Bitter strikes profit no one

If there's one thing corporate lawyers, employer organisations and unions agree on it's that no one wins in a strike. "The emotional and financial cost is huge and the damage done takes a long time to recover from," says Karen Skinner, campaign manager for financial union Finsec.

David Lowe, advisory services manager for the Employment and Manufacturers Association (EMA), says employers, as well, don't want industrial action.

"Sometimes they feel they are faced with no other choice, but there are no winners - industrial action is universally unpleasant," Lowe says.

Despite this, industrial action is on the rise in New Zealand. In August, the EMA deduced from union information that in the second quarter of this year alone, employers lost 9196 workdays and staff lost $1.5 million in wages through industrial action.

If these figures are correct (Statistics NZ is soon to publish the official figures) they indicate an 800 per cent increase in lost workdays compared with 2004.

A week before the election, Prime Minister Helen Clark said employers would continue to see hard bargaining from organised employees who "want their share".

But are New Zealand employers really reluctant to give employees a fair share? After all, there's a talent shortage and internal retention initiatives have become crucial to business success. Short-changing staff doesn't fit with those realities.

Lowe says employers are reasonable and unions can be responsible for escalating disputes.

"When unions contribute to a resolution, no problem. But when they introduce a third agenda, such as more union access to the workplace, that's where the problems start." He says the Employment Relations Act now gives unions increased powers and 5 per cent "one size fits all" wage increase demands are a principal cause of work stoppages (referring to the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union's "5 in 05" campaign.)

Don MacKinnon, principal of employment law firm Mackinnon and Associates, says that although striking is a "fundamental and sometimes necessary weapon" for employees, many employers favour National-led governments which were likely to remove the union monopoly on collective bargaining.

In that case, any employee could bargain on behalf of a collective group, or choose to call in a union.

Lowe says such a choice is important because some unions prolong industrial action and argue well beyond what their members want.

Skinner says that when employers and the EMA criticise unions they criticise their own staff, and employers alone have the power to end industrial disputes by realising the demands of their employees are reasonable.

"One of the main benefits of union membership is employees know their rights and employers realise this and treat them better." It is easy to see how unions and employers become locked in arguments that lead to strikes. But if a strike happens, what is the long-term outcome for the employer and employee?

Mackinnon says an immediate economic impact on an employer can be fatal, depending on the ability of the company to continue operating during a strike.

Lowe says smaller employers put large amounts of time and energy into their businesses, and may have mortgaged their homes to help the business. Consequently, they feel a sense of betrayal over a strike.

Mackinnon says, "Sometimes an employer will target a union delegate after industrial action. There will always be the odd employer with a sense of revenge."

Skinner points out that after the ANZ National workers strike, "not only did the bank give the same pay rise to non-union members, they threatened to give it to them first".

But revenge isn't limited to employers. Lowe has seen picketing workers throw nails in front of inbound and outbound distribution vehicles.

Mackinnon says "extremely nasty" strikes result in anger and people struggling to come to terms with the effect years later.

Skinner says strikes also have a negative financial and emotional impact on employees. "A lot borrow from family members to survive. Many get into debt. Some suffer emotionally because they live hand-to-mouth and have to work during a strike when they don't want to," Skinner says.

MacKinnon says non-striking employees can be caught up in industrial action they want no part of.

"No one can be forced to strike, but there is a provision in the Employment Relations Act that says if a group of people is on strike and the employer can't run their business, they can suspend the non-strikers without pay. That clause isn't often used, but it is there," says MacKinnon.

Clearly, avoiding industrial action is the goal. How can this be achieved? MacKinnon says the biggest stalemates occur when neither side believes what the other is saying. Yet mutual respect and trust are needed for both sides to go forward.

Skinner says that what employees want most is respect from their employer. "Their demand may be about a wage increase, but ultimately they want to come to work, to work hard and to be treated fairly in return."

To avoid a strike, bargaining must occur in good faith and laws have introduced more honesty around disclosure of information and bargaining, Mackinnon says.

All three experts say rebuilding a healthy working relationship after a dispute depends on the vision of the employer's local management team and the attitude of union representatives and delegates.

Each side has to agree not to take a dispute or strike personally and to realise that a unified workforce is in everyone's interests.

"These things need to be sorted out, because employers and employees need each other," Lowe says.

Skinner says most employees strike not because they don't like working for their employer, but because they do.

"In the ANZ National bank dispute, employees went on strike because they were proud to work for the bank and wanted to stay long term.

"It is always the most committed staff who strive for change - the rest just leave," she says.

DEALING WITH INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES

FOR EMPLOYERS:

* Build a contingency plan to keep your business up and running in the event of a strike. This will help you stay calm if industrial action occurs.

* Remember that the labour laws may prevent you employing temporary staff during a strike, so factor this into your contingency plan.

* Stay calm during negotiations. Displays of fear and anger can escalate a dispute.

* Continue negotiations as long as possible and explore all options.

* Check your attitude. Do you respect your employees? Are parts of their demands reasonable?

* Seek help from employment lawyers and mediators.

* Dispute resolutions specialists are also available privately and through organisations like the EMA.

* At the end of a strike, you need a unified workforce to run your business.

* Don't take retaliatory action or hold a grudge against the employees who took part in a strike.

FOR EMPLOYEES:

* Decide what is important to you and what a reasonable outcome might be. Stay in control of the union, know what the union is communicating to the employer; be sure the union is representing your collective concerns.

* Give your employer fair notice of a problem by initiating petitions, wearing stickers or arm bands, and openly discussing the issue.

* Unless it is inevitable, don't involve customers in the dispute.