Impact of Technology on industrial relations

Industrial Relation is the relationship between management and workers, particularly

groups of workers represented by a union. Its basically the interactions between employers,
employees and the government, and the institutions and associations through which such
interactions are mediated. It also includes the processes through which these relationships are
expressed such as, collective bargaining, workers participation in decision-making, grievance
and dispute settlement, and the management of conflict between employers, workers and trade
unions, when it arises (Prakashan, 2008).
Technological change has emerged during the past decades as an issue of major
importance for industrial relations. Technological change may be defined as the process by
which economies change over time in respect of the products they produce and the processes
used to produce them. Technological change may involve any change in equipment or process,
through the application of knowledge and skills, which result in a significant alteration in the
relationship between labour, capital and raw material (Lansbury, 1987).
Increasing international economic interdependence has disturbed traditional IR
arrangements in that such arrangements have normally been confined to the circumstances
created by national markets; but globalization has fundamentally changed, and considerably
expanded, the boundaries of the market place. In this respect, the extent of information flows
made possible by new technology is building inter-enterprise networks around the world, is
calling into question the traditional boundaries of the enterprise and is eroding current IR
arrangements. MNC's are the primary driving force for change. They are organizations that
engage in FDI and own or control productive assets in more than one country. They are creating
very complex international production networks which distinguish globalization from the simpler
forms of international business integration in earlier periods.

Impact of Technology on industrial relations

Increased competition in global (and in many domestic) markets has created demand for more
specialized, better quality items. This has lead to higher volatility in product markets and shorter
product life cycles. These circumstances require enterprises to respond flexibly and quickly to
changes in market demand. In terms of the organization of production, new technologies are
increasing the scope for greater flexibility in production processes, and are resolving
information/coordination difficulties which previously limited the capacity for production by
enterprises at different locations around the world.
Where enterprises are servicing more specialized markets, smaller and more limited
production processes are now involved. New technology has also made it possible to produce the
same level of output with fewer workers. In both situations, there is increased emphasis on
workers having higher value capacities and skills to perform a variety of jobs. This has blurred
the distinctions (both functional and hierarchical) between different kinds of jobs and between
labour and management generally. In addition, efforts to improve products (through innovation,
quality, availability and pricing) have led enterprises to establish cross-functional development
teams, transcending traditional boundaries between engineering, manufacturing and marketing.
These developments have been accompanied by the erosion of the standardized, segmented,
stable production process (of the "Ford" type) which had facilitated collective IR. In many
industries and enterprises there are also fewer workers available to be organized in trade unions.
Another area of enterprise activity to be affected by globalization concerns the
organization of work. To achieve the flexibility and productive efficiency required to respond
quickly and effectively to market changes, narrow worker job descriptions have to be re-written.
This is resulting in work tasks based on broader groupings of activities, emphasizing the
undertaking of "whole" tasks. In the interests of greater efficiency, work is also being re-

Impact of Technology on industrial relations

organized, giving greater emphasis to team based activities, and re-integrated with a view to
improving linkages across units and departments within an enterprise.
Enterprises have been seeking to "rationalize" their operations to strengthen further their
competitiveness, by reducing costs (including both wage and non-wage labour costs). Responses
have included identifying core functions (i.e., those which define its essential rationale and
competitive edge and must be maintained), and subcontracting for the performance of peripheral
functions outside the enterprise; substituting technology for labour; and "downsizing"
(Macdonald, 1997).
Industrial relations faces a number of challenges in the context of changes to the stable
state which existed for many years, when unionization rates were relatively high across the
developed market economies, and collective bargaining was well-established in key industries,
such as manufacturing, and in the public sector. As union membership has fallen, bargaining
coverage has declined and there has been the replacement of collective labour-management
relations with more individualized forms of employment contracts. Labour markets have been
progressively deregulated in many economies, and the proportion of the workforce undertaking
contingent forms of work on non-standard employment contracts has grown. Laws have become
more restrictive in relation to collective action such as strikes, and the number of formal
industrial disputes has declined. This has meant that industrial relations which was too narrowly
focused on collective bargaining and industrial conflict has become a less popular field of study,
even though issues related to work and employment relations have become increasingly
important to economic and social progress.

Impact of Technology on industrial relations

While the regulation of the workplace and interaction between employers and unions
remain key concerns to the field of industrial relations, other issues related to people at work,
employment and organizations are important in bringing a broader perspective to the subject.
Industrial relations need to maintain a multidisciplinary approach to issues at work and in the
employment relationship, and to connect the micro-level issues at the workplace level with
macro-level issues in society and the economy. It needs to combine its concern for the traditional
social partnersunions, employers' associations and the statewith newer actors such as NGOs
and community organizations which are actively concerned with issues at work and in the
workplace. The expertise which industrial relations scholars and practitioners have developed in
dispute resolution between unions and employers can be applied to other areas of conflict in the
workplace. Alternative methods of providing a voice and influence for employees at their place
of work should be a natural province of industrial relations specialists (Lansbury, 2009).
The scope of IR must now be viewed as extending to all aspects of work-related activities
which are the subject of interaction between managers, workers and their representatives,
including those which concern enterprise performance. But issues which are critical to the
manner in which an enterprise operates - such as job design, work organization, skills
development, employment flexibility and job security, the range of issues emerging around
HRM, and cross-cultural management issues - have not until recently been considered as part of
labour-management relations; and, in many cases, they have not previously been made the
subject of collective bargaining or labour-management consultation. But this situation is
changing, and has been particularly noticeable in Western industrialized countries. A broader
approach to IR would seek to harmonize IR and HRM, by expanding the boundaries of both
fields. In particular, IR will need to address, much more than it does currently, workplace

Impact of Technology on industrial relations

relations - and people-centred - issues, and recognize that it can no longer focus only on
collective relations.

Impact of Technology on industrial relations

References

Nirali Prakashan, P.(2008). Human Resoure Management: Managing People at Work. Retrieved
from: https://books.google.com.jm/books?id=145HHc6cSwIC&source=gbs_navlinks_

Lansbury, R. (1987). The Impact of Technological Change on Industrial Relations: an

International Perspective. Retrieved from: http://eid.sagepub.com/content/8/3/411.extract
Macdonald, D. (1997). INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND GLOBALIZATION: CHALLENGES
FOR EMPLOYERS AND THEIR ORGANIZATIONS. Retrieved from:
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/downloads/publications/dmirglob.pdf
Lansbury, R. (2009). Work and Industrial Relations Towards a New Agenda. Retrieved from:
http://www.erudit.org/revue/ri/2009/v64/n2/037924ar.html