to make solid decisions on the pay, hiring and firing, working conditions and other aspects of employment. They may need to do research and have arguments for what they are offering in order to increase the chances of employees accepting their offers.
Collective bargaining can have both a positive and negative impact for a business. A company should take this process into account when making decisions that will affect its workers.