Employee Relations: Institutions, Conflict, and Economic Performance

This essay delves into the multifaceted realm of employee relations, examining the institutions and conflict resolution mechanisms within the context of Trinidad and Tobago. It begins with an overview of employee relations, encompassing compensation, labour practices, and employee engagem...Read More

EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
Element: 010 - Essay
Student ID: 1922807/1
Lecturer: Mahindra Maharaj
Date: 13th May 2022
Word Count: 3000

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Introduction
Employee relations is concerned with maintaining and managing employer -
employee relationships, which includes, processing compensation, labour
practices, contracts of employment, emerging concerns, giving employees a voice,
and engaging with them. Employers also use certain trade unions to adopt
strategies and procedures for dealing with employees collectively or individually.
Because of its characteristics, such as, structure, substance, parties, and operation,
employee relations are examined and treated seriously (Armstrong, 2013). This
study aims to explore not only the examination of employment relations
institutions and conflict mechanisms, but the historical account of significant
political, economic, and social factors, which have influenced employee relations.
However, a thorough understanding of labour market institutions, the industrial
court, democracy, and the social dialogue model related to conflict resolution.
In addition to employment relations, the impacts of information and
communication technology, on the mobility of employee relations to workers
institutions will be discussed, along with institutions such as, employee unions and
associations for key personnel like governmental employees. Employers have both
a constitutional association and a chamber of commerce and the act is a legislation
in terms of conflict resolution and management. In addition to its resolution, the
current labour relations systems will be examined and the social and organizational
ramifications on a national and corporate level of Trinidad and Tobago's economic
performance.

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1.0 Analysis of Employee Relations Institutions and Conflict Resolution
Mechanisms
Traditionally, "employee relations" included industrial relations, or the interaction
between trade unions and employers, which included a collective bargaining,
dispute resolution and resolving issues related to employment relationships and the
workplace. Employees and employers may not be members of a union in such
relationships, and a few companies have incorporated Human Resource
Management guidelines to promote a specific stance that eliminates the company,
as employment relations is more prominent since it represents both union and non-
union employees who work in an organization with active and non-active human
resource practices.
Employee relations are commonly accepted now as a result of some firms' regular
use of human resource strategies; hence, the characteristics of employee relations
are outlined below:
• The company's policies and procedures, both traditional and non-traditional.
• The development, negotiation, and application of formal systems, rules,
procedures for bargaining collection, handling disputes, and employment
regulation determine rewards for efforts and other employment conditions,
protection of both employers and employees' interests, regulation of how
employers treat their employees, and work expectations.
• Through the evolution of negotiating mechanisms, recognition, collective
agreements, and practices, a formal system was able to function.
• Employee voice and communication policies and procedures.

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• With their ideologies and strategies, the present government, management,
and trade unions are the most prominent elements in industrial relations.
• Management, the state, employer's associations, trade unions, top managers,
supervisors, HR Managers, worker representatives or shop stewards, and
workers are among the several parties with distinct functions.
• The legal framework is important.
• Several organizations, such as the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration
Service (ACAS) and labour tribunals in the United Kingdom, as well as EC
Directives.
1.2 Employee Relationship Approaches
1. There is antagonistic, in which employers determine where employees
belong.
2. A partial technique in which the workers follow and fulfils the directives of
the Manager.
3. A collaborative model in which the organization involves employees but
reserves the right of the Manager to make the final choice.
4. Employee engagement in the decision-making process is strong at the top
level, with decisions made in the best interests of employees.

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The Psychological Contract explains the obligations that both workers and
management have for one another as well as for the firm. When both parties
comply to their contractual terms, there is an excellent employment relationship;
nevertheless, if one party fails to perform their terms of the contract, threatening
terms and conditions of employment can arise; this sort of contract is not stated
and occurs in all work places, stated or not.
1.3 Trinidad and Tobago's Political, Historical, and Social Development
Due to its pluralistic past and the prevalence of trade union movements, Trinidad
and Tobago's economy is primarily comprised of the public and private sectors and
requires a democratic strategy. Trinidad was a British colony in the 1930's with a
history of social and economic unrest that influenced jobs market due to high
levels of conflict. The Moyne Commission was established in August 1938, to
examine and recommend changes that altered the course of labour market
organisations and the legislative framework around employee relations and conflict
resolution methods.
Historically, Trinidad, like Britain, used a voluntarism strategy in which both trade
unions and employers resolved staff issues in the absence of government
involvement. Moreover, Lord Moyne's advice in 1965, Trinidad and Tobago's case
of individual freedom deviated from that of Britain. A potent legalist framework,
namely the Industrial Stabilization Act of 1972, backed by the Industrial Relations
Act of 1972, served as the government's legalist step of interventionism.
As a result of employers having felt unaccounted for because the working
population would profit most, the Industrial Court was founded, and it's one of the
first inside the boundaries of the English-speaking Caribbean, where multiple
voluntarism guidelines were contested. When dealing with Trinidad and Tobago's

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labour markets, the Industrial Court functioned as an autonomous entity working
under the law of legal precedent, interacting with not only deliberations but also
renegotiation, conciliations, and operational through obligatory systems while
managing conflict.
1.4 Increase and Downturn in Trade Union membership
To be acknowledged as a trade union in Trinidad and Tobago, the union requires
fifty percent of its workforce to be members, similar to the United Kingdom.
Moreover, unionization because the population in Trinidad and Tobago is blended,
the frequency is approximated to be fifty percent; the state controls approximately
half of the country’s wealth, whereas the private industry possesses the other
half (Goolsaran, 2005).
The ultimate goal of the private market, notwithstanding the allocation of trade
union action, would be to create revenue, as compared to the public service, whose
motive is focused on people's wellbeing and trade union activity is further
permitted. Union membership has not shifted greatly in Trinidad, but this has
decreased considerably in Britain during the 1970s when Margaret Thatcher
deregulated laws from 1979 to 1997, but industrial action has expanded lately but
not as much as it did prior to 1979.
1.5 Conflict
Conflict can be defined as the inconsistencies of parties involved in reference to a
given position, and in employee relations, it arises whenever the memorandum of
understanding cannot be settled among employees and unions.

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Conjunctive negotiations, on the other hand, suggests that persons are persuaded to
settle with an assertive manner, which is more conflict prone due to various
dysfunctional relationships in Trinidad's Unions with the government.
This interference leads to a deadlock because the affected parties are unwilling to
cooperate, triggering the unions to enforce a series of measures that force the
government to agree. Employee absenteeism to reduce production efficiency,
industrial action, protesting and unauthorised strikes are some of these initiatives.
1.6 Union
Through the negotiating process, unions can use the above said measures to force
the government to come to agreement, such as strike action work
stoppage, sickness absence to mention a few. Strict measures, like peacefully
protesting, working to rule and if all fails, the last option of industrial action can be
used, but in Trinidad, the last resort actions are often used first.
Following a failed strike, the public service organization utilises strike action and
reduced hours of work, and there is a limitation outlined in the Industrial Relations
Act (1972), that was overloaded in 2013 by the National Petroleum Marketing
Company of Trinidad and Tobago. In October 2013, the company suspended sixty-
eight workers and was later engaged in instilling fair into workers by conducting
kangaroo style courts, after which outlining the charges of participation in an
illegal gathering, absence from their workstations and failure to perform their
duties, prompting the union to file a no case submission in the court for industrial
relations to settle the matter.
Furthermore, where both parties involved share a desire to collectively agree,
another arm of collective agreements is more constructive. For example, this can

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be seen in Tony Blair's new contract signage in Britain in 1997, which used the
collaborative approach in which the government, unions, and organizations work
collaboratively in a memorandum of understanding for the best possible result for
all involved parties, and this was mirrored in the German system, where unions are
referred to as work councils.
1.7 Dispute Resolution Mechanism
This is an organized procedure that exposes conflicts or grievances that have arisen
among two or more associates, legal, or social actors. Nevertheless, conflict
resolution procedures may include not just mediation but also dispute resolution,
conciliation, and arbitration.
1.8 Conflict Resolution Procedures and Rules
In Trinidad, there is a grievance process that states that if any worker has a
problem with another worker or the organisation, a statement must be given to the
supervisor with a timespan of three to five working days for resolving, if not, it
would proceed to the next stage for the same timeframe, and if still not settled, it
will go to the highest level in bi - lateral agreement between the company and the
labour movement. If such dispute is not handled at this stage, it will be submitted
to and handled by the Minister of Labour, if not addressed, it will be transferred to
the Industrial Court.
The same applies for the disciplinary process, which requires rigorous
examinations and written evidence, as well as the right to challenge. Moreover,
in the UK, if there are no potential remedies through collective agreements,
employees are allowed to be accompanied to tribunals with their union
representative; a lawyer as a chairperson, along with an employer and employee
representation (often a trade union delegate).

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If the issue is regarded as an unjust termination, the individual who cannot present
answers via cross questioning should seek ACAS, and after a judgment is reached,
all parties concerned would be advised with associated fees and no appeal.
1.9 Mediation and Conciliation
A conciliator gathers facts from both sides and decides on the basis of their
interpretation of the issue, which may not be acknowledged. However, in
mediation, there are three perspectives, the first is the effectiveness of one's
approach, in which the mediator examines the relevant parties, eliciting their
perspectives. The mediator does not offer any advice for the overall result, but
instead assists the parties in assessing their options. (Smith, 2013).
The second approach is assessed mediation, which allows each side to disclose
their concerns simultaneously and the intended result as proposals will be offered
in accordance with local regulations pertaining to the parties' legal rights and is
often court centric (Zumeta, 2000). Finally, the third and most recent aspect is
transformational mediation, which seeks to acknowledge both party's demands,
beliefs, views, and opinions using party engagement and the mediator following
their direction, this sort of mediation is ideally suited for community development.
Negotiation is a basic skill for acquiring one's demands and is an effective tool
used by labour unions during the negotiating process. It is described as a two-way
communications mechanism designed to come to an agreement (Fisher & Ury,
2011). Thus, according to Salamon (2000), negotiating process is a first-hand
technique in the collective agreement that can feature the following characteristics:
it should not only be intentional and overt, but also conducted on behalf of its
members', as well as the settlement of differences, and the result should represent
the balance of power among the parties involved.

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Furthermore, according to Gennard and Judge (2005), negotiations must be
ongoing, one on one, and free of legal repercussions in order to reach an
agreement. Also, it was mentioned that there are five (5) phases of negotiation:
1. Planning and assessment, which may be accomplished through gathered data
on pay claims, macroeconomic factors, wage surveys, profitability of a
company, and potential projections of the firm's performance level.
2. Information is shared to stakeholders who may use it to effect change.
3. Identifying shared ground
4. The signing of a contract.
5. Agreement in writing.
2.0 Dynamics of Internal Negotiations
• Quasi negotiating or bargaining involves the interaction of representatives
from different organizations, such as managers representing the organization
and members of a union representatives representing employees.
• Quasi negotiating or bargaining occurs when each mediator engages their
respective groups to draw findings for establishing clear expectations and
settling claims before the time of negotiation.
• Hybrid Negotiation - is the blend of both distributive and integrated to some
level of resolved topics in Trinidad; although, previous strikes were
problem-solving actions that restricted huge disruptions of production during
business hours.

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• Collective negotiation is a zero-sum settlement, in which, one side earns and
the other loses, similar to dividing a pie. In January 2017, the OWTU
negotiated a 10% pay rise with the government, however, the government
was hesitant and gave zero and by February 2017, the union agreed to a 5%
increase since carnival festivities accrued additional revenue that has been
previously granted due to budget constraints.
2.1 Mediation
Mediation is the primary path that connects lawsuits and smaller intervention
techniques (Smith, 2013). The conflict resolution approach is an adjudicatory of
arbitration involving neutral arbitrators for resolving disputes amongst
stakeholders to mutually agree (Blake et al, 2011). Once an arbitrator delivers
a ruling, it is enforceable by law.
2.3 Institutions of Employment Relations
Employers and workers are both members of employment rights institutions, that
serve to keep the relationships of both sides under check. As a result, in certain
circumstances, workers are protected by a trade union to fight unfair issues from
both a constitutional and statutory standpoint. Employees employed by key
agencies, such as, police and fire personnel, are barred from participating in union
activities, however, they can join an employee cooperative that performs
comparable tasks to a trade union.
During the year 2015, there was voiced unhappiness with the police service's
employment conditions, they were led by their union in painstaking checks from
officers in registered and insured certified vehicles amid peak hours, resulting in
longer hours of commuter traffic rather than protesting. Subsequently, the

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government was forced to reach an agreement with the officers’ union in order to
enhance the workplace environs of police personnel. Likewise, the Fire Service
imposed a two-day period of rest in 2015, where 90 percent of the staff refused to
appear for work, putting the country exposed to a fire disaster till the government
sought to negotiate improved workplace conditions.
The Employers Constitutional Association, who promotes the interests of the
company, as well as, the Chambers of Commerce and Trade situated across
Trinidad, provides comparable services to organisations when managing staff.
Additionally, on August 24, 1996, the Chamber of Commerce and Trade was
founded as the adjudicatory centre in Trinidad and Tobago under the Honourable
Chief Justice Michael De La Bastide.Their transactions are strictly confidential,
and they operate with the highest level of transparency. They also supply devoted
and skilled arbitrators, mediators, as well as other unbiased experts for resolving
disputes, coaching, and engagement. When compared to the business sector
entities, trade union representation tends to be more effective.
2.4 Democratic Industrialism
There are groups that represent various types of workers in Trinidad, such as, the
organisation for service personnel, labour movement, employer associations, the
Chamber of Commerce and applicable laws like the Industrial Relations Act and
the Industrial Court. Both workers and employers have the right and freedom
to voice their concerns and displeasure with any matters which may influence
the well-being, and staff have the option to join unions.
The economy of Trinidad and Tobago is diverse, with trade unions doing better in
the public service than those in the private market, since employers may also
address their concerns through unions as well as the Commerce and Trade

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Industry. The Social Dialogue Model enables the society to engage in resolving
disputes matters and is largely assisted by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce
dispute mediation centre in Trinidad and Tobago.
Conclusion
Employee or employment relations as discussed and analysed are concerned
mainly with managing and sustaining employment relationships which handles a
range of factors like wages, work negotiations, work conditions, employment
contracts. The political, legal, financial, and historical evolution of Trinidad and
Tobago's employment relations frameworks and pieces of legislations were
explored in this essay. The Industrial Court also describes employment market
mechanisms, transparency, and public debate as they pertain to conflict resolution.
The methods and settlements of disputes were also explored, with a focus on
Trinidad and Tobago.

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