Title: Collective bargaining: a tool for industrial harmony in Ghanaian industrial settings

Authors: James Kennedy Turkson

Addresses: School of Business, College of Art and Social Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Abstract: Collective bargaining has been recognised in almost all industrial settings as the most civilised way of resolving industrial conflicts and disagreements. The main objective of this paper is to determine the extent to which collective bargaining can effectively minimise industrial conflicts in Ghana, with particular reference to the brewery industry in Ghana. It is a means of helping to foster cordial management-labour relationships towards industrial harmony. The study was carried out with a focus on Ghana Breweries Ltd. The results of the study show that collective bargaining is a powerful and effective tool that can be used to minimise industrial conflicts and disagreements in industrial establishments. It is therefore recommended that employers should encourage the formation of trade unions to promote collective bargaining. It is further recommended that both management and labour should recognise collective bargaining as an effective tool for resolving conflicts and disagreements at the workplace.

Keywords: collective bargaining; management; trade unions; conflict; disagreement; agreement; negotiation; Ghana; industrial harmony; breweries; labour relations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2009.024454

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2009 Vol.2 No.3/4, pp.374 - 387

Published online: 04 Apr 2009 *

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