MEDEMP · Mediation of Employment Rights Disputes
FP7 — People (Marie Curie Actions)
- Duration
- 2010-03-01 → 2012-02-29
- EU contribution
- €198,508
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MC-IOF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Mediation of Employment Rights Disputes
Project context and objectives The objective of the research project was to identify factors that are crucial for making the mediation of individual employment disputes of rights effective and then to apply them in a Austria, a country that although it had introduced a legal framework for the practice of mediating disputes comparatively early on nevertheless does not make use of this form of dispute resolution very often. Work performed Outgoing phase 2010-2011: During the outgoing phase of the fellowship, the mediation system in a country which has a long experience in using mediation for resolving workplace conflicts, New Zealand, was chosen as an exemplary case study. Both qualitative and quantitative socio-legal research was undertaken. Besides the institutional set-up, four possible factors of success were identified: people (the mediators), theory, process, as well as attitudes and expectations (of the users). Incoming phase 2011-2012: The incoming phase was dedicated to exploring possible avenues of how to transfer the findings of the New Zealand research into the Austrian legal and cultural environment. It soon became evident that, in particular, the lack of a theoretical framework for mediation within the Austrian legal and institutional context made this very hard. As a first step, a sound theoretical foundation had to be laid before further empirical research was undertaken. This especially concerned the matter of possible obstacles for the use of mediation for workplace conflict. An apparent crucial factor is the often prevalent but seldom explicitly stated collective approach to conflict resolution in Austrian industrial relations; mediation, on the other hand, stresses the individual level. These aspects of dispute resolution are especially worthy of further research, as well as the exploration of the effect of the institutional industrial relations framework in Austria (the 'Sozialpartnerschaft' or social partnership). This also includes collective conflict (especially strikes), which was an important driver for the evolution of mediation in the employment field. The fellowship and especially the comparative perspective acquired during the outgoing phase therefore have served as a valuable impetus for the future research agenda of the fellow. Conclusions and potential impact The project has led to valuable insights into how an efficient employment mediation system may work but has also shown the numerous limitations on the transferability of findings from one national context to another. It has acted as an important driver for much needed further research on the subject of employment mediation in Austria, research which will be undertaken by the former fellow. Another effect of the project is that the researcher has, by drawing on his acquired experiences, designed teaching modules for university courses on mediation in general and on employment mediation in particular. He is also working together with the social partners and the chamber of employees, as well as with the economic chamber, to establish a pilot project on employment mediation implementing findings from the comparative research.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Mediation gives the parties in dispute the opportunity to reach a settlement without a court hearing and with the help of an independent third party, a mediator. This can provide cost-effective and quick extrajudicial resolution of disputes also in individual employment matters through informal processes tailored to the needs of the parties. The European Community institutions have made the promotion of mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) a political priority: The commission presented a Green Paper on ADR in 2002 and the Directive on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters was adopted just recently in April 2008. Austria itself has passed an Act on Mediation in Civil Matters in 2003 providing a legal framework for the practise of mediation. In spite of all this efforts mediation is still used rarely in Austria to solve employment disputes though in theory most see it as a preferable alternative to lengthy and costly court procedures. Furthermore agreements resulting from mediation are more likely to be complied with voluntarily and help to preserve an ongoing employment relationship with the parties. In the outgoing phase the research will work out factors why and how mediation of individual employment disputes may be effective by analyzing the situation in New Zealand, one of the few countries worldwide which have established a compulsory system of mediation in employment matters. After establishing the legal and sociological framework, the research will analyse case data as well as conduct interviews with mediators and parties involved. The incoming phase will be dedicated to work out the commonalities and differences between the two systems of employment relations to provide a basis to transfer the findings of the outgoing phase to the Austrian environment and to put together recommendations for policy makers.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITAT WIEN · WienCoordinatorAustria
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union