Grievances continue to attract much public controversy, but amid the ongoing rhetoric, the research evidence is limited. The popular debate has centred largely on the actions of employers and employees. This study of grievance cases explores the factors that influence the progression of these disputes. The findings highlight the influential role of external representatives in either restoring relationships or escalating disputes. The nature of that influence is associated with three critical attributes of the representative: (a) their current relationships with others involved in the dispute; (b) the extent to which they seek to maintain relationships into the future; and (c) their competency in dispute-handling. While these attributes are largely related to individuals rather than roles, unions have unique potential for functioning as relationship managers and preserving employment relationships. The decline of unions, however, heightens the need for organizations to seek other improved ways of resolving disputes.
AndersonGHughesJLeggatM (2005) Employment Law Guide, Wellington: LexisNexis NZ.
2.
AntcliffVSaundryR (2009) Accompaniment, workplace representation and disciplinary outcomes in British workplaces – Just a formality?British Journal of Industrial Relations47(1): 100–121.
3.
BacharachSBLawlerEJ (1981) Power and tactics in bargaining. Industrial and Labor Relations Review34(2): 219–233.
4.
Bingham LB (2007) Evaluation dispute resolution programs: Traps for the unwary. Labor and Employment Relations Association, Proceedings of the 59th Annual Meeting, January, Chicago, pp. 104–115.
5.
BinghamLBChachereDR(1999). Dispute resolution in employment: The need for research. In: EatonAEKeefeJH (eds) Employment Dispute Resolution and Worker Rights in the Changing Workplace, Champaign, IL: Industrial Relations Research Association, 95–136.
6.
BuddJWColvinAJS (2008) Improved metrics for workplace dispute resolution procedures: Efficiency, equity, and voice. Industrial Relations47(3): 460–479.
7.
Burgess S, Propper C and Wilson D (2001) Explaining the Growth in the Number of Applications to the Industrial Tribunals, 1972–1997. London: Centre for Market and Public Organisation, Department of Economics, University of Bristol.
8.
Cabinet Economic Development Committee (2007) Review of the employment relationship problem resolution system. Cabinet Economic Development Committee, Minute of Decision EDC Min (07) 24/6.
9.
ColvinAJS (2003) Institutional pressures, human resource strategies, and the rise of nonunion dispute resolution procedures. Industrial & Labor Relations Review56(3): 375–392.
10.
Cullinane J and Donald D (2000) Personal grievances in New Zealand. Research on work, employment and industrial relations conference 2000. In: Burgess J and Strachan G (eds) Proceedings of the 14th AIRAANZ Conference, February, Newcastle, Australia.
11.
Department of Labour (2000) Survey of Employment Disputes and Disputes Resolution, 1002174. Wellington, NZ: Department of Labour – Employment Relations Service and AC Nielsen.
12.
Department of Labour (2002) The process of dispute resolution – A qualitative study amongst employees & employers. Employment Relations Service (ERS), UMR Research.
13.
Department of Labour (2007a) Personal Grievance Determinations in the Employment Relations Authority, Wellington, NZ: Department of Labour.
14.
Department of Labour (2007b) Personal Grievance Mediations Conducted at the Department of Labour: A Snapshot, June 2007, Wellington, NZ: Department of Labour.
15.
EdwardsPK (1995) Human resource management, union voice and the use of discipline: An analysis of WIRS3. Industrial Relations Journal26(3): 204–220.
16.
EisenhardtKM (1989) Building theories from case study research. The Academy of Management Review14(4): 532–550.
17.
EMA Northern (2009a) Personal grievance awards analysis 2008. Auckland, New Zealand.
18.
EMA Northern (2009b) Personal grievance awards break records. Media statement, 9 June.
19.
EMA Northern (2011) Personal grievance awards analysis 2010. Auckland, New Zealand.
20.
Feinberg-DanieliGLaffertyG (2007) Unions and union membership in New Zealand: Annual review for 2006. New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations32(3): 31–39.
21.
FolgerJPPooleMSStutmanRK (2005) Working Through Conflict: Strategies for Relationships, Groups, and Organizations, 5th edn. Boston, MA: Pearson.
22.
FosterBMurrieJLairdI (2009) It takes two to tango: Evidence of a decline in institutional industrial relations in New Zealand. Employee Relations31(5): 503–514.
23.
FreemanRBMedoffJL (1985) What Do Unions Do?, New York, NY: Basic Books.
24.
GibbonsM (2007) Better Dispute Resolution: A Review of Employment Dispute Resolution in Great Britain, London: Department of Trade and Industry.
25.
HirschmanAO (1970) Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
26.
KimPHPinkleyRLFragaleAR (2005) Power dynamics in negotiation. Academy of Managment Review30(4): 799–822.
27.
KnightKGLatreillePL (2000a) Discipline, dismissals and complaints to employment tribunals. British Journal of Industrial Relations38(4): 533–555.
28.
KnightKGLatreillePL (2000b) How far do cases go? Resolution in industrial tribunal applications. The Manchester School68(6): 723–744.
29.
LansburyRDWailesNYazbeckC (2007) Different paths to similar outcomes? Industrial relations reform and public policy in Australia and New Zealand. Journal of Labor Research28(4): 629–641.
30.
LeeTWMitchellTRSablynskiCJ (1999) Qualitative research in organisational and vocational psychology, 1979–1999. Journal of Vocational Behaviour55(2): 161–187.
31.
LewinD(1999). Theoretical and empirical research on the grievance procedure and arbitration: A critical review. In: EatonAEO’KeefeJH (eds) Employment Dispute Resolution and Worker Rights in the Changing Workplace, Champaign, IL: Industrial Relations Research Association, 187–218.
32.
LewinD(2004). Dispute resolution in the non-union organization: Key empirical findings. In: SherwynDEstreicherS (eds) Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Employment Arena: Proceedings of New York University Annual Conference Series, New York, NY: Kluwer, 379–403.
33.
LewinD (2005) Unionism and employment conflict resolution: Rethinking collective voice and its consequences. Journal of Labor ResearchXXVI(2): 209–239.
34.
LewinDPetersonRB (1999) Behavioral outcomes of grievance activity. Industrial Relations38(4): 554–576.
35.
LipskyDBSeeberRLFincherRD (2003) Emerging Systems for Managing Workplace Conflict: Lessons from American Corporations for Managers and Dispute Resolution Professionals, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
36.
McAndrewI (1999) Adjudication in the employment tribunal: Some facts and figures on caseload and representation. New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations24(3): 365–382.
37.
McAndrewI (2002) Research report: Determinations of the Employment Relations Authority. New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations27(3): 323–347.
38.
McAndrewI(2010). The employment institutions. In: RasmussenE (ed.) Employment Relationships: Workers, Unions and Employers in New Zealand, Auckland: Auckland University Press.
Olson-BuchananJBBoswellWR (2002) The role of employee loyalty and formality in voicing discontent. Journal of Applied Psychology87(6): 1167–1174.
41.
Patterson A (2010) Employment Ideology and Grievance Adjudication: An Empirical Examination of Adjudicators’ Ideological Predispositions, Other Characteristics, and Personal Grievance Case Determinations. Dunedin: University of Otago.
42.
PruittDGKimSH (2004) Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate and Settlement, 3rd edn. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
43.
SaridakisGSukanyaS-GEdwardsP (2008) The impact of the enterprise size on employment tribunal incidents and outcomes: Evidence from Britain. British Journal of Industrial Relations46(3): 469–499.
44.
SaundryRCarolJAntcliffV (2011) Discipline, representation and dispute resolution – Exploring the role of trade unions and employee companions in workplace discipline. Industrial Relations Journal42(2): 195–211.
45.
ShulrufBWoodhamsBHowardC (2009) ‘Grievance gravy train picking up speed’: Myths and reality around employment disputes in New Zealand. Journal of Industrial Relations51(2): 245–261.
46.
Walker B (2009) For better or for worse: Employment relationship problems under the Employment Relations Act 2000. Unpublished PhD dissertation, vol. PhD, University of Canterbury.
47.
WalkerBHamiltonRT (2011) Employee–employer grievances: A review. International Journal of Management Reviews13(1): 40–58.
48.
WoodhamsB (2007) Employment Relationship Problems: Costs, Benefits and Choices, August 2007, Wellington, NZ: Department of Labour.
49.
YinRK (2003) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 3rd edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
