Employment Relations Case Study 2022

Running head: EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS1
Introduction
The study is focused on analysing the case study of aviation company, Jetstar, concerning
the cancellation of flight due to the industrial actions of their workers. More than 250 workers of
the company, predominantly baggage handlers and ground staffs walked off from their jobs for
24 hours in Sydney. As a result around 12 flights had to be cancelled. The Frames of references
provided by fox can be helpful in analysing the situation that occurred with the employees of
Jetstar.
Unitarism
The issue that occurred with the employees can be analysed under the frames of
references of Fox. The Unitarist frame of reference considers the organization as a harmonious
system consisting of loyal workers and managers. They work in teams to ensure the smooth
functioning of the organization. In accordance with unitarism, the managers and the employees
have common interests (Quinlan, 2018). With regards to Jetstar, it can be said that the interest of
both the managers and the employees are connected with the smooth running of the organization.
Workplace conflicts are the result of psychological factors that often lead to failures of
coordination. Hence, the psychological factors like anxiety, dejection and frustrations that
stemmed from the new working hours and pay agreements, caused the tensions between the
workers and the management. The human relations have been affected due to the underlying
issues of the management. In regards to the same the causes of the conflict need to be
understood. Another major cause of the conflict can be said to be the failure of communication
between the employees and the management.
Pluralism
Pluralism is another important frame of reference that can be used to analyse the issue.
Pluralist frame of reference considers that any organization comprises of different groups that
vary according to their interests. It assumes that the individual employees have interests that are
different than that of the management. Conflict is however, not considered to be very harmful for
the organization as it can pave the way for organizational development. In accordance with this
frame of reference, Jetstar issue occurred as there were significant conflicts of interests. The
management wanted to engage in cost cutting and the employees wanted more secure working
hours. The conflicting goals of the management and the employees need to be managed in this
case. The interest groups need to be identified and their goals need to be understood. The crew
members and the baggage staffs are very important interest groups in this case. Another major
interest group is the union. These groups need to be managed in order to reach a mutually
agreeable solution.