Managing Employee Relations: Outlawing Strikes Will Not Reduce Conflict

Running Head: Relations 0
Managing Employee relations
3/13/2019

Relations 1
Outlawing strikes will not reduce conflict
Industrial conflict is defined as any disagreement between employer & workers or employer
& employer, which is accompanying the term of employment or with conditions of the
workforce of any person. It is the dissatisfaction in the employment relationship, which
results in hostile acts by either employers or employees. Strikes are determined as withdrawal
from work by a coalition of employees to express a grievance. Enterprise comprised of
workforces and administration, which is essential for the success and growth of the
organization. The increase in industrial conflicts leads to rivalry among competitors of the
organization, which enhances a great impact on the productivity of the employee as cessation
of work can hamper their work or decrease the extent of normal work, which leads to low
efficiency. There are many forms of Industrial conflict in which actions taken by one
individual in the part of absenteeism and labour turnover. Strikes cannot be linked with
industrial conflict and an absence of strike does not necessarily mean a lack of conflict but it
might mean that it is expressed in some other costly form (O’Leary, 2016). In the following,
an effort has been made to discuss the industrial conflicts occur in several forms as strikes,
turnover, and absenteeism.
The main causes of industrial conflict are the factors, which are categorized as a matter of
discipline, management attitude towards work, and union rivalry. Fair Work Australia has
ordered a resolution of an industrial dispute, which results in the grounding of the airline
fleet. As an example of Industrial conflict can be best described from organization Qantas
Industrial dispute in 2011, which is among the Australian airline Qantas and trade unions in
which employees demanded that the airline should guarantee to provide improvements in
wages and working conditions. After that, the bargaining of workers becomes more intense
and induced them to take industrial actions i.e. delay in schedule, which hampers the
productivity of the Qantas and then emerges the industrial conflict among the management
and the employees. The outcome of the industrial dispute is that it is influencing 81000
passengers, which is causing disastrous consequences to the Australian economy (Frangi,
Noh and Hebdon, 2018). With the result of the tragic impact of that industrial dispute, the
administration has taken the action to hand-over to Fair Work Australia so that they can deal
with the situation. They had taken the action to terminate the trade union involved in the
industrial dispute, which has cost substantial damage to the economy (Hampton, 2016).

Relations 2
Industrial conflict by employees caused delays and disruptions in their flight schedule, which
heavily cost at around $68 million (Currie et al., 2017). It was the first time when employees
have caused disruption in the operations and believed that they can change their decision. It is
stated that after an application by the Federal Minister for Workplace Relations, Fair work in
Australia dismissed their industrial action (McCrystal, 2018).
After that, the management of Qantas decided to lock out these employees, as the employees
want the management to be grounded. It is stated that around 9000 employees are ready to
strike as the Qantas fails to provide them job security. The employees needed a 4% increase
with additional superannuation payments to align with other companies (McCrystal, 2019).
They are threatening to take industrial action and the Qantas are constantly increasing fuel
prices as an underperforming international business. The employees are continuously
disrupting the travel plans of Australians, which stated to take some industrial action by the
management. The management is currently establishing contingency plans to minimize
disruptions so that customer needs can be fulfilled (Sarina and Wright, 2015).
The strike of Qantas gets over as the main impact on the management that the management
have resumed their services over the next 24 hours as they have pressure from top
management. They have to resume the flights as many passengers are facing problems and
result in 81000 passengers being affected. It is stated that more than 650 flights are been
canceled and around seven aircraft fleet grounded. The adverse impact of industrial conflict is
Qantas has lost $70 million in damages with costs at $15 million every day (Briskin, 2016).
It is stated that some employees do not come to work and deliberately forces other
employees, and Industrial conflict emerges among the management and employees. They are
not coming to work and the reason can be either legitimate or illegitimate, which can be
turned into full-blow absenteeism that the management need to take note. Deliberate
Absenteeism is an informal form of industrial conflict, which occurs when employees
deliberately refuse to report to work, which hampers their productivity, relations with higher
management, and unnecessary increases conflict. It merely increases the revenue and loss of
productivity that the organization suffers because of personal incapacity. It costs billions of
dollars every year, which results in low productivity, wastage of time, and dissatisfied
customers. This absenteeism occurs as when the employees feel that they are burdened with
extra responsibilities, which tends to the feeling of frustration and decrease of morale. The
habitual absence of employees can have an adverse impact on other employees. As missed