2.10 FIVE (5) BUILDING BLOCKS TOWARDS BECOMING A WORLD CLASS
2.10.4 Union Co-operation
• Access of all potential learners who should gain from the process;
• Regular monitoring of the effectiveness of implementation; and
• Alignment of the process with skills needs as those needs change.
The aforegoing discussion reflects on the importance of continuous upgrading of Education and Skills of employees and shows why this building block is intrinsic for the attainment of world class status. It also reflects data that will be used to compare the level at which eThekwini operates vis-a-vis what can be considered as an ideal situation.
other party thereby leading to a two-way communication is important. In view of the afore going, Bendix (1996:325) describes communication as the flow of material information, understanding and perception between individuals and between different groups.
Methods for promoting communication
There are numerous methods by which interactive communication can be promoted.
Bendix (1996:332) alludes to the following methods:
• Structures such as work groups and quality circles.
• Explanations by management of behaviours e.g. when employees are disciplined.
• Employee initiated grievance channelled through the grievance process
• Management initiated information about the organisation, organisational structures, employee career prospect, working conditions, etc.
• Systems encouraging employee initiatives and suggestions e.g. suggestion boxes.
• Systems aimed at measuring employee perspectives, e.g. questionnaires.
• Committees such as health and safety, productivity committees, other than shop stewards or worker committees.
• Company functions and sporting and other activities aimed at improving informal communication.
Guidelines on what should be communicated to employees
Nel et al. (2004:138) points out the following guidelines on what should be communicated to employees:
• Progress of the organisation, branch, or section – employees are keen on their progress in the organisation and will constantly need feedback on their performance, and promotion prospects.
• Movements of people – workers are keen to know if people they work with are transferred, if people they report to move as they form groups with these people
• Policy or procedure decision affecting employees – all new, and revised procedures and policies should be communicated to employees, including employment relations decisions agreed between management and unions e.g.
bargaining council decisions.
Establishing Communication structures and processes
Bendix (2010:221) laments the dearth of bottom up or even horizontal communication in most organisations and notes that most of them are still marked by the traditional top down communication. To remedy this situation, Bendix suggests the communication structures and processes which are discussed below.
(a) Regular meetings with employees, and employee representatives held by managers or employers, although shop stewards and managers will from time to time engage in collective bargaining, which is a communication process, there should be a greater number of meetings in the form of consultation or information sharing. As Bendix suggests, these meetings should normally be formal, with a set agenda, formulated jointly by shop stewards and management. In the case where no union exists, it may be advisable to establish a liaison committee or a workers’
council for the promotion of interaction and communication between management and employee representatives. In eThekwini Municipality, the Local Labour forums are established for this purpose.
(b) Training of employee representations in effective communication techniques and meeting procedures. Employee representatives need to be trained to be able to participate in various interactive committees with management. In this regard, they should engage with management without being intimidated so it is important to bring the level of employee representatives on par with management in terms of information and knowledge they process.
(c) Opportunities for communication between employer and employee representatives are created by engagements in various forums, e.g. workplace Forums, Committees, and Local Labour Forums (in the case of eThekwini Municipality). Bendix (2010:222) mentions the myriad of committees in the workplace that both the management and employee representatives should communicate on, including aspects of productivity, provision of social benefits, equity, health and safety and social responsibility.
(d) Explore all possible methods of disseminating information. These methods of information dissemination include memos, posters, letters, reports, articles, briefing notes, policy, and procedural documents.
(e) Individual employees must have channels of communication with management without any fear of victimisation. Information must be disseminated freely, honestly, and openly to avoid information being accessed through informal means, e.g. the grapevine. An overactive grapevine is clear proof that the communication process within the organisation is not functioning effectively (Bendix, 2010:222)
From the aforegoing, effective communication is key in ensuring that the relationship between management and employee representatives (shop stewards) is fostered in an organisation. Venter and Levy (2011:20) confirm this assertion by stating that fostering more open bottom-up channels of communication where workers feel comfortable expressing their opinions to top management reduces the prosperity for conflict and forges new working relationship based on trust.
Involvement in Decisions
Employee involvement in decisions regarding an enterprise can occur through joint decision making. Bendix (1996:556) states that joint decision making can happen by practising a principle of placing employees on supervisory boards or board of directors. These boards, as they occur in the Western European countries decide on general policy for the enterprise and its management team, but do not function on an executive capacity.
Finnemore (2009:201) sees involvement in decisions as joint decision making which he says means that the employer must consult and reach consensus with a Workplace Forum on any of the following:
• Any proposed about disciplinary procedures and codes.
• Measures designed to advance and protect person’s disadvantages by unfair discrimination.
• Rules relating to the proper regulation of the workplace to the extent that it applies to conduct not related to the work performance of workers.
• Any changes by the employer or his appointed representative on trusts or employer schemes controlled by boards.
Furthermore, an employer and representative union may conclude an agreement conferring on the forum the right to joint decision making on a range of other matters e.g. if employer does not reach consensus with a Workplace Forum, the former may refer dispute to arbitration or to the CCMA. Nel et al. (2004:150) add conciliation as an important step to be invoked before the matter is referred to arbitration.
Techniques of worker involvement and participation
Nel et al. (2008:325) delineate the following worker involvement and participation techniques which they call direct worker participation in decision making.
• Participation by suggestion
This technique offers the worker an opportunity to make suggestions, for instance, about technological improvement, use of materials, cost savings, efficient use of materials, plant buildings, land etc., which are part of productivity improvements, suggestions could also relate to improvement of administrative procedures regarding methods for doing work, the allocation and scheduling of duties and tasks. In the work situation, committees may be set up to review suggestions initiated by both shop stewards and management in respect of any matter.
• Participation through Quality Circles
Nel et al. (2008:325) describe quality circles as a technique designed to get lower – level staff (workers or non-managers) involved in some form of upwards problem solving and hence decision making. These discussion groups usually consisting of 6 to 10 workers from the same division or department, meet regularly to identify, investigate, analyse evaluate and consider problems which are work or production related and hence quality related. Proposals to change, work are made by the Quality Circle (QC) but final decisions are often made by the departmental manager.
QC are expected to enhance the quality of productivity and foster a sense of participation in work related decisions among workers, leading to increased job satisfaction and better employment relations (Nel et al., 2008:326).
• Participation through teams
Participation through teams is another important technique of worker involvement and participation. Nel et al. (2008:326) define team as a small number of people with complementary skills, committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. The creation of teams is frequently accompanied by significant changes in the role of first line supervisors and tends to be more responsible for advising team members for both vertical and horizontal communication while losing their role as supervisors.
• Participation through consultation
Nel et al. (2008:327) describe participation by consultation as a technique whereby workers particularly through their representatives, confer periodically with their supervisors or other senior employer representatives. This is usually done through committees which comprise several experienced members and workers elected on merit to represent other workers. These committees are involved with the employer through consultation with a view of influencing the employer’s decision making about matters under discussion. The major characteristic of this technique is based on management’s sincerity in considering criticisms and proposals of workers and genuinely consider their own proposal before implementing or finalising decisions.
Workers can influences the decisions by being able to convey their opinions, ideas and desires as well as criticism (Nel et al., 2008:327).
• Participation through co-determination
Nel et al. (2008:326) states that the major characteristic distinguishing participation through codetermination from others is that workers, through their representatives, and the employer, represented by management, are held jointly responsible by the owner of the business (shareholders) for results of decisions arrived at. It may take place at plant level or at the higher levels e.g. bargaining council or at a national level e.g. NEDLAC. Codetermination as a far-reaching form of worker participation may imply that worker representatives sit in the board of directors and enjoy sharing fully in decision making. At a lower level, codetermination may exist where worker representative partakes in decisions relating to for instance, affirmative action measures, social benefit schemes or the determination of disciplinary codes and procedures.
• Participation by self-governance
This form of participation in its extreme from entails the overthrow of the capitalist system in favour of elected members of the workforce. Nel et al. (2008:329) suggest that although this form is not popular in capitalist systems, there has been some clear propagation of worker controlled organisations in a mixed economy, for instance, when considering the worker cooperatives where workers own the enterprise or cooperative and share the profits arising from there.
Disclosure of Information
Landis and Grosse (2005:331) state that there is a constitutional right to privacy and disclosure in the context of workplace relations must be balanced with the right to disclosure of information. Venter and Levy (2011:215) state that an employer must disclose to the committee or workplace forum all relevant information enabling it to effectively engage in consultation and joint decision making. However, there is information that is not required to be disclosed and this includes the following:
• Information which is legally privileged;
• Information which is restricted by any law or order of court;
• Confidential information, which if disclosed may cause substantial damage or harm to employer or employee; and
• Private, personal information about the employer unless if he/she has consented to such a disclosure.
In view of the aforegoing, it is therefore, limpid that for Union cooperation to exist, communication, involvement in decision making and disclosure of information are necessary and should be implemented by organisation pursuing world class status.