Role of Rail, Tram and Bus union in the NSW train workers’ dispute

The report aims at presenting a critical analysis on the role played by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) in the North South Wales (NSW) worker’s dispute that took place in the year 2018. The dispute was the result of the train workers strike after the Sydney Trains failed in resolving the pay related dispute of the workers. Despite, the four hours of negotiations between the RTBU and Sydney Train things did not boil down to an agreement. Although wages remained the key point, but there was no detailed discussion on the monetary issue. Therefore, the secretary of Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) instructed the workers to continue with the strike until there was a full and final settlement. It was also known as industrial intrusion. However, the RTBU played a key role in the worker’s dispute but their performance could be determined in the tactical perspective by justifying it in reference to the relevant theory and the employee relationship and the role of the state in the management of employment relationship. The report also draws an insight into the role of the management in maintaining employee relationships, research literature on union and the union behavior. The report also tries to give an insight into employee relationship and the role of the state in the management of employment relationship.

According to Cullinane, Donaghey,Dundon, Hickland & Dobbins (2014), there are different types of employee representations. This includes the voluntary type and the state sanctioned type. The voluntary type of employee representations included the non-union and the union. The non-union represented consultation initiated by the management, for example, consultative committees or company unions while union represented the collective bargaining in an informal manner with no compulsion for the workers to recognize or bargain with them. On the other hand, the state sanctioned type of employee representation included the statute sponsored participation of employees for example OH&S committees and work council and the statute-sponsored collective conciliation, arbitration and bargaining. Given the different types of employee representation, theRail, Tram and Bus union (RTBU) is a state sanctioned employee representation who undertook bargaining for resolving the worker’s dispute on their behalf (Pekarek&Gahan 2016).

Bailey &Peetz (2015) stated that for continuing with analysis of the union behavior there should be careful consideration of the bargaining needs. In this regard, the structure of the bargaining represents the set of the issues determined directly through process of bargaining, Wage and employment determination are the two areas where the bargaining structure plays a vital role. The first situation focuses on the area where bargaining of the parties takes place solely over wages thereby leaving aside the criteria of a firm for determining employment as per the demand schedule of the labors. The second situation represents a scenario where the bargaining of the union takes place based on the wage as well as the level of employment. Therefore, each of these cases determines either the optimal wage or the employment outcome undertaken by the Union.

Therefore, the bargaining structure of the union put forward two cases where bargaining of parties takes place over wages and certain facet of the employment (Oliver, 2016). For instance, it is often the case where parties agree on defined set of the work rules that specifies operating the minimum sizes of the crew or the requirements. These work rules however do not control the employment level instead; they act closer to the specification of capital, output or labor and labor rating.

Tactical perspective: What did the union do well and what could they have done better?

According to Liu, Lv, Li & Tang (2017), the Nash model is considered one of the most famous models in defining the bargaining outcome and it served as the base for work based on the axiomatic bargaining models. This model defines specific set of the properties proposed by a solution along with providing solutions that helps in satisfying the derived property or axioms. These axioms include:

• Pareto efficiency where  none of the players can be made better off without making one of  the players worse off.
• Symmetry puts forward that if players are non distinguishable the solution should not result in discrimination
• Invariance to the affine transformations between the disagreement point and the payoff should not lead to alteration of the outcome.
• Independence of the irrelevant alternatives that implies that if a solution is chosen from a feasible set that represents an element in another set then the solutions must be chosen from the second set.

The solution represents an appeal in areas where axioms seems reasonable. However, the Nash model follows a more normative approach (Ahmed, Tan & Ali, 2018). In this model the bargaining problems refers to situations where there exists a conflict of the interest regarding agreements or there are presence of a multiple number of players having specific objectives in search for an outcome which are mutually agreed or where there exists no imposition of agreement on the individuals without his  or her approval. However, the solution of the bargaining problem may result in either agreement or disagreement.

Lindvall (2013) stated that the Hicks model on the other hand focuses on the cost and the lengths of the work stoppages. According to his proposal both the union and the management negotiators balances the benefits and the cost of the work stoppages while making the concessions at bargaining table. Both the parties try to put forward concessions that avoid the stoppage of work. Here the key idea lies in the fact that there exists a functional relation between wage accepted by either of the parties and the length of strike necessary for establishing that particular wage. In the Hicks model, the employer prefers a specific wage that pinpoints towards a precise settlement.

                                     

                                                                    Source: (Atherton, 2015)

From the above figure, it is evident that the Hicks model presents an upward sloping employer concession schedule and downward inclined resistance curve of the employer. The concession schedule represents the process that leads to the agreement instead of the specific behavioral underpinnings that leads to the popularity of the model. The resistance curve on the other hand represents the time length that the workers are willing in standing out instead of allowing the remuneration in falling below the corresponding wages. The downward sloping nature of the curve represents the sacrifice of the workers in accepting the lower wages is higher such that they will be willing in endure  longer strike for avoiding such a situation. Hicks however redefined the concession schedule in a precise manner by stating that the sequence of the wage strike pair remains in balance. The graph also puts forward an upward sloping curve due to higher cost of concession at a higher wage and the increase in the cost due to the longer strikes. Thus, the concession schedule of the employer depends on the equality of the total costs instead of marginal considerations that signifies an optimizing model. It seems quite natural, that the interpretation between the intersection between the resistance curve and concession curve as the outcome of the bargaining

Implications of the Union’s role for the continuing relevance of unions in contemporary Australian society

Oka (2016) put forward, that union represented a mechanism through which employees contributes to the enforcement and the authorship of the rules that helps in regulating employment relationship. In other words, union also represented means through which the employees are able to influence the terms and the conditions, practices and processes of the workplace. Unions at work might have either a monopoly face or an institutional response or collective voice response face. Through the monopoly face, the unions ensures uniting the individual employees in groups in order to seek a hike in wages while improving the conditions of the employment beyond rates as would be expected  under the pure market. The collective voice or the institutional response face of the unions assists the employers in communicating the concern of the employers regarding the conditions of employment thereby helping the employers in finding a remedy to the problems.

Stone & Arthurs (2013) however, stated that the Unions also have a role beyond workplace. This is concerned with their involvement in the political activities. The union pursues political objectives that not only advance the interest of the working class but also the unions members and the leaders. Pursuing such objectives can lead to disagreements within the unions since it is an integral part of the political ideology.

There are three key aspects of the union structure. This includes:

1. The shape of the individual unions
2. The internal governance structures inside the individual unions.
3. The external alliances and the affiliations that the union’s form based on the industry or geography that it enters

Wunnava (2016) stated that the political nature represents the central feature of the labour unions. Thus, to understand the union behaviour it is necessary for considering the political process that union uses in making decisions. A clear understanding of internal operation of union plays a key role in deriving the objective function of the union from preferences of the leaders and members and used for further investigation of the union behaviour.

The  Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) also known as the  Public Transport Union was formed  in the year March, 1993 through amalgamation of Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen, Australian  Railways Union, National Union of  Rail Workers’ of Australia and the Australian Tramway and Motor Omnibus Employees’ Association. Such an amalgamation led to the formation of a single transport industry union in Australia for the first time. The RTBU remains affiliated Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). On an international scale, the RTBU had an affiliation with International Transport Workers’ Federation.Gerathy&Blumer (2018) said that RTBU played a crucial role in trying to resolve the pay disputes with the train workers. They conducted frequent meetings and negotiations to bring about a resolution to the workers demand. The union also demanded for a six percent increase in the annual pay for the workers to which the government refused and agreed to provide only a hike of 2.5 percent. Thus, the union tried to create a situation that might lead to sensible outcomes for the workers. The secretary of RTBU, Alex Claassens, also pointed out that rostering has been one of the key points and the workers remained too thinly spread especially during the rollout of the newer timetable. The union secretary also insisted on a reliable and safe railway where the workers remain compensated for the job.

Employee relationship and the role of the state in the management of employment relationship

From the tactical perspective, it can be said that the unions played an effective role in following up with extreme demands on behalf of the workers, following commitment tactics and accepting a negotiation strategy. However, in addition to forcing an upward wage rate on behalf of non-union members they could have also enforced Sydney trains for employing few more workers and get themselves involved in various other political activities. The Rail, Tram and Bus union (RTBU) represented a monopoly face in supporting the NSW train worker’s dispute regarding the price hike.

According to Bray, Waring, Cooper &Macneil, J. (2014), there are three distinct standpoint of employment relationship. Thisincludes:

Theory of Unitarism: According to this theory, the employment relationship between the employees and the employers are harmonious since they share a common interest within the organizational goals (Cullinane&Dundon, 2014). The unions here act as external third parties that not only disrupt relationships but also compete with the managTement for the commitment and the loyalty of the employees.

Concerning NSW train workers dispute, the government followed a unitarist approach in satisfying the RTBU and the NSW train workers by agreeing to 3 percent pay hike. The government also assisted the employees and the employers in resolving the dispute(Kontominas, 2018).

Theory of Pluralism: According to this theory, the employment relationship has a potential for conflict due to the difference in the interest of the employees and the employers (Greenwood & Van Buren, 2017). These conflicts are legitimate and accommodated by the suitable network of substantive and procedural rules. According to this perspective, the role of the unions is to advance the employee interest by being their legitimate representatives. They also challenge the management while maintaining the responsibility of seeking a compromise.

Concerning the NSW train workers, dispute the unions followed a pluralistic approach in defining the employment relationships. This because, RTBU asked for a 6 percent increase in pay to which the management denied thereby leading to industrial action (McGowan, 2018).

Party	Unitarism	Pluralism	Approach Used in Dispute
Management	Ensures providing effective leadership	Recognizes the stakeholders interest	The management of NSW train followed the pluralism approach in resolving the dispute
Employees	Ensures loyalty towards the organization	Leads to the advancement of the personal interest	The train workers followed a pluralistic approach.
Unions	Represents third party who undertake competition with the management	They advance the interest of the employees in seeking for a compromise	RTBU followed a pluralistic approach.
Government	Acts as an unwanted external force	Leads to the creation of the policies and protection of the weak	Initially, the government followed a pluralistic view that later turned into a unitaristic view.

                                                 Figure 2: Incompatibility between Unitarism and Pluralism

                                                                                Source: By Author

It is recommended to follow a unitarist approach where workplace not only needs to be harmonious but also integrated. This is because; the management in unitarist approach plays a critical role since it provides powerful leadership and effective means of communication. In a unitarisized organization, employee also remains loyal to the management and the organization in meeting the common goals. Unitary theory represents a single happy family organization based on sharing of the common goals between the management and the employees. Besides, the power distribution of this theory is concentrated which implied that the authority and the decision made from top. Moreover, as trade union was considered as ‘an intruder’ by this theory so they were not considered as a part of the work force. This theory encouraged neither state involvement nor workplace conflict. In other words, Unitarism represents the theory of the ordinary purpose and the mutual goals without any conflict between the wealth and the labor.

Bargaining needs and the bargaining structure

On the other hand, Pluralist perspective is recommended as the appropriate theory when it is required to undertake an analysis of the employee relations in Australia depending on the development process of employee relations. This is because although collective bargaining is an important aspect but it is playing a lesser important role in defining the employee relations given the changes in the labor force and the employment. Besides, conflict management has become an extremely significant aspect for sustainable development of the organizations. In present times, people should not only concentrate on the resolution of the conflict but should also pay necessary attention to influences caused by the other factors. Therefore, it is indispensible and crucial for each organization to build a positive relation for attracting and retaining the higher quality staff for improving the productivity of the employee, increase the employee loyalty, enhance the workplace morale, elevate the business performance and reduce the absence rate.  

According to Waddington (2013), the common categorization of the Union takes place depending on the membership base that includes:

1.  Occupational or Craft Union: They are the first kind to emerge and consist of workers belonging to the same occupation or craft but from different industries.
2. Industry Union: They represent the public sector where the workers belong to the same industry but do different work/craft.
3. Enterprise or Company Unions: This kind of union is found in the Asian countries especially Japan and is rarely seen in the English speaking nations. Here the membership for unions is restricted to a single company.
4. Conglomerate or General Unions: This type of Union allows anybody to join irrespective of the industry or the job.

In this context, it can be said that the Rail, Tram and Bus union (RTBU) supporting the NSW train worker’s dispute regarding the price hike represents an occupational or craft union formed as a result of  amalgamation of  crafts from different associations. This makes the union more effective and put them in a way better position for achieving the goals.    

According to Ellem (2013), formal mechanisms are followed through which the members participates in the union affairs depending on which actions and policies are undertaken within the union. There are two basic features of the union structure. The first includes the four levels in the structure of decision making of the union and the second includes the distinction between the full time officials and the regular members. Committees undertake the workplace tasks of a union only when there is a presence of multi-union worksites. Unions also affiliates with larger bodies like labour council, Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and Australian Management Association (AMA). In this regard, it can be said that Rail, Tram and Bus union (RTBU) has affiliation to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). On an international scale however, RTBU has affiliation with International Transport Workers Federation.

Unions have been a part of Australia for over 150 years. During the period 1800 to 1890, unions emerged in the societies formed by the skilled artisans especially in the maritime, mining and the pastoral sectors. Unions however had a strong position in the Australian society by end of 1880s but strikes and depression between the 1890 and 1894 destroyed the trade unions and encouraged the formation of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) (Bray, Waring, Cooper & Macneil, 2014). The period between 1900 and1989 saw the introduction of the conciliation and arbitration act and the emergence of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and its state branches. However, according to McGowan (2018), the period between 2007 and 2013 saw lower union activity followed by its decline. The decline primarily caused due to the changing perceptions of the public, changing structure of the employment, anti-union activities of the management, government policies and the failure and inactivity of the unions in maintaining effective networks at workplace.

Nash model and Hicks model

                       

                                            Figure 3: The Declining Figures of Union in the Australian Society

                                                        Source: (Bray, Waring, Cooper &Macneil, 2014)

Thus, various strategies are adopted by Australia to renew the unions for determine their continued relevance. These strategies included:

1. Amalgamation and Rationalism: This involved the merging of 300 unions into seventeen different broader groupings with greater utilization of resources(Yates & Fairbrother, 2013). Amongst the 300 unions, 50 unions had ACTU affiliation. This particular strategy had limited success as it led to the reduction of union membership.
2. Collaboration, Organization and Planning: This involved emphasizing on the day-to-day matters instead of planning through organizing unionism models and work program (Kirton, 2015).

According to Gerathy & Blumer (2018), the role played by the unions ended the elongated industrial dispute came after the NSW railway workers agreed in paying the newer deal with a three percent hike in the following three years. Although they did not comply with the demand of 6 percent hike but the deal remained successful as it took some steps improving the working conditions of the employees (Kontominas, 2018). The unions also voiced over the need for formulating of a newer timetable for the workers. Hence, the success of the deal helps in defining the continued relevance of unions in the Australian society.

Conclusion:

On a concluding note, it can be said that the union still plays a key role in the Australian society. Hence, revival strategies adopted for uplifting them from the declining phase. The report also puts forward various structures and the theories of the union and the union behavior in understanding the role played by the Rail, Tram and the Bus Union (RTBU) in the NSW train worker dispute. The unitaristic and the plurastic views will help in understanding the perspective and the roles played by the unions. The tactical perspective put forward helps one in understanding how the unions did a great job in certain aspects and could have done better in the others.

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