The trade union has tried to meet these objectives by going on strike. Thousands of pupils across the south-east of England missed classes, as teachers staged a one-day strike over cost-of-living allowances. The walkout by members of the National Union of Teachers and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers saw more than 1,000 primary and secondary schools forced to close.
E4: Make connections between the needs/rights of the employer and employee.
In this section the employees are the teachers and the employer is the government. Some of the needs and wants of the government and the teachers are similar. Both parties want to resolve the dispute quickly which is good but it is difficult to resolve as they are both demanding different things from each other.
The teachers have a right to be paid the same as others in London, for example the met police. The met police are paid well over £30,000 and have a higher London allowance. They also have a need for an increase in the London Allowance, as London is a very expensive place to live. Teachers need the extra money to live in London and pay for travelling to work. The NUT wants the inner and outer London allowances to go up from £3,105 and £2,043 respectively to £6,111 - the same as Metropolitan Police officers.
However, the government have a right not to pay teachers more money because of contracts that they have signed when they are employed. They need to find a way of getting teachers back to work without an increase in the London allowance. If this can be done then other professions will not dispute.
The education secretary, Estelle Morris, has said that the London weighting allowance increased last year by 30%, and that teaching salaries in general have increased "substantially" since Labour came to power in 1997.
The teachers have the right to join trade unions without being discriminated against. Many teachers join the National Union of Teachers (NUT). The NUT is an organisation that represents teachers. Their purpose is to protect and improve teacher’s pay and conditions of employment. They also campaign for laws and policies, which will benefit the teachers. The teachers need to join so that they can have better pay, better working conditions and union protection if there is a problem at work. As part of a group they will be better represented than individually.
Both parties need to protect the reputation of the profession. This is because the public may think that becoming a teacher is a bad idea due to low wages and the hassle of striking against the government. The government need the teaching profession to be protected so there will not be a teacher shortage. If this happens then it will lead to many pupils missing out on an education and instead of going to school they will be hanging around on the street causing trouble.
Both parties want the teachers to return to work and also to have more teachers in London. Teachers need to resolve the dispute so they can return to work as it is what they enjoy doing. Also the government want to be seen solving the dispute quickly so they will be voted for in the next elections.
If a fair decision is made to solve the dispute then the need of more teachers will be solved. If this happens then the government will have a stable economy.
Both parties need to understand the issues that are under discussion. In this dispute the teachers need to know what they are demanding and what they can do to help the dispute. The government need to know what the teachers are striking for and how they can help stop the dispute. The government needs to know what affect a break down in relations will have. Once they know this they can find the cost of covering for the striking teachers. They also need to know if it how to pay the teachers in the best way i.e. performance related pay.
E5: Explain the outcome of the dispute
C4 Interpret and explain the outcome of the negotiations
Teachers in London have been disputing about the London Allowance. They have contacted the NUT and they have put their case forward to the Government demanding an increase. The union used collective bargaining hoping that the government would quickly reach an agreement. However, disagreements occurred and the two sides did not agree. In this case the union decided to take industrial action.
The NUT decided to have a ballot to encourage London teachers to go on a one-day strike to force the government into increasing the London Allowance. The NUT wants the inner London payment to go up to £6,000, the outer allowance to £4,500 and the fringe to £2,500. I think they need this increase as many teachers are leaving the profession. Many schools can't hold on to their teachers because they can't afford to live in the capital or they are leaving to work in areas where it is less expensive.
The strike will be the first such action taken in 30 years. Over 86 percent of those who voted supported the action. The government offered a 3.5 percent increase in the London allowance, equivalent to just £70-£105 a year. London allowance is offered to all public sector workers in the capital to compensate for the high cost of living. London is the most expensive city to live in Europe for housing and public transport. The starting salary for teachers in April will be £20,733. A teacher would not qualify for a mortgage in London until they earned over twice that sum or £53,000. This figure is based upon the Halifax Bank’s average house price in greater London of £175,900.
Negotiations between the trade union and the government broke down and the teachers went on strike in November 2002. The trade union and the government met for a conference to solve the dispute. No agreement was made so ACAS was called in to make a fair and reasonable decision. I think ACAS was called in as they are employment relation’s experts. Their job is to help people work together effectively. This ranges from setting up the right structures and systems to finding a way of settling disputes when things go wrong.
The trade union threatened another industrial strike if an increase was not given. This would include more one-day strikes and teacher marches to city hall. I think this is a good thing to do when striking as it raises attention from the public. Once the public are aware of the dispute the government will be under pressure to solve the situation, as they do not want to loose public support.
To stop this from happening the government offered an increase in the London Allowance to £4105, which is an increase in £1000. Also an increase in the outer London allowance by £600 and an increase in the fringe allowance by £250 were offered.
The trade union accepted this offer on the condition that the government increases the London and other allowances inline with the metropolitan police in two years time.
The government accepted this without actually doing so. They asked the trade union to call off possible ballots of industrial strike.
ACAS listened and reviewed both side’s arguments and decided on a solution. ACAS explained that the Governments offer to the teachers was not acceptable so they demanded an increase by £1500 straight away as it is essential so that the teachers can compensate for the high costs of living in London and other needs and rights that have been outlined by the T.U.
It was also decided that the government must increase the Allowance by a further £1500 the following year, so that their allowance is equal to other professions. ACAS believed this was possible as the period of time between the first and second payment increases would allow the government to create the efficient amount of funds needed to pay the teachers.
I believe this decision is fair and affordable for the government. I think that the teachers will benefit from this decision as they can afford to live in London. These advantages will mean that schools will retain teachers for a longer period of time and there will be less absenteeism.
E3 Use basic terminology to discuss the relevant legislation.
E6 Explain the impact of changes in employment legislation on industrial relations.
Employment legislations are constantly changing to help industrial relations. Employment Rights help to develop a framework for employers and employees that promote a skilled and flexible labour market founded on principles of partnership. It deals with relationships between workers and their employers, including individual rights as well as collective arrangements.
In this section I will explain how the impact of legislation has affected industrial relations.
Firstly I will talk about the Race Relations Act. Racism can come for your boss, colleagues, or built into the way the organisation works. Common examples are when people are called names, overlooked for promotion, denied training and selected for redundancy. This has had a big affect on industrial relations as it has stopped racism between people with different colours and different cultures. Legislation has helped the unions stop the effects of racism in the workplace.
Another legislation is the Equal Pay Act of 1970. The purpose of the Equal Pay Act is to eliminate discrimination between women and men in the same employment in pay and other terms and conditions of their contracts of employment such as piecework, output and bonus payments, holidays and sick leave.
Due to the impact of legislation a woman can now apply to an industrial tribunal for a decision. At a tribunal hearing both persons making the complaint and the person against whom it is made can be represented by anyone they choose. The legislation benefits the employee as they will be confident, stress free, and will have good morale. It also benefits the employer, as they will have happy workers, increased output and low sickness levels.
The benefits for industrial relations are that Equal pay cases are notoriously slow and complex. A questionnaire will be provided to make it easier for individuals to request key information from their employer when they are deciding whether to bring a case to court and will simplify and speed up the tribunal processes benefiting both employers and employees. This could lead to settlement or resolution in some cases.
A new legislation called the Employment Act 2002 has helped the industrial relations considerably. It has made an impact on industrial relations, as it will alter the way the unfair dismissals are judged so that procedural shortcomings can be disregarded. Employers will always have to follow the basic procedures, but will no longer be penalised for irrelevant mistakes beyond that. This means that the dismissal must have been for a fair reason and the employer must have acted reasonably in treating it as a reason for dismissing the employee.
Another legislation is the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which is a law that makes it illegal to discriminate against disabled people in the UK.
This legislation helps industrial relations, as there is a conciliation service available to help settle disputes and cases are taken through the Council or Local Court.
A big impact on industrial relations is the changes made by EU Legislation on Employment Rights for British Workers. There are many directives covering issues such as redundancy, business transfer, working hours and equal treatment.
Industrial relations have been improved due to the TUC and its affiliated unions mounting a massive campaign to encourage British employers to adopt the provisions of these directives. Many employers have agreed to do this, and offer better terms than the minimum provided for in EC law.
A new legislation is the anti-discrimination legislation. This will make it illegal for UK employees to discriminate against workers on the grounds of sexual orientation or religion by 2003, and on grounds of disability by 2006. The TUC had urged ministers to introduce laws based on the Directive at the earliest opportunity. In the UK, little protection at work was provided for lesbians and gay men, although in other areas UK law was more advanced.
Everyday unions help thousands of people at work. Statistics from BBCi show that last year unions won a record £330 million in compensation for their members through legal action. They won £1 million in equal pay claims- an average of £15,000 per member. These statistics show that without the help of legislation discrimination would be a lot higher.
C1 Summarise relevant information to produce a logical and well-structured report
For this project I have reviewed the dispute between the teachers in London and the government. Disputes arise due to problems with hours of work, pay, conditions, unfair dismissal, discrimination, productivity, health and safety, and redundancy. The dispute was over the London Allowance as it is not enough for the teachers to live in London. This means that teachers are moving away from London, which is resulting in teacher shortages. The teachers that are living in London are de-motivated as they are usually forced to live in poor areas with high levels of crime. The teachers contacted the NUT, which is the trade union for the teachers. The NUT negotiated with the government but was not listened to. This resulted in the teachers going on strike. Negotiations continued but no result was agreed on so ACAS was called in to settle the dispute. The dispute was settled as the solution suited the teachers and the government.
This report includes the importance of industrial relations to resolve disputes.
I have used examples of the current day disputes, which includes tube and fire fighter strikes. This report also includes the impact of changes in employment legislation on industrial relations and the role and responsibilities of both parties and explains what they are trying to achieve and why.
C2 Compare the views, objectives, responsibilities and actions of each party in the dispute
The responsibilities of the trade union is to represent the teachers and provide them with support in case of disputes. The NUT’s concern is for the proper funding of the education service - for smaller classes, more books and equipment and properly maintained school buildings. For teachers the NUT want to seek better pay and improved conditions, with time to plan, mark and prepare. They also seek improved educational opportunities for all children and young people. The NUT’s responsibility is the promotion and recognition of the professionalism of teachers. This is different from the government as they aim to come to a reasonable agreement, which satisfies both parties. They must do this in a way that will not affect the economy. They also have a responsibility of ensuring children have at least a basic education and that adults have the chance to be educated and get back to work.
The main objective of the government is to prevent strike action. This objective has not been completed as many industries have gone on strike like teachers, fire fighters, transport services etc. They also aim to avoid damaging professions reputation, to listen to teachers and unions and be sympathetic. Another objective is that they have to prevent other professions revolting.
The government have failed to do this as the firemen strike has encouraged more industries to go on strike and make more demands of the government.
The government must not be bullied by unions and public pressure. The government need to be aware of how the public is thinking as they have a strong influence on disputes. These objectives are in some ways similar to the objectives of the trade union as their main objective is to negotiate with the government. If this does not work then the NUT’s objective will be to make a stand via strike.
The objectives are also to be listened to and to be heard and to provide greater incentives for teachers to stay in the profession and also to tempt new teachers into the profession. This is an important objective for the teachers. If new teachers enter this profession then specific teachers that are trained and qualified as opposed to teachers that teach subjects that they are not trained in.
The actions of the government were all made in response to the teacher’s actions. The teachers went on strike on the 26th of November and also earlier this year in March. There is an example of this in Appendix 1. This is a newspaper article from The Times. The teachers negotiated with the government but there was no finalised agreement. Recognising that one of the main problems in recruiting and retaining teachers is the shortage of affordable housing. The government has made housing one of their top priorities and have set up a special commission to look into London's special problems immediately after the election. The made numerous recommendations and many of these are being acted on. For example, the Mayor has set up the Housing Forum for London; commissioned research into key workers and intermediate housing; and made the need for affordable housing a key objective of the London Plan.
C3 Seek out and use additional examples to illustrate the proceedings
There have been many disputes during the last 2 years. It is not just the teachers that are demanding increases in allowances and conditions but many other industries.
Fire fighters have been demanding a major pay rise as they have extremely low wages. They have had many talks with the government but came to no solution. This is why the fireman have been using strike action. Since 1978, Fire fighters’ pay has been linked to manual worker’s pay. However since this pay link was established 25 years ago, Fire fighters’ wages have fallen in real terms, whilst the demands of the job have increased in terms of skill levels, training required, and the number and type of incidents attended. Indeed for several years the Government itself has classed Fire fighters in the professional category of workers, whilst their pay levels have remained tied to that of manual workers.
In May 2001, and as a result of growing concerns over a number of years that their pay did not reflect the professional job that they are required to do, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) commissioned 2 independent research studies into the pay levels of fire fighters. Specialists in their fields, the Labour Research Department and an Independent Employment Consultancy, conducted this research.
The Government has deliberately delayed dealing with a professionally presented and evidenced pay claims until the last minute, and has forced fire fighters into taking strike action. They have ignored independent research in favour of their own ’enquiry’. This is a desperate attempt to spin the real issue, and to pull off some kind of PR coup, trying to turn the public against the very fire fighters who day in and day out are prepared to risk their lives to protect the public.
Fire fighters have been watching the Government’s antics all year with dismay, and simply aren’t prepared to put up with it any longer. That is why they have voted reluctantly, but by nine-to-one, to strike - they see no other option. The necessary independent research to agree pay levels has already been conducted, but is being ignored by the Government in favour of their ‘own enquiry’. If it was as simple as the Government are spinning, you would not have seen such a huge vote to strike by the people who know what’s really going on. The strike is a course of action, which fire fighters have been forced into, and quite literally it makes them feel physically sick.
I have researched this dispute in greater detail and placed my findings in APPENDIX 1.
Another dispute, which happened in 2002, was the London Underground Tube Strike. The strike was due to working conditions due to the fire fighter strike. The government had to give the tube employees what they wanted, as there was chaos without them. Below is an article from the BBC News website.
Monday, 5 February, 2001, 12:01 GMT
Tube strike causes travel chaos
Buses were packed through the rush hour
A 24-hour strike by train drivers on the London Underground is causing severe disruption in the capital.
There are no tube trains running on many lines, and most of the others are running reduced services, creating major problems for commuters and travellers trying to connect with flights or inter-city trains.
Hundreds of drivers belonging to the union Aslef are protesting over safety concerns in the run-up to the partial privatisation of the tube.
London Underground managers say the biggest problem on the network on Monday is overcrowding as more than a million travellers battle for the reduced service.
I have gathered more research on the tube strike. See APPENDIX 2.
Second Tube strike hits London
Beleaguered London commuters were ploughing their way across a grid locked capital on Wednesday, as underground drivers took part in their second strike in a week. Services were rapidly reduced from 2000 BST on Tuesday with the last trains leaving central London by 2130 BST. A spokesman for London Underground (LU) said "absolutely no trains" were running on Wednesday and pointed out the network would not be back to normal until Thursday, as trains are returned to their correct starting places for the timetable to resume. It is the second 24-hour stoppage in as many weeks by two unions as part of a dispute over pay.
LU imposed a 3% pay rise after the unions rejected it.
The unions claim LU has refused to go to arbitration.
London Underground says it had made a good pay offer that would take the salary of a Tube driver to about £31,000.
Mick Rix, Aslef general secretary, told BBC London: "If the government made the phone call to the London Underground management and instructed them to go to independent mediation, then this dispute does not need to take place.
Another strike of 2002 was by probation staff. This dispute was about heavy workloads. Heavy work loads de-motivate employees and makes them want to leave the profession.
Probation staff votes to strike
Offenders are offered advice by probation officers
Probation staff in England and Wales have voted to strike because of their workload.
The union for court staff, Napo, said the supervision of offenders was in danger of collapse after 10 years of increasing demands on its members.
Two thirds of Napo's 6,000 members voted to walk out on 29 January, while 86% supported a subsequent work to rule.
Eithne Wallis, director of the National Probation Service, said she was "disappointed" about the decision to strike.
A1 Suggest possible courses of action for the resolution of the dispute
For this section I will discuss what alternatives could have been used to resolve the dispute between the teachers and the government, how this might affect the outcome, and how this would impact on both the employer and employee.
Firstly it could have been that ACAS were not called in to resolve the dispute. If this happened a solution to the dispute would not have been found. This would badly affect the teachers and the government as the dispute would not be solved. This means the teachers would continue to strike and the government would have a bad public perception. However, the teachers may also loose public support as the more they are on strike the less time they are spending teaching. This means children are missing out on an education, which parents will strongly disagree with.
It could be that the government agreed with the teacher’s demands and paid them what they wanted. This would be good for the teachers as they would not have to leave London to find work elsewhere. This would have a bad impact on the government, as it would make them look weak, which means other professions would start to demand money. This would badly affect economy, which would result in an increase in tax. If this happened then the public support for the government would decrease and could result in them not being voted for in the next election.
The government could have offered new initiatives to pay the teachers. This could be in the way of performance related pay. This would make an impact on the teachers as it allows good teachers to stay in the classroom, rather than forcing them to seek administrative posts to enhance salaries. This would be attractive for teachers, as would the possibility of higher rewards in general for one of the most important and influential jobs in the country.
ACAS could have negotiated on behalf of the teachers instead of arbitrating the dispute. This would help solve the dispute as there would be no pointless arguments as ACAS would only be representing not standing up for the teachers.
A3 Describe current trends in industrial relations
It’s about the changing face of trade unions. Talk about number of union members going down and the advantages n disadvantages of it and what influences them to go down.
