It refers to the time when workers work beyond the set working hours. The set working hours are usually determined by custom; that is what the society views is healthy and reasonable; by law; by practices of a particular profession or through an agreement between employers and staff or their representatives.
Negotiating for overtime essentially involves the process of collective bargaining. The process involves coming to an agreement on how the working conditions are to be regulated. The employees are usually represented by a trade union. These negotiations are mainly on working hours, wage, health and safety, training, how to handle grievances and overtime. The unions may opt to negotiate with one employer or with a group of businesses thus covering a wider business agreement.
Different views have been put forth as to whether overtime should be compulsory or on a volunteer basis. In the United States Economy for instance, workers work for more time than in any other industrialized nation; almost a third of the workforce work for more than forty hours a week and a fifth more than fifty hours. The advantage of this is that it may lead to increased output but it has adverse implications on health as well as other social costs. The burden is usually not only on the workers but also on family. There is less family time, less time to play, less time for sleep and less time for housework .Eventually this may lead to increased case of accidents, stress, fatigue, chronic illnesses, reduction in parenting and family time and poor quality goods and services.
It has been realized that workers who are in a union have better protection against compulsory overtime than non unionized workers. Unions and labor relations usually specify the maximum limit on overtime. They also establish a scheme that makes overtime more organized or establish a system that provides a compensating leave incase the employees work overtime.
In the United States economy, various unions have successfully negotiated through and have come up with a limit on the mandatory overtime or have suggested steps which make such arrangements more voluntary in nature. The bargaining points are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act. This act provides that employees covered are to receive overtime pay for any hours worked beyond the standard 40 hours in a week and the rate should not be less than half the regular rate of pay. The Act does not put a limit on the number of hours workers aged 16 and above years should work and does not need payment for overtime for working on weekends, holidays, or regular days of rest unless one works overtime on such days. For instance, The American Postal Workers Union and The National Association of Letter Carriers have an agreement that protects the workers who have signed a list of “desired overtime” but wish only to work limited overtime, and those not in the list as well.
In the sector of manufacturing, a voluntary overtime arrangement has also been negotiated whereby the members of the union are allowed to be excused from mandatory overtime unless there is no other suitable employee available. St. Vincent’s Hospital and Tenet Health Care Tenet Health Care have a signed agreement with six hundred nurses that allowed the hospital to make overtime mandatory but only for less than four hours twice every three months. The nurses can work for extra two hours but only if they feel they can do so safely. The management of Tenet Health care had initially put a limit of sixteen hour shifts with an advance notice of one hour. Mandatory overtime caused a strike in the Communications Workers of America. As a result they had to reach an agreement on the limit of forced overtime with some being cut by half; the arrangement now also requires the company to give a two and half hours notice in case there is a requirement for overtime work and it must also be considerate to the employees who request to be excused from overtime. Northwest Airlines allows workers to refuse overtime provided they give reasons that can not be changed on short notice, for instance child care responsibility. According to the Employment Standards Act in Canada the following were agreed upon between the employers and labor relations in as far as overtime was concerned:
That if an employee reports to work at any day, the employer is bound to pay for a minimum of two hours at the usual wage rate whether the employee stars work or not provided the employee is fit to work.
If the worker had been scheduled to work for more than the usual 8 hours he is meant to pay for at least 4 hours unless the worker is unfit for work or work comes to a standstill for reasons beyond the employer’s control.
The agreement also stipulates that the employer must not either directly or indirectly allow any of his workers to work excessive hours or for a period of time that may have harmful repercussions to the health and safety of the employee.
An employee who works over 40 hours a week and is not in an average agreement for overtime pay must be paid one and half times his regular payment for the time worked beyond the 40 hours ( Linder,2006).
Therefore, there is a need to establish whether mandatory overtime is really essential as a workplace policy or do we go for the voluntary. Unions have however put restrictions on management as far as overtime is concerned. They need the management to first consider if it is possible to have a replacement or if the overtime is declined is it based on hardship or is it a matter of convenience. In their bargaining, the agreement provides that for professionals such as nurses they need to first consider if there is any opportunity to consult a supervisor, the risk the patient would be exposed to and the availability of relief from a shift (Berg & Cazes, 2008).
· The unions, as part of their bargaining suggest the following as alternatives:
· Reassigning of personnel
· Recalling those management had laid off
· Changing the work schedules
· Subcontracting
· Employing Part-time or temporary workers.
When workers rise grievances about overtime, there complains need to be evaluated in light of what is contained in the labor contracts.
References:
Berg, J., & Cazes, S. (2007). The Doing Business indicators: Measurement issues and political implications. Internat. Labour Office.
Berg, J., & Cazes, S. (2008). Policymaking gone awry: the labor market regulations of the doing business indicators. Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal, 29(4).
Campbell, I. (2007). Long working hours in Australia: working-time regulation and employer pressures. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 17(2), 37-68.
Linder, M. (2006). The Autocratically Flexible Workplace: A History of Overtime Regulation in the United States. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 59(3), 84.
Ruyter, A. D. (2007). Should I stay or should I go? Agency nursing work in the UK. The International Journal of Human Resource Management
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