Non-Union Employee Representation in Australia

This assignment analyzes non-union forms of employee representation in Australia, exploring their benefits and drawbacks. It highlights the increasing popularity of such representations, particularly in light of declining union membership. The assignment further delves into the effectiveness of collective bargaining in securing employee rights and suggests potential improvements to the process based on international best practices.

Running head: INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Industrial relations
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
7 Eleven Case..................................................................................................................................2
Non-Union Employee Representation.............................................................................................3
Collective Bargaining (Question 2).................................................................................................4
Recommendations........................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Recently increased international attention has been attached to non union form of
employee representation. This is because the representation gap in various countries is growing
as membership of the union is declining. Another reason for the growth of Non-union
representation is the rising evidence of advantages of representative employee indulgence for
enterprise efficiency and flexibility. However the reality in relation to the Australian attempt
towards employee participation has not been discussed much. According to (Patmore, 2013) a
Non-union representation can be defined as a kind of representation mechanism which is present
along with or in place of trade unions. This form of representation historically gas been most
common in Australia. The effectiveness of the non-union form of representation has not been
tested much in relation to its composition, independence form things such as managerial
influence, representation made by such bodies as well as their accountability (Estreicher, 2013)
The purpose of this paper is to analyze to what degree the non-union forms of employee
representation and voice would ease the issues which have risen in the seven eleven case. The
analysis would be supported with respect to evidence for non-union forms of employee
representation. The purpose of the paper is also to provide recommendation in relation to the
changes required in the bargaining structure operating in the retail industry in order to avoid and
address the issue which arose in the 7 eleven case appropriately. The recommendation would be
provided based on the effectiveness of the Australian bargaining structure as well as appropriate
policy examples from other countries.
7 Eleven Case
As discussed in the Assessment 7 Eleven is a well known franchisee working in Australia
which have which have indulged in unethical and illegal activities in relation to how they treat
and deal with the employees. The news about the incident spread very fast and thus it led to the
lunching of an enquiry by the Fair work Ombudsman in the year 2014. The focus of such enquiry
was of whether the organization was appropriately abiding by the employment policy,
procedures and legislations or not. It was found by the inquiry that the franchisee was providing
poor working condition to the employees who were mostly oversee workers such as less leaves

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and increased working hours. The inquiry also found that the wages which had been provided by
the franchisee to the employees were significantly less than the minimum wages required to pat
to a person working in Australia. Through implementing these illegal and unethical practices the
organization was striving to make increased profit at the cost of its employees.
Non-Union Employee Representation
According to (Sheldon, Nacamulli, Paoletti, & Morgan, 2016) for many years collective
bargaining and unions have been used to manifest employee representation and voice in the
employment relationship in Australia. However, such a situation no longer exists. In the present
employment world’s most of the employees are not a member of a union but are represented and
their voice is exercised through various other arrangements and mechanisms. These
arrangements can take the form of a work council, supervisory board’s representation and
representation made by employees. There are various organizations such as in our case the 7
eleven franchisee who does not have a proper union representation. In such organization the non-
union forms of employee representation can be very helpful for the employees to raise their
voice and concerns to the heard by those who are responsible. According to (Kersley, et al.,
2013) organizations which have a non-unionized work place are provided with considerable
freedom in relation to the process of dismissal. Unionized workplace have to undertake a
significant time consuming process with respect to dismissal. In use of non-union forms of
employee representation not only takes away the time and complexity required in the process of
dismissal but also ensures that the representatives of the employees raise a significant voice in
relation to an act of the employer which they do not consider as fair. They have the power to
escalate the issue to the owners and managers and if not satisfied they can further raise the issue
with the authority. The functioning of the non-union forms of employee representation is based
in the English proverb which suggests that “united we stand and divided we fall”.
According to (Van Wanrooy, et al., 2013) who had surveyed more than 40 case studies
in relation to Non union form of representation provide that although this form of representation
make the functions of the HR managers difficult in organization, but for organizations like the 7
eleven where there is no management of employees the form of representation can be
significantly useful towards assuring the actions of the employers are kept under a check. A

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disadvantage of non union employee representation which have been provided by (Kaufman &
Taras, 2016) is that although the form of representation allows for the input of employees in the
decision making process the final decision making power still vests in the management. This is
one of the most significant disadvantage which could been seen in the application of the non-
union forms of employee representation in the 7 eleven case. When the supreme power is in the
hands of the management it would not be possible for employees to raise their voice and even if
they do the voice is not going to be heard. This disadvantage can only be mitigated by proving
increased powers to the employees in relation to bargaining and raising their voice. The problem
can also be solved by the non-union forms of employee representation by extending their reach
to beyond the managers and owners of the organization to the employment authorities of the
country (Fossum, 2014)
Through the above discussed characteristics of the non-union forms of employee
representation it can be suggested that it would be only able to solve the issue which arose in the
7 Eleven case if the reach of the representatives of the employees is extended beyond the owners
to the legal authorities like the Fair work ombudsman. Where the unities through traditional
unions are absent it is not easy for the employees to raise their voice against the discretion of the
employer. However the problem can be solved if the non-union forms of employee
representation raise their voice in unity against any unfair practices which is conducted by the
employer in relation to the work place (Sheldon, Nacamulli, Paoletti, & Morgan, 2016)
Collective Bargaining (Question 2)
Collective bargaining is the process through which unions negotiate in relation to their
rights in the work place such as leaves, working conditions and wages. Since 2007 there have
been significant reforms in the industrial relation policies in Australia. There was an expectation
that the fair work Act would introduce traditional structure of collective bargaining in Australia.
However a much more strange process of collective bargaining had been introduced by the Fair
Work Act. during the initial stages of the Act there had been a fair number of collective
bargaining arrangements lodged in Australia, however the number started to fall considerably
from 2012 till the present. There was a constant debate over the fact that too much power has
been provided to the unions which are misusing it to cause trouble and hardship to the

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employers. However there have been no concrete evidence provided in relation to such debate.
According to (Bailey, Price, Pyman, & Parker, 2015) the density of the unions are declining
considerably. The same situation is in relation to the non union representation but such
representation showed a rise from 2014. However as stated by (Berg, Kossek, Baird, & Block,
2013) these arrangements are only documented and not bargained for in the absence of a proper
union and are merely forwarded for the process of voting.
Recommendations
The first and foremost recommendation which would be provided by this paper in
relation to the collective bargaining structure in Australia that it is required by the government to
identify and recognize the fact that it is not easy to achieve genuine co-operation in the
workplaces of Australia and the policies such as bargaining in good faith may be useful buy are
not sufficient for the present condition (Ribeiro, 2016). Increased compliance and strict
implementation of laws are required to ensure a proper bargaining structure is created.
The relationship which exists between representatives of the employers and the trade
unions is often perceived as fair. However the negotiations which take place are difficult and it is
generally not easy to conclude the agreements which have been commonly accepted. The
bargaining process is often slowed down due to the process of long lasting rounds of
negotiations. The major reason for such problem is that there is a lack of authority between the
negotiators to come to a final discussion. Thus such representatives have to be provided
increased authority as it is done in the United Kingdom (Pekarek & Gahan, 2016).Collective
bargaining in relation to the employer are only limited to only the signatories. However the
situation needs to be changed and all employers should be brought into the coverage of collective
bargaining.
The most problematic negotiations are those which are relate to the increase in wages and
problems relating to payment. A third party which is also known as the “social partner” in
Slovakia is a good way of making the parties to the process if collective bargaining comes to a
conclusion (Patmore, 2013).Such a third party may also act as a witness and evidence in relation
to the process of bargaining and the decision which had been reached. The introduction of a

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mandatory third party in the collective bargaining process in Australia can also enhance the
quality of the process in the country.
Conclusion
Through the above discussion it can be concluded that the non-union form of employee
representation come with both advantages and disadvantages. However the popularities of such
representations in Australia have significantly increased during the last few years. Evidence
suggest that although the non union forms do not have much authority in relation to the
workplace they can be useful for providing support to the employees in work places like the 7
eleven franchisee. Collective bargaining is the best process available to the employees in relation
to their rights in the work place. The process can however be enhanced in Australia by following
the above discussed recommendations.

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Bibliography
Bailey, J., Price, R., Pyman, A., & Parker, J. (2015). Union power in retail: contrasting cases in
Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations . 40(1), 1.
Berg, P., Kossek, E. E., Baird, M., & Block, R. N. (2013). European Management Journal.
Collective bargaining and public policy: Pathways to work-family policy adoption in
Australia and the United States, 31(5), 495-504.
Estreicher, S. (2013). Easy in, Easy out: A Future for US Workplace Representation.Minn. L.
Rev., 98, 1615.
Fossum, J. A. (2014). Labor relations. Mcgraw Hill Higher Educat.
Kaufman, B. E., & Taras, D. G. (2016). Nonunion employee representation: history,
contemporary practice and policy. Routledge.
Kersley, B., Alpin, C., Forth, J., Bryson, A., Bewley, H., Dix, G., & Oxenbridge, S. (2013).
Inside the workplace. from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey.
Routledge.
Patmore, G. (2013). Unionism and non-union employee representation. interwar experience in
Canada, Germany, the US and the UK. Journal of Industrial Relations, 55(4), 527-545.
Pekarek, A., & Gahan, P. (2016). Unions and collective bargaining in Australia in 2015. .
Journal of Industrial Relations, 58(3), pp.356-371.
Ribeiro, A. T. (2016). Recent Trends in Collective Bargaining in Europe. E-Journal of
International and Comparative Labour Studies. 5(1).

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Sheldon, P., Nacamulli, R., Paoletti, F., & Morgan, D. E. (2016). Employer association responses
to the effects of bargaining decentralization in Australia and Italy. Seeking explanations
from organizational theory. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 54(1), 160-191.
Van Wanrooy, B., Bewley, H., Bryson, A., Forth, J., Freeth, S., Stokes, L., & & Wood, S.
(2013). The 2011 workplace employment relations study. First findings.