Overview
This advanced course examines lawful labor relations, workforce stability, and constructive employee engagement through critical analysis of union organizing, collective bargaining, worker voice, grievance systems, labor standards, psychological safety, retention, and conflict prevention.
Students analyze the historical and legal foundations of labor movements; employer and employee rights; prohibited retaliation and coercion; recognition and bargaining processes; interest-based negotiation; compensation and scheduling fairness; workplace investigations; whistleblower protection; employee communications; and organizational metrics for trust, turnover, absenteeism, and engagement.
Applied learning uses case studies, role-played bargaining sessions, compliance audits, and stakeholder-impact assessments. Students develop non-retaliatory employee-listening programs and dispute-resolution plans grounded in dignity, due process, evidence-based management, and applicable labor law.
Learning Outcomes
- Evaluate historical, legal, and ethical frameworks governing labor relations and collective bargaining.
- Analyze employer and employee rights, prohibited conduct, and organizational exposure to retaliation, coercion, and labor-law violations.
- Apply interest-based negotiation techniques to bargaining, grievance handling, and workplace conflict scenarios.
- Design a non-retaliatory employee-listening and communications program that supports psychological safety and worker voice.
- Conduct a compliance audit addressing recognition, bargaining, compensation, scheduling, investigations, whistleblower protection, and due process.
- Synthesize workforce metrics on trust, turnover, absenteeism, and engagement to evaluate labor-relations effectiveness.
- Develop a stakeholder-informed dispute-resolution plan that promotes lawful, fair, and sustainable workplace outcomes.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Weekly | All semester |
| Workshop | 2 hours | Fortnightly | All semester |
| Seminar | 2 hours | Fortnightly | Second term |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Case study analysis of labor-relations risks and stakeholder impacts. | 20.00% |
| Quiz | Legal and ethical principles quizzes (4 × 2.5%). | 10.00% |
| Tutorial | Participation in structured labor-relations simulations and tutorials. | 15.00% |
| Deliverable | Compliance audit covering labor standards, investigations, and employee protections. | 20.00% |
| Test | Mid-semester test on labor law, bargaining, and conflict prevention. | 15.00% |
| Capstone | Integrated employee-listening and dispute-resolution plan. | 20.00% |
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.