Head of the Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Education Institute (HLSTUI) Danny Roberts is hoping that a two-day workshop on interest bargaining will bring about a change in the traditional conflict-type negotiations between employers and employees.
Mr. Roberts was addressing the start of the workshop at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus on Elmshall Road, for key players in both the public and private sectors.
The need for such a workshop, said Mr Roberts, came from research conducted in 15 Caribbean countries which showed that companies with good labor-management relationships attained the highest levels of competitiveness and productivity. “This is what convinced us to try and foster a culture of social dialogue and mutual gains and to move away from that traditional adversarial relationship which too often characterizes our negotiating process,” he said.
The objective of the workshop, he said, is to create “a more efficient and a less adversarial bargaining process in both the public and the private sectors.”
Acting Prime Minister Ambrose George in his address said that the workshop is one that is significant to our own development. “I believe that the workshop is a very special one, and is significant to our own development. I’m convinced it will bring a better semblance of understanding in the whole process of negotiating.”
The acting Prime Minister stated that negotiations are often extensive and also build up unease among employees. “We know that time is money and I am sure that there is a lot of anxiety which sometimes build up amongst the employees who are being represented either by the unions or in the case of the private sector and the employers as well as the public service.”
The project is intended to execute a range of research, learning and communications exercises. “These exercises,” said Mr George, “are intended to influence policy which is very important. This should in turn improve collective bargaining in the public sector and foster a culture of interest based bargaining within the wider employment relations system within the Caribbean.
“The project deepens and supports the process of social dialogue by providing the tools of interest-based bargaining as a mechanism for creating wise efficient and sustainable agreements”.
The workshop also aims at fostering economic development by creating a more efficient and less adversarial collective bargaining process in the public and private sectors and one that leads to more sustainable agreements through a clearer identification of common interest.
The project, an initiative of the Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Education Institute (HLSTUEI), was piloted in Jamaica in June 2012 in collaboration with the Mona School of Business and Management and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.
please not that with govt negotiations proposals. The govt always propose zero i mean 0 so i think that is psu is doing good because there are a lot of non salary benefits that the union gets in favor of its members so if the govt in in favor of the employees who works like donkeys they will see the need to give more than what they offer which is one percent
Lets hope Thomas Letang and the rest of the PSU executive attended….maybe they’ll learn to bargain for something better than 1% for Public Officers.
Your views obviously, is oblivious that no one goes to the table demanding,or negotiating for 1%. It is usually a position reached after fierce social dialogue and compromize. This kind of approach expoused by the workshop, of trusting the process at the table also considers in the case of Governemnts being a Pricipal party, the nature of polititians. So a shift from the option of industrial action, and in the abscence of respect, trust and honesty, actually may very well weaken Mr. Letangs position or any other for that matter to demand just increases.
Your views obviously, is oblivious that no one goes to the table demanding,or negotiating for 1%. It is usually a position reached after fierce social dialogue and compromize. This kind of approach expoused by the workshop, of trusting the process at the table also considers in the case of Governemnts being a Pricipal party, the nature of polititians. So a shift from the option of industrial action, and in the abscence of respect, trust and honesty, actually may very well weaken Mr. Letangs position or any other for that matter to demand just increases.