3.5 Course Overviews: "I"
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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (IDRL)
IDRL 201
Labour Unions
3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study or grouped study.
Prerequisite: None.
The primary aim of this course is to introduce students to the role and purpose
of labour unions in Canada. The course will provide information and a critical
perspective about union aims, purposes, organization, context, impact, and the
challenges facing unions. The course situates contemporary labour unions in a
labour relations setting. It describes the institutional framework, relates
theoretical issues with practical concerns, and encourages students to undertake
their own investigations.
IDRL 304
Rights at Work: Grievance Arbitration
3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: None. IDRL 312 is strongly recommended
but not required.
This course deals with the range of substantive and procedural issues covered in
collective agreements, including discipline, sexual harassment, management
rights, seniority, contracting out, maternity leave, scheduling of work, job
classification, performance appraisal, and job evaluation. It is also a
practical guide to making and handling grievances. The course will interest
anyone dealing with collective agreements, from either the management or the
union side.
IDRL 305
Collective Bargaining
3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: None. IDRL 312 is strongly recommended
but not required.
This course provides an introduction to collective bargaining as a regime established for rule-making in the unionized workplace, and as a broader social institution supported by social policy in Canada. It is designed to satisfy the needs of practitioners involved in collective bargaining, as well as students who simply want a better understanding of this important institution. It combines theoretical analysis with a practical look at the negotiation and composition of a collective agreement. The course provides students with an understanding of different approaches to bargaining, the knowledge and skills necessary to manage the technical aspects of the process, and an appreciation of the manner in which this institution is affected by changes in the workplace and society.
IDRL 307
Public Sector Labour Relations
3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study with audio component; or grouped study.
Prerequisite: None.
This course provides a critical examination of labour relations in the public
sector in Canada that will allow the student to better understand and evaluate
some of the complex, hotly debated, and often confusing issues surrounding
employment and labour relations as they occur specifically in this sector. The
course analyses theories that approach the public sector as a separate and
distinct area of industrial relations.
IDRL 308
Occupational Health and Safety
3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study or grouped study.
Prerequisite: None.
This course locates occupational health and safety issues in a labour relations
framework. It examines the impact of changes in technology and the organization
of work on work-related injury and illness. The course reviews the contrasting
approaches to occupational health and safety and how they are related to the
legal framework and influenced by scientific knowledge, politics, and economics.
IDRL 312
Industrial Relations: A Critical Introduction
3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study or grouped study.
Prerequisite: ADMN 233, ENGL 255 or PHIL 252 is recommended but not required for
students new to university education or returning to it after a prolonged
absence.
Precluded course: IDRL 312 cannot be taken for credit if credit has already been
obtained for IDRL 311.
This course is an introduction to the study of work, labour, and employment
relations. It encompasses the nature of the employment relationship and its
legal framework; the nature of collective bargaining and the politics of
collective agreements; the management of industrial relations, trade unions, and
the logic of collective action; and the influence of the state on employment
relations.
IDRL 315
Women Organizing
Reading—3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: Permission of the professor.
It is now recognized that the contrasting experiences of women and men at work
are at least as important as the familiar conflict between employers and
employees. This reading course examines the experiences of women, within both
work organizations and the labour movement, as they attempt to create a more
equitable workplace, and it considers the issues these experiences pose for
those working within industrial relations and human resource management.
IDRL 317
Reengineering the Organization
3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: IDRL 312 is recommended but not required.
Reengineering became the buzzword of business during the 1990s. The word
referred to a new approach to structuring and managing work that entailed the
radical redesign of an organization's production processes and culture. This
course submits "reengineering" to critical scrutiny.
IDRL 320
Labour Relations and the Law
3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: None. IDRL 312 is strongly recommended
but not required.
This course develops a critical understanding of the role of law in labour
relations. All substantive and procedural issues likely to affect trade
unionists and managers are covered: organizing rights, the certification process,
the transfer and termination of bargaining rights, the bargaining process, and
industrial conflict. The course is intended primarily for trade unionists and
managers whose work requires a thorough understanding of the law governing
collective bargaining. It will also interest those who want to further their
understanding of their collective agreement to more actively participate in
their workplace.
IDRL 496
Comparative Labour Education
Reading—3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: Permission of the professor.
This course examines labour education in five countries: Canada, United Kingdom,
United States, Australia, and New Zealand. It discusses how labour education
differs according to the different contexts in industrial relations and
political economy. It concludes with an examination of the role of labour
education in the context of the globalization of production.
IDRL 498
Directed Study in Industrial Relations
3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: Permission of the professor.
This course provides an opportunity for students to pursue an extended research
project of their choice under the direction of a course professor. The course of
study will normally include extensive library research and the production of a
major paper.
IDRL 499
Doing Research in Organizations
3—Applied Studies
Delivery Mode: Individualized study.
Prerequisite: Permission of the professor.
This course requires students to identify, describe, analyse, and report on an
issue or problem at their own workplace by drawing on the relevant literature.
It may, for example, be an issue related to collective bargaining, the
introduction of new technology, sexual harassment, employment equity, overtime
working, worker motivation and productivity, seniority, discipline, or
management rights. By the end of the course students must submit a report
stating the problem or issue examined, setting out their analysis of the causes
of the problem and their proposed remedies.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS (INFS)
INFS 200
Accessing Information
3—Humanities
Delivery Mode: Individualized-study online.
Prerequisite: None.
INFS 200 is designed to broaden students' research skills. The course introduces
the ways in which information is stored and organized electronically and the
methods used to locate and retrieve this information. This course combines
relevant history, theory, speculation on future development, and technical
exercises.
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