ANALYSIS: Supreme Court ruling is an eye-opener

26 Jul, 2015 - 00:07 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

First and foremost, tri-partisan or triad contributions among the Tripartite Negotiating Forum partners — Government, labour and business — should rule supreme.

by Edmore Mudavanhu

The Supreme Court judgment in which the common law position was used to terminate the employment contracts of Zuva Petroleum managers on three months’ notice is an eye-opener.

Of note is its legal validity, but whether its tenure is temporary or permanent is something one remains to see.

The judgment in point interests legal hunger as to the present and future of labour and business matrices, notably the mechanics and dynamics of the employer-employee relationship.

Government, through its representative — the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare — promises to balance both employers’ and employees’ interests or rights. Any decision on the issue will warrant further TNF negotiations to bring finality to the issue.

Proposed labour legislation changes like productivity-linked salaries or wages; retrenchment; terminal benefits; downsizing; labour market flexibility; the arbitration awards system and hiring and firing procedures all need serious strategic thinking by the tripartite partners.

And in effecting these reforms, reverence should be given to the interplay of complex interests among these three partners.

Each partner has its own unique specifics that should be upheld. Hence, the Supreme Court judgment should not be taken lightly.

It is a very delicate and intricate case in point, which, if not handled with extra care, will spill over.

The background information speaks volumes on labour relations history.

The pre-Independence era saw the promulgation of the Master and Servant Act (1901) and the Industrial Conciliation Act (Chapter 267), which both entrenched all powers to employers.

Independence then came with the Labour Relations Act (No 16 of 1985), which protected workers, upping the interests of labour.

Presently, in operation is the Labour Relations Act (Chapter 28.01) and this legislation is tailored to sanitise and humanise labour.

The above represents the raging war between “human” and “financial” capital.

Understandably, there is general finger pointing between Business and Labour in as far as business competitiveness is concerned.

Business views labour as unmistakably anti-investment, thanks to its attendant costs and punitive separation procedures.

On the other hand, labour blames business for gross mismanagement, corruption and corporate “cannibalism”, among other allegations.

Government, as the arbiter of labour relations on one hand and an employer on the other, has its politico-ideological preference to lure investors and at the same time protect employees.

At the same time, it needs to paradoxically balance the interests or rights of both employers and employees — a mammoth task by all measures. The Supreme Court judgment is now viewed as precedent judgment, and businesses are capitalising on it by firing employees in droves.

The figure of those dismissed is now well over 1 000.

Labour law reforms should comply with Section 65 of the Constitution and International Labour Organisation conventions on employee rights.

At the same time, companies are reeling under the hammer of economic dictates.

And the ruling has also robbed trade unions of their power to negotiate; collective bargaining and safeguarding employees’ interests.

From a human capital perspective, all diverse interests should be taken into account despite their unique specifics traits.

As earlier mentioned, this judgment is a delicate “baby”, which needs to be handled carefully to avoid negative socio-economic and even political consequences.

Tripartite dialogue is the only panacea to the mind-boggling labour relations challenges and certainly promises a permanent and cordially symbiotic tripartite relationship.

Government, Business and Labour should come together, exhausting their respective concerns and interests, and consolidate their divergent perspectives in a free, open and professional atmosphere.

In the finale, the three socio-economic partners should be schooled on the dictates and dynamics of the current macro-economic imperatives governing both labour and business terrains.

Profiling each other’s interests and interfacing in a mutually-beneficial fashion will cement the operationally existent and harmonious labour relations climate.

 

Edmore Mudavanhu is a human resources expert based in Harare, and the convenor of the Bi-Annual Business and Labour Symposium

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