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New labour law should promote moral suasion and tripartism on the labour market

31 Aug 2015 at 13:47hrs | Views
The recent presidential assent to the new labour bill should promote moral suasion and functional tripartism on the labour market in order to restore sanity which is conducive to production. The upset which bedeviled the labour in which multitudinous numbers of people lost their jobs due to unilateralism, which was in the statute books, should end now and churn out a new state of affairs on the labour market. Government, as the major player, should be recommended dearly for hastening expeditiously to re-craft the law to save the society which was left at the mercy of unscrupulous employers that fired workers willy-nilly.

This is the opportune time to engage tripartism. This is a policy of decision making related to industrial relations where all the three cardinal actors; namely employers, workers and government should play an equal and fair role in determining the variables on the labour market.

Moral suasion becomes critical under these circumstances for achieving morality in order to influence or change behaviour of all stakeholders. All regulatory authorities should negotiate amicably to encourage, rather than coerce, compliance with accepted standards. Each stakeholder is expected to act as a social partner to create economic policy through cooperation, consultation, negotiation and compromise as opposed to bickering and advocating for disruptive behavioural tendencies which can upset business operations.

In the previous weeks, since July 17, 2015 when the Supreme Court delivered the landmark ruling, the labour market was dominated by the classical economics view which espoused free and unregulated labour markets. This laissez-faire capitalism led to social injustices in which employees were fired unilaterally and there was vast inequity since labour did not have the power to bargain with employers on terms which even approached a degree of equality on bargaining strength. The then existing Common Law relegated workers' rights to the background, hence, they were thrown into the abyss of poverty instantly.

Consequently industrial relations developed in the context of the theory which stipulates that problems in labour relations emanate largely from market imperfections which operate against the interests of labour and cause imbalances in the power relationships of employers and employees. However, these imperfections were external to the enterprise as the employers were carried away by the craziness to exploit the existing law to satisfy their intention to lay-off workers with little consideration to the plight they were hurling to the victims.

Additionally, the dominant position of the employer, in what was formerly called the "master and servant" relationship, prevented the affected labour from enjoying rights after cancellation of employment contracts. These causes for labour problems, external and internal to the enterprise, needed to be addressed through a range of initiatives, both by the State through protective labour laws, conciliation and disputes settlement machinery, by voluntary action on the part of employees to protect themselves and further their interests through trade unionism. However, this should be backed by State interventions to guarantee this right in the form of freedom of association, and by redressing the balance of power, through collective bargaining. This is what makes it imperative for tripartism to be driven by moral suasion.

In the new law, collective bargaining in particular, transfers one of the most conflictual aspects of the employment relationship, the responsibility of the respective representatives of employers and employees. Unions naturally are under mandatory obligation to welcome it as it gives them an influential base outside the workplace.

The new law increases employment security with long-term contractual engagement which, in essence, boosts productivity. Therefore redundant workers should be relocated by the employer based on a win-win basis to realize suitable compensation where necessary. Concrete measures to enhance productivity should be decided through labour management consultation which should be promoted. Productivity gains should be distributed fairly among management, employees and customers. This is a sure way of fostering economic growth.

A sound labour management relations system is important to the removal of one of the main objections of workers and unions to productivity drives by employers.

Naturally, the entire society is under an obligation to rally behind the new labour law in order to restore and rationalize issues on the labour market.

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Suitable Kajau <kajausuitable@gmail.com


Source - Suitable Kajau
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