Director of Industrial and Employment Relations Department at the International Labour Organisation, Dr. Tayo Fashoyin, speaking during yesterday's meeting.
Respect each other’s rights
2/24/2010
By Randy Bennett
There is a need for better communication and collaboration between employers and employees if work relationships are to be improved.
This call came from Dr. Tayo Fashoyin, Director of Industrial and Employment Relations Department at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), as he addressed those gathered at BWU Solidarity House yesterday.
Dr. Fashoyin was speaking on the second day of a week of excellence currently being put on by the Social Partners in association with The Productivity Council, the Central Bank of Barbados, the Office of Public Sector Reform, the Barbados Employers’ Confederation, Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados and the National Initiative for Service Excellence.
He stressed the need for employers and labourers to form relationships in which they both recognised and respected each other’s rights, while at the same time working in harmony to achieve set goals between the two parties.
“We need to go back to the whole concept of industrial relations, which is trying to build communication and build
co-operation between business and labour at the enterprise level.
“One of the main reasons why this is an issue is that once we are talking about increased productivity and profitability, there is a strong need for business and labour to work together. Working together means that they have a central interest in the sustainability of the enterprise,” he noted.
He highlighted that certain aspects of a labourer’s work, such as the tabulation of wages and the conditions of service, sometimes needed to be determined in a joint discussion between both employer and employee in an effort to reach an amicable agreement.
“Sometimes it is far easier for the employer to [decide] that he or she will pay everyone a certain amount of money, or that he will make certain changes in the workplace; but employers need to ask themselves if their employees are going to benefit from those decisions.
“This can sometimes lead to disgruntled employees, which will result in a lack of production, or it may even lead to industrial action.
“Employers need to consult with their workers to see if they are happy with the way things are going at work, and if they have any grievances. Failure to do so can result in a serious downturn of business for that employer, simply because the employee does not feel appreciated and will not work to his or her maximum potential,” he warned.
