3. Answer the questions:

What is imployment conflict? Give a brief description).

Does it take place within a workplace?

What other conflict is it similar to?

Why isn’t a descrimination for union activity described as employment conflict?

Who is involved in an employment conflict?

There is a concept that conflict is a way to win authority at work. What do you think?

4. Match the following words with the translation:

employment– инвалид

loosely– допустимый

handicap– работа, занятость (рабочей силы)

issue– вид на будущее, ожидание

to claim– прослеживаться

to trace– заявлять, утверждать

prohibited– разрушительный

permissible– свободно

disruptive– запрещенный

expectation– спорный вопрос

 5. Read and discuss the example

Sally, a member of a legally protected group, loses out in a promotion and believes the decision was traceable to legally prohibited discrimination. Her employer answers the complaint by showing that Sally lacked certain training necessary for the higher rated job. But if the employer failed to make the training available on equal terms for a reason related to race, sex, etc., the employer is still vulnerable.

Unit 14

1. Read the tongue– twisters as fast as you can

a) A quick witted cricket critic.

b) To sit  in a solemn silence in a dull dark dock

In a pestilential prison with a life long lock

Awaiting the sensation of a short sharp shock

From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block.

2. Read and translate  the text

Consumer Conflicts

Consumer conflicts include all forms of conflict between a private consumer (or family) and a business which has sold them a product or service. It can also include, for practical purposes, situations where the customer is at work, and is buying something for his or her employer’s use, as well as situations where the supplier is a unit of government, but one which is selling a product or service in the same manner as a private company.

An enormous number of consumer problems are resolved by simply returning the item, or with one or two phone calls. So for most purposes, a consumer conflict is considered to begin not when the consumer first identifies a problem with a product or service, but only after a first attempt has failed to get the business to repair the product, provide a refund or solve the problem in some other way.

Systems and structures for handling these conflicts vary greatly depending on the industry involved. Some types of businesses have elaborate procedures for claims, while others provide only a basic address or phone number of the business. States regulate certain kinds of transactions, and may provide consumer fraud assistance. Also, the Better Business Bureau provides mediation and arbitration services for many types of consumer complaints, while some entire industries, such as the automobile industry, provide dispute resolution systems for claims over defects. But most such conflicts, when they cannot be negotiated directly with the supplier, are still taken to Small Claim Court. These courts do not necessarily treat every case as a “court case”; increasingly, they provide mediation and other alternative dispute resolution options.

Every consumer needs a basic understanding of what rights he or she has. These  rights vary enormously depending on the location as well as the particular type of purchase, so there is no one simple solution, nor even a single source of information. But the key advice is to do your homework. For advice about your rights and appropriate dispute resolution avenues, checking with the Better Business Bureau in your city is wise, and also looking up what services are available from your city government.