SIGNIFICANCE OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
The significance of good industrial relations in any country cannot be overemphasized. Good industrial relations are necessary for various reasons.
Good industrial relation helps in the economic progress of a country. The problem of an increase in productivity is essentially the problem of maintaining good industrial relations
Good industrial relations help in establishing and maintaining true industrial democracy, which is a prerequisite for the establishment of a socialist society Good industrial relations help management both in the formulation of informed labour relations policies and their translation into action
Good industrial relations encourage collective bargaining as a means of self-regulation. They consider the negotiation process as an educational opportunity, a chance both to lean and to teach
Good industrial relations help government in making laws for bidding unfair practices of unions and employers
Good industrial relation reflects themselves in several ways. In workers movement – unions gain more strength and vitality. There is no inter-union rivalry. Employers give unions their rightful recognition and encourage them to participate in all decision. Unions divert their activities form fighting and belligerence to increasing the size of the distribution –cake and to making their members more informed, no vital issues concerning them.
Good Industrial relations boosts the discipline and morale of workers. Maintenance of discipline ensures orderliness, effectiveness and economy in the use of resources
TASKS.
What is meant by the term codetermination in industrial relations?
How is codetermination useful to an organisation?
What are the likely problems to be encountered by codetermination?
CONDITIONS FOR GOOD INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Good industrial relations depend on a great variety of factors. Some of the more obvious ones are listed below:
1. History of Industrial Relations
2. Economic satisfaction of workers
3. Social and psychological satisfaction of workers
4. Off-the-job conditions of workers
5. Enlightened and responsible labour unions
6. Negotiating skills and attitudes of management and workers
7. Public policy and legislation
8. Education of workers
9. Nature of industry and business cycle
1. History of industrial relations
A good history is marked by harmonious relationship between management and workers. A bad history by contrast is characterized by militant strikes and lockouts. Both types of history have a tendency to perpetuate themselves. But a perpetuating tendency does not mean that a history of conflict cannot be overcome or that a history of harmony cannot explode into violence
2. Economic satisfaction of workers
Human needs have a certain priority. Need number one is the basic need for survival. Man works because he wants to survive. Hence the economic satisfaction of workers is another important contributor to good industrial relations.
3. Social and psychological satisfaction
Identifying the social and psychological urges of workers is an important step in the direction of building good industrial relations. Man has several other needs besides his physical needs which should also be given due attention by the employer.
The supportive climate of an organisation is essentially built around social and psychological rewards. Workers participation in management, job enrichment, suggestion schemes, redressal of grievances, effective two-way communication are same such social and psychological rewards.
4. Off-the-job conditions
Although some employers may occasionally wish that they could employee only a person’s skill or brain, they in fact end up employing a whole person. His home life is not totally separable from hi s work life, and his emotional condition is not different from his physical condition. Hence for good industrial relations, it is not enough that the workers factory life alone should be taken care of. His off-the-job conditions should be improved.
5. Enlightened Labour Unions
The most important single condition necessary for good industrial relations is a strong and enlightened labour movement, which may help to promote the status of labour without jeopardizing the interests of management. Investigations show unions though talk much of the employer’s obligations to the workers, say very little about the workers responsibility to the employer. Many enlightened unions usually do focus on employee contribution and responsibility and they have
gained both social and economic rewards by this approach. Such unions exhort workers to produce more, persuade management to pay more, mobilize public opinion on vital labour issues and help government to enact progressive labour laws.
6. Negotiating Skills and Attitudes of Management and Workers
Well trained and experienced negotiators who are motivated by a desire for industrial peace create a bargaining atmosphere conducive to the writing of a just and equitable collective agreement. On the other hand, ignorant, inexperienced, and ill-trained persons fail because they do not recognize that collective bargaining is a difficult human activity that requires careful preparation.
7. Public Policy and Legislation
When government regulates employee relation, it becomes a third major force determining industrial relations – the fist two being the employer and the union. Governments intervene in management – union relationships by enforcing labour laws and by insisting that the goals of the whole society take precedence over those of either of the parties. Governments intervene in a number of ways:
It helps in catching and solving problems before they become serious
It provides a formalized means to the workers and employers to give emotional release to their dissatisfaction
It acts as a check and balance upon arbitrary management action
8. Better Education
Industrial workers in developing countries are generally illiterate and are misled by outside trade union leaders who have their own axe to grind. Better workers’ education can be a solution to this problem.
9. Nature of Industry and Business Cycle
Industrial relations are good when there is boom and prosperity all around. During such period’s levels of employment and wages rise, which make workers happy. But during recession, there is a decline in employment levels and wages. This makes workers unhappy and mars good industrial relations.
CAUSES OF POOR INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Poor industrial relations are the result of a number of socio-economic, political and psychological factors, which are as follows:
Uninteresting Nature of work
Political Nature of Unions
Poor Wages
Occupational Instability
Poor behavioural climate
1. Uninteresting Nature of Work
The problem of poor industrial relations is essentially a product of large scale production which has made man subordinate to the machine. Due to specialization, a worker in a factory performs only a minor operation in the entire production process. This has made him lose his sense of pleasure,
pride and satisfaction from work, which he used to get. This dissatisfaction of the worker on the shop floor generally culminates into big strikes and lockouts.
2. Political Nature of Unions
Another major irritant to good industrial relations is the politicization of labour unions by outside political leaders. This leads to multiple unions and inter-union rivalry. Inter –union rivalry depresses both a union’s membership and its finances. As such, unions are unable to be effective.
3. Poor Wages
Too much tight or complicated wage and incentive and pay systems are a cause of poor industrial relations. Wage and salary differentials between occupations also create a feeling of inequality and mar good industrial relations.
4. Occupational Instability
Occupational stability makes workers feel secure on their jobs, and as such positive industrial relations.
5. Poor Behavioural Climate
The behavioural climate of an organisation which is made up of its culture, traditions and methods of action may by either favourable to the worker or unfavourable. Favourable climate helps the worker meet his economic, social and psychological needs. It produces a good image of the organisation in his mind. An unfavourable climate prevents a worker from meeting his various types of needs and produce a negative impression of organisation. This drives the worker to seek membership of a militant labour organisation to vent his negative feelings. This causes poor industrial relations.
Suggestions to Improve Industrial Relations Both management and unions should develop constructive attitudes towards each other.
All basic policies and procedures relating to industrial relations should be clear to everybody in the organisation and to the union leaders
The personnel manager should remove any distrust by convincing the union of the company’s integrity and his own sincerity and honesty.
The personnel manager should not vie with the union to gain workers loyalty. He should not try to win them away from the union
Management should encourage the right kind of union leadership
After a settlement is reached between the employer and employee’s unions the agreement should be properly enforced
THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS CHARTER
As earlier indicated, the period between 1958 and 1961 saw a lot of agitation, upheavals and strikes in the labour movement in Kenya, although there was confusion between agitation for political independence and labour matters.
The above confusion led the colonial government to formulate a document in 1962 to insulate industrial agitation from political agitation. This document was the Industrial Relation Charter. It became the ‘mother’ of industrial relations in Kenya. The charter was revised in 1980.
The charter defines the social contract between the three parties involved in Industrial Relations – the Government of Kenya, the employees and the employers. The charter made provisions for the RECOGNITION AGREEMENT, which forms the basis of the collective bargaining system. The three parties started TRIPARTITE.
General Clauses of the Charter
To affirm the faith of the three parties to democratic principles on labour matters i.e. differences should be solved through mutual negotiations, conditions and arbitrations.
In case of strikes or lockouts parties agreed to be bound by: – mutual agreements and the law i.e. the Trade Dispute Act
The three parties agreed to abide by and co-operate in implementing the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA’s)
They undertook to observe the grievance procedure contained in the Recognition Agreement
The government to educate labor officers, Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) to educate employers, and COTU to educate employees on the importance of good Industrial Relations
The three parties agreed to form the National Consultative Council to advice the Minister for labour on all general Industrial Relations Matters.
The NCC was to form a demarcation committee to determine areas of jurisdiction in the event of conflict by Trade Unions
Each party was to respect one another’s Freedom of Association.
Parities agreed to act expediently in replying to correspondence from another party.
The charter established a Tripartite Consultative Council to advice the minister on matters affecting the economy in general and employment in particular
The charter excluded the following groups of workers from participation in Union matters: –
Staff who formulate, control or administer any aspect of organisation policy
Staff who perform work that is of confidential nature
PARTIES INVOLVED
These are; the government (Ministry of Labour), COTU (for all employees in unions) and FKE (for employers)
THE GOVERNMENT
Responsibilities include: –
Ensure speedy settlement of disputes and a return to work formula
Have joint consultations with COTU and FKE on matters of employee policy and administration
Promote Industrial Trade Unionism as opposed to Craft Trade Unionism
Ensure no overlaps among registered unions through clear definition of each Union
To display the charter in the offices and ensure that officers comply with it.
EMPLOYER (FKE)
Individuals or groups of employers undertook: –
Accord recognition to unions as the negotiating bodies, by signing the recognition Agreement
Not to be involved in the right to registration of a union
Not to discriminate, malign or coerce any employee because of his union activities
To recognize the ILO Convention No. 98 – the right to bargain collectively and to organize/associate freely.
To take action to settle grievances that may arise in the organisation
To implement all decisions in the CBA
Not to be irrational – be able to distinguish between acts that require dismissal and those that require other less severe disciplinary action
To avail time and opportunity of ordinary workers to reach employer/management on personal maters
To let managers and workers know about the charter and give the document publicity.
COTU (for employees)
The union under took to: –
Discourage breach of peace or civil commotion by Union Members
Ensure the union representatives do not encourage or cause members to engage in union activities during working hours
Discourage members from neglect of duty, destruction of property, use of abusive language and disturbance of normal work
Make the charter known to members and give it publicity
Promote a high degree of union membership so that CBA covers a majority of workers.
THE RECOGNITION AGREEMENT
This is a document, which defines the relationship between employers and employee, and gives rights and privileges to each party. The signing of this document leads to Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA’s)
The document is in recognition of ILO convention number 111, which provides guidance to social policy on employment. This ILO document calls for: –
All parties to avoid discrimination based on race, gender etc
All parties agree to end strikes/ lockouts as a means to settle disputes
Employees no to intimidate employers
No press statements to be issued before an issue is settled
Managers should no be intimidated by union in performance of their work
No closed shop trade unionism-where workers are forced to become members of a particular union
Hit lists are prohibited and work council recognized
Subsidiaries of multi-nationals to be bound by regulations of the local country.
Components of a Recognition Agreement
Recognition Agreement must define confidential staff those handling confidential corporate matters
After elections unions must notify employers of the elected officials at National and Branch levels and accord these officials proper credentials
Employers are bound to negotiate only with accredited union officials
Recognition Agreements must state that no employee will be forced to join a particular union and neither should the employer punish employees for joining a union.
Employers will reserve the right to manage in certain matters
Union activities must be conducted outside working hours unless with permission from the employer
Note: Tripartite Approach – is used in resolving labour related issues where the government, COTU and FKE sit together and deliberate until an agreement is reached.
