CASE STUDY
You are a newly appointed senior employment relations adviser reporting to the CEO of AussieTel, a large and successful telecommunications operator in Australia. In this role you are responsible for overseeing all enterprise bargaining negotiations and any other significant industrial issues, helping management to implement changes designed to improve productivity and efficiency; and developing and maintain good relationships between management employees and unions at the workplace.
The Senior Management Team is preparing its strategy for the renegotiation of the current agreement in the knowledge that the union representing the technical employees and field workers (i.e. the telecommunication union the TCUA) is planning to demand wage increases and employment guarantees that management believes will threaten the viability of the company. This is a key moment for the CEO and the company. The approach adopted will define the short to medium-term employment relations strategy of AussieTel with these critical employees, but also with all other employees and unions.
While the leadership of the TCUA is tough and militant, in the past it has also demonstrated pragmatism and a willingness to engage in genuine negotiation with management, when it considered it is in the best interests of its union’s members. However, TCUA officials have already threatened industrial action, including strikes, if they perceive that the negotiations are not being conducted ‘in good faith’ or are ‘going nowhere’.
Before coming to AussieTel, you were an employment relations advisor for Telstra and you have a good understanding of the industry. Telstra managers changed their bargaining strategy in recent years. You think your experience could be incredibly useful in shaping AussieTel management’s bargaining strategy, although you are not sure whether management will listen to you. Many AussieTel managers are not at all experienced in employment relations and, in particular, with enterprise agreement negotiations. At a recent management meeting you gave everyone copies of some of the news articles about the three last enterprise agreement bargaining rounds at Telstra. You also suggested they read some good academic studies on employment relations in the Australian telecommunications industry (Ross & Bamber 2009) to get a better understanding of different approaches to bargaining in the industry and some of the contextual factors that influence bargaining.
AussieTel’s Human Resource Team is faced with new and interesting problems in building a new style of employment relationship negotiation and ultimately agreement with its staff. New technologies mean new work skills and work routines are constantly under development with the range of work and the discretion at work changing in most roles particularly those dealing with new technologies. Initial research shows that many of the jobs are upskilling toward high discretion jobs with a wide range of tasks often performed through teams of workers functioning with considerable independence in what are high performance teams, while some jobs such as those less connected to technology may at times be deskilled to low discretion work, such as cleaning and maintenance. With the high pressure of the telecommunications industry there are implications for employee wellbeing and the potential for some forms of informal behaviours as employees respond to alienating tendencies at work. Further the importance of employee representation in the workplace is of growing importance to the HR manager who sees this aspect of employee voice providing an important strategic means for HR to contribute to the good corporate citizenship being developed within this organization. In addition the growing number of new employees from an indigenous background mean there may be a potential for bias or discrimination between employees and between employees and management in some cases. Some elements of the community have been so disadvantaged in the past that special measures may need to be developed to address any past disadvantage and/or work and life issues in a regional community. The telecommunications sector remains one of the least gender diverse sectors in the economy, despite recent efforts to promote and encourage women’s participation. Women face structural and cultural challenges and the lack of women in leadership positions in the sector compounds the difficulty in recruiting and retaining female leaders. Only 12% of its management team is female. The organization admits that it has never undertaken or considered any gender pay gap analysis.
ppropriate references (at least 2 for each question), for eight (8) marks per question for a total of 24 marks for this section. A=2 marks; B=3marks and C=3marks.
- Hi-tech and advanced corporations like AussieTel, which employ many highly skilled and professional workers, as well as trades and support workers frequently have low levels of unionisation in some areas and high unionisation in others.
A. Define Representation and identify its benefits for AussieTel.
B. What might the formal collective representation look like at AussieTel?
C. Explain how AussieTel can help improve the ‘voice’ of all workers, but particularly vulnerable workers, and who might be part of your recommendation for AussieTel’s focus in this situation? - Hidden work can have potentially big impacts on individuals from groups who have been or, are currently disadvantaged in the workplace due to increased work and or pressure and who may be different from other groups of workers.
A. Define Hidden work and identify the types of hidden work that AussieTel may need to address?
B. Identify the potential disadvantages for AussieTel in not addressing hidden work?
C. Discuss strategies and processes that AussieTel can implement to acknowledge and address hidden work. - Workplace flexibility and parental leave are major features of Australian workplaces and increasingly other jurisdictions worldwide. The Fair Work Act 2009 provides employees in the national workplace relations system with a legal right to request flexible working arrangements. To be eligible you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months full-time or part-time.
A. Define workplace flexibility and parental leave, and the legal right to request?
B. AussieTel has not had a policy on Work and Family and now your HR Department is currently investigating policy development and implementation. Identify the potential benefits to AussieTel on having such a policy?
C. Consider what might be the resistance from current managers for this policy, offering suggestions for overcoming any resistance? - Managing Diversity is all about managing differences in employees. There are a number of legislated and non-legislated means for managing difference to ensure equal opportunities and to decrease discrimination.
A. Define Management Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity and discuss their benefits and limitations?
B. Explain the value of the use of ‘special measures’ to address previous unfair disadvantage at AussieTel?
C. Critically address how Managing Diversity without the use of special measures can support the organisation’s aim for equity for different employee groups? - Industrial conflict is often considered a ‘problem’ by media and other onlookers. It includes a total range of actions and behaviours taken by individuals or groups which express the differences of interest that lie between employees and employers.
A. Define Industrial Conflict and consider whether it should be regarded as inevitable?
B. Is the absenteeism experienced at AussieTel really about employees being sick or about the avoiding work situations they do not like?
C. Consider how closely related the issues of absenteeism and labour turnover might be at AussieTel and advice on what managers can do to prevent high labour turnover?
SECTION TWO
COMPULSORY ESSAY: Please answer this section with at least 1200 words and appropriate references (at least four) for 26 marks addressing all questions in the essay. A=16marks; B=10marks
Building high performance outcomes for AussieTel and its employees, its community, as well as shareholders, is an important element within the development of an effective Employment Relationship. Talks between the board and a number of unions and some community groups indicates the pluralist perspective of the board and the identified groups, as well as substantial good will of all parties. How would you advise AussieTel? The following questions may help you to build your argument for your employment relations approach:
A. Explain your approach for building a High Road Strategy to developing a good jobs strategy that reflects the pluralist values at AussieTel? Who do you identify as the major groups to participate in the negotiations?
B. What can HR professionals do to achieve a High Road Strategy to build good employment practices and policies? What are the major issues you identify as HR Director to be discussed as part of the employment relations negotiations? How might you set up and undertake these negotiations?
Sample Solution