This assessment has two parts: Part A Report on an industrial dispute (2, XXXXXXXXXXwords maximum) (35%) Part B Moderated discussion of IR theory XXXXXXXXXXwords maximum) (10%) Both parts are due at...

HRM523 Assessment 3 –
Curated ideas from Assessment 1
Part A: Report on an Industrial Dispute
[Word Count: 2070]
Table of Contents
Introduction    4
Main Body    4
Elements of Conflict    4
Role of other parties and the views expressed by them in the conflict    5
Pluralism    7
Unitariasm    7
Radicalism    7
Conclusion    8
Solution and Recommendation    8
References    9
Introduction
The NSW (New South Wales) train workers’ dispute was much in light in the month of January 2018 and the dispute was badly fired up in spite of instances of several attempts of negotiation between Sydney Trains and the unions. The major point of conflict was stuck on wages. A number of meetings between various authorities and the union were held but none of them could produce a mutually desirable result (Shreeve, & Palser, 2018). The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) NSW secretary, Alex Claassens confirmed the occu
ence of strike in advance and further affirmed that talking on money was the last thing on his mind as they were not at all convinced by the demands put forward by the workers.
Industrial conflicts are a very common scenario and can be witnessed very often in any industry. This can be understood as the situation where the interests of employers and the workers collide with each other. The employers might exert control thereby demanding improvement in the productivity while the employees most likely expect increased compensation in exchange for their efforts or interesting work. They might even desire opportunities in order to develop themselves.
The following report attempts to identify the key elements of the conflict or the areas of disagreement in the situation. Furthermore, the symptoms and the case of conflicts are identified and its consequences are analysed. The report also covers the role played by different parties and authorities as well as various processes that were adopted in the case. The underlying interest of the government and the union of different demands will also be focussed.
Main Body
It was argued by RTBU that it became absolutely essential for them to take the industrial action because of the failure of Sydney and NSW Trains management in negotiating a fair as well as a reasonable enterprise agreement with their workforce. Eventually this conflict resulted in a war of words between the Union Secretary, Alex Claassens and the NSW Transport Minister, Andrew Constance. The war got heated by with the statement of Mr. Constance who labelled Mr. Claassens’s behaviour as extraordinary and weird on the part of a union boss while he was appealing the union to call off the strike (The Guardian, 2018). To this, Mr. Claassens stuck to his decision and apologised to the commuters for the inconvenience followed by alarming them to stay at home in order to avoid unnecessary delays.
Elements of Conflict
The Union desired an increment in the annual pay of its workers by six per cent along with a demand of improved working conditions including roasting and claiming day off. The workers are essentially demanding a decent recognition for their services. But it was refused by the Government for increasing the offer of a 2.5 per cent rise. The NSW secretary continued to talk constructively and hoped to come up with a sensible outcome for the workers.
In addition to this, the union secretary further added that the union desired to negotiate an enterprise agreement for which it has been striving for a period of more than six months. This attempt to negotiate was on behalf of 9000 workers (The Guardian, 2018). The NSW government and the trains management gave a negative reaction towards this by refusing to bargain on any terms regarding the pay or the basic working conditions that might be impacting the safety of the workers.
It was further affirmed by the Union Secretary that the strike can be revoked it the government agrees to negotiate with the union on a fair agreement. Majority of the workers who had voted in the ballot strongly favoured the stoppage of work for a period of one week or even more.
Role of other parties and the views expressed by them in the conflict
The NSW government successfully called down the strike by claiming the action deeming it as non-compliant with law.
The deputy commissioner of the Fair Work Commission (FWC), Jonathan Hemberger warned the union that their right to call for strike is nearly dead. He further clarified that the decision of calling strike by the union will cause a great threat to the economy. Furthermore, he expressed his views aligned with those of the government that states that the protected actions of the RTBU should in any case not be proceeded as it is capable of posing a great risk to the safety as well as economy of Sydney.
He eventually suspended the action of calling strike as well as continued the overtime ban. He emphasised that the decisions taken were completely right on his part otherwise the actions by the union was capable enough of threatening to endanger the welfare of part of the population (Minter, 2017). The orders taken prevented the union from taking any protected action for a period of minimum six weeks and in addition will be forced to end its overtime ban.
Sally McManus, the head of the Australian Council of Trade Unions objected that such a decision taken by the government and other authorities depicted the laws of industrial relations were stacked only in the favour of the...