Maritime Lawyer Gives Tips For Successful Collective Bargaining Agreement 

In a bid to achieving a successful Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), foremost maritime lawyer, Barrister Emmanuel Osuala Nwagbara has proffered solutions for  unions to present during negotiation with employers in furtherance to get better deal on behalf of workers and improved welfare packages.

Nwagbara in a paper presentation at the just concluded Seafarers’ Colloquium put together by the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Senior Association (NMNOWTSSA) and Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) held in Lagos, tagged “A Verifiable Platform For Harmonious Industrial Relationship and Growth”, stressed the need for unions to prepare adequately before CBA session.

The maritime lawyer who highlighted five tips for a successful CBA , maintained that the interaction amongst parties involved centred on a give and take arrangement which may end positively if properly managed by the union executives.

Here are the five tips as compiled by frontline maritime lawyer :

1- Pre-bargaining meeting, adequate and up to date information on the subject matter of collective bargaining: “It is important that representatives appointed to attend a CBA session be well informed on the subject of bargaining, therefore knowledge of the industry established and developing is very important. The knowledge or laws regulating issues for bargaining as well as government policies is equally important. These are usually reviewed in a pre-bargaining meeting among participants, looking out for possible errors, in the documents to be presented at the session, and underlining precise issues to be presented,agreeing on team lead,etc . Without this aspect of preparation, negotiation will be long and cost ineffective before gaining traction. This is where research comes in to aid negotiation.

2- Realistic and Reasonable Demands;” Once adequate knowledge and information is assured before attending negotiation, demands expectations would naturally be within realistic and reasonable limits. This is very important especially where parties seek external expert faculty who would charge dress per hour of service.

3- Being Open Minded, ,”When attending negotiation is a veritable tool for success,because flexibility is a key part of successful negotiation, negotiators and bargainers must keep their mind open and examine option dispassionately in the interest of their party. Being open minded results in resourcefulness and ability to expand on the resources available on the negotiation table is key to successful outcome.

4- Recognising Advantage of Offer Being Dangled by the other side, “Sometimes one party to the negotiation comes up with an offer which may not be within the contemplation of the other party. Only a prudent and shrewd  negotiator may see an opportunity in the offer and explore it and eventually run with it and eventually run with it to the advantage of his party. This skill is related to having an open mind in negotiations session. The offer may sometimes come as an alternative to another offer on the table which had presented difficulty in reaching agreement upon . A skilled  and experienced negotiator should look out for the alternative offer and explore it. He may if necessary take a few minutes off to consult on the offer and then proceed to explore it.

5- Consulting with the body being represented,”Even where the persons representing a group have absolute authority to do so . It is very useful to consult with members of the body being represented so that the group is at one with their representatives. Apart from keeping the body being represented in the full picture of negotiations, the members being represented feel they are part of the team and have a sense of contribution on their position.Consulting in this manner also ensure that there is no sell out on the part of representatives. It also shows the authority resides  ultimately with the larger body being represented than with the representatives.

By Roland Ekama