CCMA Dispute Resolution Conference

2. CCMA Dispute ResolutionConference John Taylor Acas Chief Executive

3. ACAS • Established 1975 • Aim: “Improve organisations and working life through better employment relations”

4. ACAS Acas’ role is to: • prevent or resolve disputes between employers and their workforces • settle complaints about employees' rights • provide information, advice and training • encourage people to work together more effectively

5. Way Back Then 1970s • Attempts to regulate collective bargaining • Industrial Relations Act • Right to statutory TU recognition • Acas statutory role to promote collective bargaining • Peak of Union membership • Winter of Discontent • Fall of Labour Government • All change under Mrs Thatcher

6. Union Membership Density 55% Collective Bargaining 9 out of 10 workers Union presence private sector 66% 28.4% and fell from the previous year by the largest amount for a decade Private Sector less than 1 in 5 Covered 21% Then and Now

7. Multi-employer bargaining extensive Industrial action in 25% of Workplaces in 1980 Law – Voluntarism accepted reliance on union and management resolution All but disappeared in the private sector 3% of workplaces 2004 (but signs of growth since then) Over 60 individual rights jurisdictions National Minimum Wage Then and Now (cont.)

8. Individual action:Employment Tribunal claims, 1972–2006

9. Collective action: Stoppage days, 1960–2006

10. Structural changes • Perceptions of job insecurity fuelled by outsourcing, off-shoring and employment fragmentation • Changing workforce pattern – gender, age, nationality • Changing working patterns due to 24/7 society • Growing influence of ICT • Growing income inequalities, concern over vulnerable workers, but minimum wage effective

11. Structural changes (cont) • Emergence of super unions – UNITE etc

12. Economic and politicalforces at work • Globalisation, world market, credit crunch, reliance on inward investment • EU requirement on government expenditure and competition policy • Credit crisis – manufacturing employment and production

13. Future Business Challenges: • Recruitment and retention : ‘engagement’ • Managing ‘diversity’ • Managing continuous change • Closing the productivity ‘gap’ (which affects services as well as manufacturing) • Making the most of the workforce’s potential – ‘human capital’

14. Future Challenges for HR/TUs – three‘systems’ of employment relations? • ‘Knowledge worker’ (highly individualised) – pressure to continuously improve productivity • ‘Private services’ (highly individualised) – need to raise standards/move up ‘value’ chain/protect vulnerable workers • ‘Public services’ (highly collectivised) – need to manage change/conflict

15. Future challenges from Globalrecession • Handling redundancies • Managing expectations (less for everyone) • Managing pay negotiations (not always easy for managers and TU reps used to negotiating in a more benign economic climate)

16. Acas’ role going Forward • Respond to Gibbons review of workplace dispute resolution • Greater focus on ADR • New code of practice on discipline and grievance • Improved helpline (885,000 calls now, 1.3 million planned) • Expansion of pre-claim conciliation • Up to £37 million in funding • Greater focus on mediation services • Boost professionalism of collective conciliation • Acas Model workplace diagnostic tool

17. A New Age of Employment Relations? • 1960’s and 1970’s “The Age of Enforcing Rights Collectively” Win – Lose • 1980’s and 1990’s “The Age of Enforcing Rights Individually” Win - Lose • 2000 + “The Age of Resolving Issues and Maintaining Relationships” Win - Win