Analysis of Jetstar's Employment Relations: A Case Study Report

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the employment relations at Jetstar, specifically addressing the flight cancellations caused by industrial action involving baggage handlers and ground staff. The study utilizes Fox's frames of reference, including unitarism, pluralism, and radicalism, to understand the underlying causes of the conflict. It examines the conflicting interests between management and employees, such as working hours, pay agreements, and union demands. The report proposes solutions based on these frameworks, emphasizing the need for improved communication, fair negotiations, and a balance between employee and management interests to achieve mutually beneficial agreements. The analysis considers the importance of addressing key employee demands, such as guaranteed working hours and fair pay increases, while also acknowledging the constraints faced by the organization. The report concludes by stressing the importance of creating a common platform for interaction and fostering better communication to prevent future conflicts.

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

1EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
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.

2EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
Radicalism
Radicalism frame of reference considers that organizational conflict rises due to the
inherent bias of workplace towards the conflicts between the management and the workers.
According to this theory the managers are in charge of the capital in any organization. Managers
often focus on driving down the wages but increasing productivity. This is a major cause of
conflict across various organizations, according to this theory. Organizational misbehaviour is a
term that is used by the management for defining anything done by the workers that is not
sanctioned. In this case Jetstar has tried to reduce the working hours and wages of the employees
while trying to increase productivity at the same time. They have tried to make the workers work
longer to get better pays. There is a definite struggle between the labour and capital in case of
Jetstar. One of the main conflicts in case of Jetstar is due to the disagreement of the company to
increase the percentage of pay rise.
Proposed Solution to the employer
Considering the three frames of references it is important to propose a solution to the
organization for the present problems. It is important to note that there are major areas of conflict
that can be identified. Firstly, the employees want guaranteed 30 hours of work and pay per
week. This would help the employees to develop better living standards. Secondly, the union
also has demands for increasing the percentage of annual pay hike (Jetstar workers 'in the fight of
their lives' trigger cancellation of 48 flights, 2020). Thirdly, the workers are unhappy because the
new agreement being offered is worse than their present agreements. These problem need to be
solved much importantly, for arriving at mutually beneficial agreements.
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. Pluralist frame of reference considers that any organization comprises of
different groups that vary according to their interests. Radicalism frame of reference considers
that organizational conflict rises due to the inherent bias of workplace towards the conflicts
between the management and the workers. These three frames of reference point towards the fact
that better communication is needed between the management and the employees. Considering
the fact there is a need to achieve more Unitarianism with regards to the work environment.
Thus, the management and the employees need to work in harmony (Brewster, 2019).
Considering all the three frame of reference, it is important that the management ensures that a
fair chance is given to the union to put forward its point of view. It needs to be made clear that
all the demands of the union cannot be met, just as all the demands of the management cannot be
fulfilled. The management needs to back out on the arrangement that leads to the employees not
having 30 hours of work per week. This is one of the biggest demands of the employees that
need to be met. The organization should however, focus on explaining to the union why more
than 3% annual pay hike might not be possible. A smoother communication framework that
incorporates regular meetings, sessions, mutual communication and harmonious functional
relationship development is much required to improve the situation. The organization should
introduce new employee benefits and focus on non-monetary benefits at the same time.

3EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
Conclusion
Jetstar needs to consider all the frames of references judiciously in order to take steps that
are mutually beneficial. It is important that a common platform for interaction and better
communication is created.

4EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
References
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