Collective Bargaining

Section 2 Industrial Relation Act 1967,

"collective agreement" means an agreement in writing concluded between an employer or a trade union of employers on the one hand and a trade union of workmen on the other relating to the terms and conditions of employment and work of workmen or concerning relations between such parties

"collective bargaining" means negotiating with a view to the conclusion of a collective agreement

According to section 3 of the same Act, for the purpose of the Industrial Relation Act 1967, the expression "trade union" includes an association that has applied to be registered as a trade union.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention (No. 98), 1949 describes collective bargaining as:

"Voluntary negotiation between employers or employers' organizations and workers' organizations, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by collective agreements."

Article 2 International Labour Organisation Collective Bargaining Convention 1981 elaborates further the term “collective bargaining”:

 

“For the purpose of this Convention the term “collective bargaining” extends to all negotiations which take place between an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers' organisations, on the one hand, and one or more workers' organisations, on the other, for--

(a) determining working conditions and terms of employment; and/or

(b) regulating relations between employers and workers; and/or

(c) regulating relations between employers or their organisations and a workers' organisation or workers' organisations”.

Collective bargaining could also be defined as negotiations relating to terms of employment and conditions of work between an employer or a group of employers or an employers' organization or union on the one hand, and representative employees' organizations (i.e. trade union) on the other, with a view to reaching mutual agreement.