Job Evaluation and the Collective Agreement

Crucial questions are raised by the development and application of a System of job evaluation within an organization. The type of participation of each of the parties involved must first be determined, as well as the methods used to keep the System up to date and to solve eventual conflicts.

In order to respond to these questions, the interested parties must accept and respect the following four principles:

1) The determination of job content is a fundamental tool in the administration of a firm. It is a logical consequence of the manager's role, involving planning, organization and control. It is nevertheless difficult to exercice control if one has not defined what has to be controlled. Moreover, the purpose and objectives find concrete form in job descriptions.

Job evaluation has, as its aim the determination of the relative importance of jobs. If a job becomes more significant than another through the development of the organization, through modification or precision concerning its purpose and objectives, the System must allow for readjustment concerning job hierarchy. Consequent-ly, it is necessary to provide a mechanism within the collective agreement which will make this possible. If, however, one opposes job readjustment because of possible upward salary modification, it would be best to abandon the idea of using a System of job evaluation.

If a job is modified, the employee concerned should benefit from the resulting monetary advantages. On the one hand, the employee may either assume greater responsibilities or be required to have greater skills. On the other, the employer benefits from the accomplishment of a task which is more intricate or of superior quality. Refusal to allow the employee to benefit monetarily in such situations constitutes an injustice which might contribute to diminished motivation on the part of the employee and a deterioration of labour relations in the organization.

The adoption of a System of job evaluation is not conceived to provide salary in-creases, but to distribute more equitably the total payroll. Additional considerations (psychological or orther) could induce an increase in the total payroll, but the basic principle remains unaltered. The negotiation of a salary structure, as well as individual salaries, involves a process different from that of the application of a job evaluation System.