Human Resource Management

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Human Resource Management

• Keiichiro HAMAGUCHI

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Chapter 3Section 6Trade Union and
Labor-Management Consultation
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(1) Enterprise Unionism

• Trade unions are established within an individual
  enterprise.
• They bargain collectively with a single employer.
• Collective agreements are concluded at the
  enterprise level.
• Industry-level collective bargeaning is very rare.

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(a) Enterprise Unions

• Enterprise unions organize both blue-collar and
  white collar workers, but normally exclude
  non-regular workers.
• Interests of regular and non-regular workers
  differ.
• Employment security of regular workers are
  sustained by instability of non-regular workers.

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(b) Predominance of Enterprise Unionism

• Trade Union Law does not require enterprise
  unionism.
• But almost all unions in Japan are enterprise
  unions.
• This is explained by historical background.
• Under the long-term employment system, most
  efficient mechanism is enterprise unionism.

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(2) Legal Framework of Trade Unions(a) Plural
Unionism

• Trade Union Law does not require majority support
  of workers to enjoy statutory rights.
• There is no minimum number of members.
• Multiple unions may exist in a single company
  with full-fledged right to bargain and act
  collectively.
• Large companies usually have cooperative dominant
  unions and radical minority unions.

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(b) Union Shop Agreements

• Union shop agreement requires the employer to
  dismiss non-member or seceder.
• But this does not apply to members of another
  union (Mitsui Warehouse Harbor Express case).

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(3) Collective Bargaining(a) Employers Duty to
Bargain Collectively

• If an employer refuses to bargain collectively
  with union without proper reasons, it constitutes
  unfair labor practice.
• Labor Relations Commission may issue remedial
  order.
• Unlike exclusive representation system in US,
  minority unions enjoy full right to bargain
  collectively.

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(b) Decentralized Collective Bargaining and Shunto

• Most collective bargaining takes place at the
  company level.
• This decentralized system enables employers and
  unions to adapt changes.
• But it lacks universal impact across the
  industry.
• To compensate this, industrial federations and
  national confederation have set the goal for wage
  increase and coordinate company-level
  negotiations (Shunto spring wage offensive).
• Under Shunto system, strong unions lead, other
  unions follow.

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(4) Collective Agreement(a) Legal Effects of
Collective Agreement

• Collective agreements have both obligatory effect
  and normative effect.
• Normative effect any portion of individual
  employment contract which contravenes the
  standards in collective agreement is null and
  void, and it is replaced with that standards.

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(b) Collective Agreement and Individual Contract

• In EU, collective agreements are concluded at the
  industry level, and they set only minimum
  standards.
• In Japan, collective agreements are concluded at
  the company level, and they set actual working
  conditions.
• Disadvantageous collective agreement has binding
  effect on union members (Asahi Fire and Marine
  Insurance case).

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(c) Extension of Normative Effect of Collective
Agreement

• In principle, a collective agreement applies only
  to union members.
• When ¾ of employees in an establishment are
  covered by an agreement, it applies to
  non-members (plant level extension).
• A majority of workers in a region are covered by
  an agreement, it applies to remaining workers
  (regional extension) (rarely used).

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(5) The Diffusion of Joint Labor-Management
Consultation

• Under the joint labor-management consultation
  system, employers and worker representatives
  exchange information and views on management,
  production, working and living conditions.
• EU countries have statutory works councils.

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(6) Joint Consultation and Collective Bargaining

• In EU, trade unions are organized at industry
  level and works councils are established at
  company level.
• In Japan, trade unions and works councils
  overlapped.
• Therefore, collective bargaining and
  labor-management consultation are difficult to
  distinguish.

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(7) The Importance of Joint Consultation System

• Many problems on management and production cannot
  be decided by negotiation.
• But business strategy may affect employment and
  working conditions.
• The exchange of information (including secret
  matters) and views in the joint consultation is
  useful for both employers and employees.

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(8) Informalization of Collective Bargaining

• Usually, joint consultation precedes collective
  bargaining, and participants and subjects are
  similar.
• Joint consultation tends to replace for
  collective bargaining.
• In joint consultation, workers representatives
  are regarded as partners, not as opponents.