Collective Bargaining is a process whereby the employees of an organization would be given an opportunity to rally for their rights, lay down their grievances and get what is due for them. Through collective bargaining, the employer and the employees would go through several steps in hopes of reaching an agreement that will be favorable both for the employer and the employee. It is often the case that the rights of laborers and workers are disregarded due to lack of representation and fear of losing the job.
The key to collective bargaining is to have a recognized bargaining representative supported by adequate number of members and composed of a strong set of officers to be able to have enough bargaining strength for their needs. Any agreement that would be approved through collective bargaining becomes the law between the parties in the sense that, such agreement would govern the duties of the employer and the rights of the employees. Collective bargaining is crucial due to the vital role that it plays. It is important in every organization to select its bargaining representative to formalize their meeting with the employers. This bargaining representative should be recognized by the employer, otherwise, there would be lack of representation and this could be ground for the employer not to agree to meet with the employees. If there is no bargaining representative, the member would be placed at a disadvantaged position since there would be no proper forum to air his grievances. This would affect every member because an individual member cannot go directly to the employer to bargain with the latter. There must be a proper forum in the form of ‘collective bargaining’ and if this is done properly, there would now be a ‘collective bargaining agreement’ that the employer should honor and this would be of utmost benefit for the employees for the protection of their rights. This ‘collective bargaining agreement’ serves as the mantle of protection for the employees who can use such agreement as basis to sue for any breach thereof that is committed by the employer.
