Collective bargaining is a crucial process for many employers and employees. Planning and preparation are important to ensuring the process proceeds smoothly, efficiently and yields a satisfactory result. With just a little planning and preparation, the parties can avoid lengthy negotiations and focus the process on issues of key importance in the workplace. While it may not be possible to avoid disagreements in the bargaining process, planning and preparation may help to minimize the number of disagreements thereby reducing the risk of strike or lockout. With these goals in mind, here is a short checklist of points to review before you start collective bargaining:
- What are the Union's demands? Try to cost each one. What is the monetary impact on the basis of cost, per employee, per hour.
- What are the Employer's demands? Review these before your first meeting with the Union.
- Who is on your bargaining team? What expertise can they provide?
- Who will be the chief spokesperson for your team? What roles will other members of the team play?
- Who is on the Union's bargaining committee? Are any of them your employees?
- Obtain collective agreements and comparative costing information from competitors in your industry.
- Know what your bottom line is, going into bargaining.
- Check Letters of Understanding and Appendices to the collective agreement and determine whether you want them to continue in the next collective agreement.
- Have a draft Memorandum of Agreement that sets out issues such as ratification requirements (by Employer and Union). Consider any retroactivity issues, eligibility for special payments such as lump sum payments, etc.
Collective bargaining is a collaborative process in which labour and management must work to achieve a common goal. At the same time, the process is also adversarial in nature. Planning and preparation will help the parties to narrow the issues, streamline the process, minimize conflict, and hopefully, achieve a satisfactory result. This in turn can help to strengthen the labour management relationship, building a climate of trust and respect for future negotiations.
Edited by Jennifer Fantini and Naomi Calla.
About BLGThe content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.