Collective Bargaining – Various Forms

Definition: Collective Bargaining is the process of negotiation between employer and organized workers (trade union) to determine terms and conditions of employment. According to Edwin Flippo, “Collective bargaining is a process in which representatives of two groups meet and attempt to negotiate an agreement which specifies nature of future relationship.” According to Dale Yoder, it is “a process in which representatives of employer and employees bargain over wages, hours and other terms of employment and translate their bargain into a collective agreement.”

It is collective (group action), bargaining (give and take), governed by Industrial Disputes Act 1947. Characteristics: Bipartite process, flexible, continuous, power relationship.

Forms / Types of Collective Bargaining

1. Distributive / Conjunctive Bargaining: Zero-sum, win-lose. One party’s gain is other’s loss. Deals with economic issues – wages, bonus, benefits. Most common, adversarial. E.g., union demands 20% wage hike, management offers 5% – final settlement through compromise.

2. Integrative / Cooperative Bargaining: Win-win, problem-solving. Both parties seek mutually beneficial solution. Focus on common interests – productivity, quality, safety. Requires trust and openness. E.g., joint discussion to improve productivity so both get higher bonus.

3. Concession / Concessionary Bargaining: Opposite of distributive – union concedes or gives back previous gains to help management survive economic crisis. Common during recession, to avoid layoffs. E.g., wage freeze or cut in recession to prevent plant closure.

4. Composite / Compound Bargaining: Mix of distributive and integrative. Union bargains for economic gains (wages) and also demands equity/concern issues (job security, better working conditions). It combines monetary and non-monetary demands.

Other Classifications:

5. By Level / Structure:

• Plant-level: Single plant – most common in India.
• Industry-level: All unions in an industry (e.g., banking, coal) bargain with employers’ association.
• National-level: Apex union federations bargain with government/employers’ confederation.

6. By Coverage (Mahatma Gandhi’s Concept):

• Single-employer bargaining.
• Multi-employer bargaining.

Walton & McKersie also classify as Intra-organizational bargaining (within union/management to build consensus) and Attitudinal structuring (building trust).

Process in Brief: Charter of demands → Negotiation → Agreement → Implementation.

Conclusion: Choice of form depends on economic context, relationship maturity and issue. Modern trend is shift from distributive (adversarial) to integrative (cooperative) to promote industrial peace and competitiveness.