Case Study: Management Theories in Resolving the Sydney Rail Strike

This case study examines the resolution of the Sydney Rail Strike, focusing on the shift from a radical to a unitarist approach in negotiations between employee unions and NSW authorities. The intervention of the Fair Work Commission played a crucial role in facilitating this shift by introducing a negotiation manual and encouraging a pluralistic perspective. The study highlights the importance of complex interdependence between employers and employees, referencing newspaper articles that showcased alternative commuting methods during the strike, posing a challenge from indirect competitors. It also delves into the implications of the employees' demands, such as control over rostering, and suggests alternative solutions like hiring new employees to alleviate workload issues. The case study concludes that a unitarist outlook, facilitated by the Fair Work Commission's recommendations, is essential for resolving conflicts and maintaining the smooth operation of mass rapid transport systems. This analysis uses pluralist and radicalism-based theories to understand the conflict, ultimately demonstrating how a unitarist approach from both parties enabled successful negotiation.

The Resolution of Sydney Rail Strike, Unitarist V/S Radical Approach
The feud between the employee unions and the NSW authorities is resolved; we can term it
as a resolved issue because both the parties are busy in the process of the negotiation. The
process of negotiation is necessary to satisfy the condition of the “Complex
Interdependence." This theory is apt to define the relationship between the employer and the
employee in the case of "proposed Sydney Rail Strike" and its aftermath.
The intervention of the "Fair Work Commission" brought in two changes into the equation.
They forced the employee unions to think with a pluralist approach. Rail authorities were
always thinking in a pluralistic manner. They are running a profit based organization where
employees are earning their salaries in return on the work and the efforts that they are doing.
The complex interdependence between the rail authorities and the employees can be seen in
some newspaper cuttings where they published some alternative methods to commute on the
day of the strike. It was a direct challenge from indirect competitors (Hawke, 2018). Regular
strikes can always force the customers to migrate to other options. This could force the rail
authorities to bring down the number of the services. The "fair work commission" also
introduced a negotiation manual in the deal. This manual was aimed at the removal of radical
feeling among the employees. This manual gave them the assurance that the existing system
has some rooms ready where authorities can listen to their demands (Folker, 2012). The
introduction of this negotiation pattern triggered the change and employee unions also
adapted Unitarist stance instead of a radical stance to make it work. A radical stance can only
lead to the abolishment of a system or a relation. A unitarist stance, on the other hand, opens
the roads towards a solution.
When the employees demanded that they want a control over the rostering process then it was
a radical thought. It was an attempt to challenge the authority of the institution. The rostering
and staffing practices is a domain of the management, they are running a system and
employees are only playing a role in a big system. (Sullivan, 2018).
This controlling power should work for the best and sometimes optimum results to facilitate a
system. In the case of NSW rail authorities, they have all the rights to complain against
overwork or unhealthy working conditions. Even under a unitarist approach if we check the
proposal of an increase in the pay and the rights to keep a check on the staffing options. Then
authorities have another option if they have the resources to increase a pay-out then instead of

increasing the pay of an existing employee they can hire a new employee and create a relief
factor for an employee who is unhappy with the staffing schedules (McGowan, 2018).
While dealing with a rail system or any other mass rapid transport system every employee is
bound to face the pressure of the peak hours. A maximum number of the services during the
peak hours is the responsibility of the authorities and right of the commuters. It cannot be
compromised under any given condition.
The pro-management conservative values advocate a pluralistic approach to look at the
system and its components. Every system follows its own share of conflicts. We cannot
please all the people all the time. However, the pro-management approach allows us to search
for the minimum common grounds where we don't have any conflict. These minimum
common grounds can only be achieved when both the parties are following a unitarist
outlook. A radical approach here has all the good reasons to break the flow of the
communication and the system may fail in this case.
The recommendations of the fair work commission clearly state that the terms and conditions
can be negotiated and reworked under the light of the new circumstances. It is an open
gateway between the management and the employees where they can present their cases on a
one on one basis and get the settlements done (Guzman, 2018).
In the absence of proper theories, we can understand a conflict better with the help of a
Pluralist and Radicalism based theories. The proposed train strike in the month of the January
clearly indicates a hangover of the radicalism in the approach of the employee unions.
(Denning, 2012). However, when a company has to deal with an issue like collective
bargaining power of the employees then the traditional relationship-based theories like
Radicalism and Pluralist based theories can help us in developing a better understanding of
the issue and resolve them. This is why the unitarist approaches of both the parties helped the
process of the negotiation and make it work.
Bibliography
Denning, S. (2012). The Leader's Guide to Radical Management. New Jersey: Wiley.
Folker, J. S. (2012). Theories of International Cooperation and the Primacy of Anarchy. New
York: Suny Publications.

Guzman, D. M. (2018). Harmers Workplace Lawyers intervenes to stop Sydney rail strike.
Financial Review, https://www.afr.com/news/policy/industrial-relations/harmers-
workplace-lawyers-intervenes-to-stop-sydney-rail-strike-20180123-h0ne1p.
Hawke, S. (2018). Sydney train strike means no rail transport and 'roadways will be a mess',
minister says. ABC News, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-17/sydney-trains-
strikes-will-mean-no-rail-transport-and-roadways/9336446.
McGowan, M. (2018). Sydney train strike stopped: Fair Work Commission blocks union
action. The Guardian,
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/25/sydney-train-strike-stopped-
fair-work-blocks-union-action.
Sullivan, M. O. (2018). Sydney train strike: Workers push ahead with industrial action after
'imperfect' poll. The Sunday Morning Herald,
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-train-strike-workers-vote-
overwhelmingly-in-favour-of-industrial-action-20180124-h0njpb.html.