THE COMPLAINING GAME: HOW EFFECTIVE IS COMPULSORY INTEREST ARBITRATION?
JOSEPH B. ROSE
DOI: 10.2190/U043-JM5T-0L2Q-JUE2
Abstract
This study examines the effectiveness of compulsory interest arbitration by analyzing more than 4,000 settlements in Ontario, Canada for the period 1982-1990. The research is based on a comparison of the performance of arbitration system with strike-based systems in the private and public sectors and a system featuring a choice of procedures. The results indicate arbitration protects the public interest by preventing strikes. At the same time, it shows public sector workers with the right to strike infrequently resort to work stoppages and those without the right to strike are prone to redirect industrial conflict. Relative to other bargaining systems, arbitration inhibits genuine collective bargaining and experiences protracted delays in achieving settlements. The availability of arbitration appears safeguard employee interests by producing wage settlements that are comparable to or superior to wage settlements elsewhere. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.