COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

"Method of determining wages, hours and other conditions of employment through direct negotiations between the union and employer [normally resulting] in a collective agreement that covers all employees in the bargaining unit, both union members and non-members, for a specified period of time."
(Termium, Collective bargaining, visited 2009-06-09)

"Indeed, some research has indicated that countries with highly coordinated collective bargaining tend to have less inequality in wages, lower and less persistent unemployment, and fewer and shorter strikes than countries where collective bargaining is less established."
(International Labour Organization (ILO), Collective bargaining, visited 2009-06-09)

"In countries with comprehensive coverage of collective bargaining agreements, there are effective government frameworks to encourage and promote collective bargaining, but private parties control the process and determine its outcome. The social partners are also often involved in the development of legislation and regulations that affect the work place. That enables them to help determine what must be mandated by the State and what is best decided at the bargaining table. This provides the flexibility to ensure that protections of workers are effective and appropriate to particular industries and companies."
(Baker, J., Social Responsibilities of Business, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICTFU), 2002, visited 2009-06-09)

"At the national level, the most effective and successful self-regulation of the work place has been through collective bargaining."
(Baker, J., Social Responsibilities of Business, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICTFU), 2002, visited 2009-06-09)

The recognition of the right to bargain collectively is identified in the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions as a fundamental right in the workplace. The ILO has provided technical and co-operative assistance in many countries in order to build the capacity of employers' and workers' organizations to engage in collective bargaining which would be beneficial to both parties. To facilitate this, it has defined the functions, the intervention level, the advantages, and the legal framework of collective bargaining.

According to the ILO, collective bargaining serves a dual purpose. Through free and voluntary negotiations between the parties concerned, it provides a means of determining the wages and working conditions that apply to the group of workers covered by the ensuing agreement. It also enables employers and workers to define the rules governing their relationship. It may take place at many different, and sometimes complementary, levels (within a unit, enterprise, sector, region or nation) and can be advantageous for both workers and employers. For workers, collective bargaining, more so than individual employment relations, ensures adequate wages and working conditions by providing them with a "collective voice."

Contrary to conventional belief, an ILO study argued that collective bargaining has been one of the main consensual means of introducing labour market flexibility in many countries.

ILO Conventions

For collective bargaining to function properly, legal frameworks ensuring the independence and the effective participation of social partners are necessary to provide a legal basis for negotiations. The ratification of the two fundamental ILO conventions, the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention of 1948 and the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention of 1949, is a necessary step if such frameworks are to be put in place.

Other ILO Conventions and Recommendations related to collective bargaining identify the rights and principles of workers in specific sectors.
(adapted from International Labour Organization (ILO), Collective Bargaining, visited 2009-06-09)