Employment relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Employment relations - Essay Example Trade unions are institutions which are constituted for the welfare and protection of employees. Such unions are needed to first identify the major issues faced by the workers and then they should work to find remedies for those problems. Women and minority groups have demands for transformation of unions so that unions incorporate their current issues and raise voice for them. Trade unions or labor unions are special organizations formed by individuals that represent people at work to strengthen the protection of their existing rights, and to raise their voice against any uncivil act. It is also constituted as the union’s duty to protect and improve upon the payment and working conditions of the employees. In addition to that, the unions also campaign for laws and policies for the betterment of the working population. The ideology of union formation is basically rooted in the concept that an individual worker has very little power to influence decisions that are made about hi s or her job. Hence, in order to make the workers have more control of their working conditions, the unions attempt to join them all together so that there is more chance of them having a voice (Sofia-Roth, I. 2010, p.3). Labor unions are criticized in many aspects like the ineffectiveness of their existence, raising unnecessary aggression against employers, provoking employees for unjustified demands and so on. Research has been conducted about the usability of unions and their impacts in addition to checking out the argument that unions have outlived their existence. The global environment, the diversity in the workforce, decentralized structures, flattened organizations and increased employee autonomy suggest that unions are no more required. On the other hand, the cases of labor injustices and uncivil practices are still in practice. Employees still have to face the challenge of getting justifiable wages for their skill and effort, suitable working conditions and social benefits . Therefore, it can be easily assumed that labor unions are still required and are needed to play an effective role in setting up standards and regulations fro working class. Although the unions have not become obsolete altogether, yet they require transformation and modification in many ways. Due to globalization, technological advancements and diverse, multicultural workforce the role of unions should be improved and modified according to new requirements. They need to work on building their image as organizations supportive to both the employees and employers, rather than being taken as bodies with their main focus being on strikes and riots. Women and ethnic minority groups are always being discriminated and undervalued since their introduction into employee market. Even their introduction and entry into the workforce is an issue to be considered in this modern and civilized world. These issues require consideration from legislative bodies, labor rights institutions, social welf are groups, non governmental organizations and the most relevant institution that is ‘the union’. Unions need transformation to adjust and accommodate the needs of women and minority groups in an effective way. It can be done by taking into consideration all those issues which are currently being faced by the members of minority groups and then making policies and strategies to process these issues along with the general labor policies. Although the issue is been discussed and resolved in many ways until now, but its complexity suggests that it requires further consideration in various dimensions and by different institutions. To start with the unions, they must recruit the women and minority group members. It will give a moral support and deeper penetration into the problem to be solved. When the union involves such individuals, only then they can argue that they are working in the best interests of all the stakeholders. Furthermore, it will erase the unnecessary

International Arbitration Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

International Arbitration Law - Essay Example In normal circumstances, arbitration arises when the parties to a contract have agreed to arbitrate. Either the parties have included arbitration in the agreement as an arbitration clause or decide to adjudicate after the dispute has arisen. In both the cases, arbitration will be available to the parties to the contract to resolve a dispute. However, there are some clauses which give rise to arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution method to the parties without the fact that they have agreed to arbitrate or not. In an international arbitration clause, the primary element is international and the secondary elements form the basis of arbitration. In international contracts, it is of utmost importance that there are provisions in the contract that determine the forum, selection of law, arbitrators, seat and place of arbitration, and etcetera. According to Born (2005)2 these provisions can assume the form of arbitration agreement or forum selection agreement (p.2). These agreemen ts are followed by the choice-of-law clause which determines the choice of the parties for the substantive law that will be applied during adjudication (Ibid, 2005). The law stipulates that the arbitration agreement should give due reference to the mandatory clauses without which the matter will become uncertain and requires intervention by the civil courts having jurisdiction3. At the same time, there are non-mandatory clauses which are left at the discretion of the parties to decide. Therefore, the arbitration agreement that comprises of mandatory clauses are enforceable in law without further evaluation or decision making by the courts. The non-mandatory clauses can be adopted (1) by the parties to the contract per se or (2) they can follow their own terms and conditions or (3) adopt the rules of their respective association like UNCITRAL, International Chamber of Commerce and London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). The mandatory clauses include the following checklist which is not exhaustive in nature: seat and place of the arbitration tribunal, providing the general means of fulfilling the non-mandatory clauses, ensuring separability of the arbitration agreement, post-death of party situation, time of initiation of the arbitration proceedings, number of arbitrators and details about arbitration tribunal, procedure of arbitrators’ appointment, chairman or umpire, revocation of authority, jurisdiction, consolidation, representation, general powers, powers of civil courts, preliminary point of law, awards, remedies, interest, time periods and appeal. These clauses as mentioned in the Arbitration Act 1996 cannot be overridden by the contrary agreement agreed by the parties. However, the non-mandatory clauses of the Arbitration Act 1996 are allowed to be changed by the parties with mutual consent and in the absence of such agreement, the clauses will become applicable automatically4. In practice, there are two types of arbitration clauses whic h are commonly used by parties, namely: (1) Informal Clause and (2) Sample Clause. The informal clause is one which does not use the formal language of the law. For instance, the clause â€Å"arbitration in London - English law to apply† is an informal arbitration clause as it does not use the standard legal language5. Nevertheless, the