Functional Reconstruction and Practice Innovation of Modern Labour Relations in Collective Bargaining

Abstract

Since the industrial revolution took place back in the middle decades of the 18th century, labour, as a major share of the factors of production, was affected by a shift in the power dynamics of negotiation power and substitutability in productions.  Industrialisation as a process of boosting production capacity and efficiency actively replacing labour with capital equipment of lower cost often results in the loss of bargaining power of labour in terms of working conditions, wage and other necessary benefits. The erosion of traditional bargaining power under modern processes of industrialisation, digitalisation and industrial transformation requires mediation for functional transformation through innovative practices in collective bargaining to maximise and maintain labour welfare. The said topic will be explored through a comprehensive analysis of quantitative and qualitative research methods such as cooperative game theory and integrative bargaining theory in order to empower labour unions and individualised welfare. Taditional forms of collective bargaining may often be revitalised through integrative methods and cooperative mechanisms. With this said, functional reconstruction requires both institutional innovation and adaptive strategies in emerging labour contexts.