Labor relations

Labour relations in practice is a subarea within human resource management, and the main components of it include collective bargaining, application and oversight of collective agreement obligations, and dispute resolution. Academically, employee relations, another related term, is considered a subarea of labour relations, and both taxonomically fall under the broader field of industrial relations. Labour relations is defined as "for or with whom one works and under what rules. These rules (implicit or explicit, written or unwritten) determine the type of work, type and amount of remuneration, working hours, degrees of physical and psychological strain, as well as the degree of freedom and autonomy associated with the work."^[1]

Labour relations is also known as labour studies in liberal arts and is a multidisciplinary field that draws from economics, sociology, history, law, and political science. Scholars in this field examine labour unions and labour movements. In an interdisciplinary context, it is considered a subfield of labour history that explores human relationships with work in the broadest sense and how these relationships intersect with issues of social inequality. In contemporary contexts, labour relations refers to the study and management of unionized employment settings, which include the employer, management, union(s), and the unionized employees.

Conflicts related to labour relations are addressed through a hierarchy of legal forums, depending on the nature and severity of the issue. In unionized workplaces, the grievance process under the collective agreement serves as the primary mechanism for resolving disputes. When a matter involves discrimination based on a protected characteristic, such as race, sex, or disability, recourse may be available through a human rights tribunal. For claims that require extensive evidence gathering or seek substantial monetary compensation, the civil courts offer a broader legal remedy. However, in cases involving immediate danger to health or safety, the most appropriate forum is occupational health and safety enforcement, where an inspector can intervene promptly to assess and mitigate the risk.^[2]