Collective bargaining "Unity is strength" This is a cliché, or it could also be called a proverb that most of us have heard at a certain point in one's life. This is what lies at the heart of collective bargaining and provides a reasonable rationale for the use of collective bargaining. It also gives us an indication of where and for whom it is most useful. The origins of collective bargaining lie in one of man's primary instincts; defense. In an industrial relations context this is the defense of adequate working conditions, secure employment and adequate pay. Collective bargaining enabled this, achieving wage increases through the increased power of workers as a joint force. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayBut what exactly is collective bargaining? The answer depends on your point of view. What are the social benefits of collective bargaining? And who do these benefits concern? I view collective bargaining, in its most basic form, as the process by which an organized group of employees, in the form of trade unions, negotiates with employers, their representatives or their associations in relation to any aspect of employment within the employer's organization. The reason why collective bargaining and unions are used is the one mentioned in the first paragraph; "Unity is strength". The individual threat to the company from an individual employee withholding work is not very great. But when a majority of an organization's workforce threatens to strike, or threatens any other form of industrial action, this threat becomes more substantial overall. Collective bargaining addresses the power imbalance between individual workers and employers. This is the main purpose for which collective bargaining is used in employment relationships and essentially gives collective bargaining a political purpose; the equalization of power. Once this extra power is obtained, collective bargaining is used for primarily economic purposes. It is only recently that social issues have been included in collective bargaining negotiations. Since this process tends to lead to equal pay for all workers doing the same work, there is consequently a social benefit; equality among the workforce. This has its downside. When there is little incentive to surpass the efforts of colleagues, this can create problems. Particularly complacency among employees, but this disadvantage has been somewhat eroded in recent times with the advent of productivity agreements. Collective bargaining is also a political institution as it regulates and defines the interaction between unions and management. In a social context, the consequence of this is a system of regulation of industrial conflict. This can help ensure that any industrial conflicts are kept within reasonable limits and that in most cases the more militant elements in trade unions are kept in check by virtue of the majority of the workforce seeing an alternative way to deal with disputes. Unions are not the seed of socialism as some claim, but the spacer that allows both businesses and workers to participate equally in the market. But how exactly does collective bargaining “grease the wheels of capitalism”? Collective bargaining provides management with a method to treat employees fairly. If the areas.