Role of the State in Employment Relations

Role of the State in Employment Relations

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Table of Contents

Introduction        

Traditional role of the state        

History of employment relations        

Globalisation and varieties of capitalism        

Case Study        

Conclusion        

References        

Introduction

For many years, collective agreements and organisations bringing together various employers and trade unions were a common phenomenon in most nationsworldwide. These employer organisations representing members from different regions, sectors of the economy and even political affiliations were key stakeholders in the formulation of policies on employment relations. They engaged with trade unions at the various levels of employment relations (sectorial, regional or national) and together helped regulate the markets of their nations. These two stakeholders often clashed or cooperated with governments, but in the end, resolutions were for the interest of business and wellbeing of the nation. However, these convergent trends have changed in the last fifteen years with the increase of globalisation and different states developing institutions unique to them, which theyuse to shape employment relations. This essay analyses the different employment relations systems unique to different countries and the decrease in the influence of astate due to changes in issues and actors in employment relations, which are influenced by factors outside the national borders.

Traditional role of the State

Astate’s primary function in employment relations is to safeguard and steer the country and its citizens towards particular economic and social goals. It is mandated with the task of managing the economy of the country so that it is prosperous for all to benefit. One way of maintaining a prosperous economy is ensuring high levels of employment in the country and favourable remuneration so that citizens have the economic power to purchase. It is also its duty to protect its citizens against exploitation and abuse of human rights from both its own institutions and other third parties like multinational corporations. This involves intervening to regulate markets as well as fostering freedom at the work place such that employees can voice their concerns. In addition, astate should provide avenues that help in dealing with conflicts and resolutions that maintain law and order and the sovereignty of the country.

A state often hasseveral means of interventions to influence employment relations;one being its role as an employer.  The state should be dynamic in keeping up with modern employment relations and setting the pace for the private sector (Crouch, 2003). Additionally, the state should act as a regulator defining rules of engagement for the various actors in employment relations (Collins, 2001). These includes avoiding collapse of collective bargaining agreements by reconciliation, arbitration and mediation of conflicting sides. Another state measure to influence labour relations is through labourdeco modification. This is whereby a state gets involved in the welfare protection reducing employee dependency on their employers for survival (Blyton and Turnbull, 2004).This can also be achieved through making rules and regulations that shape the labour market. Rules and regulations can be used to promote good relations by outlining actions to be taken against offenders, restrict offenses by outlining banned practicesand by defining the minimum acceptable standards of employee rights and privileges (Hyman, 2001). The last approach is pursuing policies that promote democracy in the work place so that employers treat their employees respectfully.  This involves policies that guarantee employees have a right to be heard and their right to a social life outside the job environment is upheld.

History of employment relations

It is increasingly becoming difficult for a state to influence employment relation policies due to changes in dismissal laws, minimum wages and regulations on temporary work. In addition, employee relations practice nowadays differs from years before; for instance, from 1940 to 1970, the economic growth rate was very high due to a high consumption of manufactured goods. This created many job opportunities and employment percentages were at an all-time high. Trade unions were very active in collective bargaining that would result in better wages and working conditions.Unionism was also very high among employees and trade unions were a force to reckon with in employment relations.However, the rapid economic growth could not be sustainedforever, the economies started slowing down and employment levels dropped drastically in the 1970’s.

In subsequent years, employment relations have changed in both the developed countries and the emerging economies (Gennard and Judge, 2005). This is because the economies of developed countries have evolved to depend mainly on trade and service sectors as opposed to before when the manufacturing sector was heavily relied on.On the other hand,the emerging economies and other countries of the world are now relying heavily on manufacturing to grow their economies.  Unionism levels in most countries of the world have diminished and so have instances of industrial strikes. In these modern times, human resource departments have taken an active role in managing employee relations in many organisations and industrial strikes have been replaced by employees who are keen to resolve work related issues through legal means not as a group but as individuals (Frege and Kelly, 2013).

Nowadays, employment relations practice is characterised by an increase in organisations that have a human resource department. This has led to a sharp decline in the power that trade unions once wielded and used to influence labour disputes between employees and their employers. The human resource department serves to ensure conflicts between employees and the management are avoided where possible, and brought to amicable solutions in instances where they inevitably occur. Customarily, one employee represents the staffs of an organisation in the human resource department and this ensures they are involved in the formulation ofpolicies that affect them in the work environment. Organisations are acknowledging the critical role employees play in the success of most corporationsand they are now valued just like the shareholders of the company. The human resource department is used as an avenue of appreciating their input, other than the job related skills they offer, into the organisation.