Workers’ dim future Nghidipo Nangolo Thursday, May 8, 2014 - 10:00 Workers are the backbone of a country’s economy, and the current state of a Namibian worker points to a soccer ball being kicked around for nothing else but might in the absence of a crucial point of condition of employment in relation to productivity. The country has just celebrated Workers Day last week (1 May) and it was obvious the workers are caught between political affiliation and independence, as well as the lack of skills and bargaining power. The once powerful unions led by the NUNW are not only fragmented, but dogged by social infighting fuelled by the promise of high positions in government and parastatals. It has led to the establishment of countless splinter unions and workers’ federations, while the once powerful unionists are either ministers, businessmen or left in the political cold. All in all, progressive slogans become the least important in a country run without a skilled and productive workforce. The country’s macro-economic policies could mean zilch, if the workforce is the tug-of-war rope pulled between politicians and other social interest groups. Workers need to be committed to productivity and skills empowerment in exchange for better working conditions and bargaining power. The consequences of a workforce that relies on politics to receive annual remuneration is the beginning of the national economic meltdown. Although workers and their respective unions remain important to national politics, they have a duty to aid a sluggish economy and develop social infrastructure and the infant manufacturing sector. However, workers should note that reliance on political affiliation in view of productivity, is not eternal. There’s no question that workers should be remunerated fairly, demand better working conditions, and denounce the outdated exploitation system of labour that fuels poverty and create unrest in the market to the detriment of both parties.There should be a new challenge to interlace the unions, employees, employers, and the economy of the country. Politicians should stick to policy issues, implementation thereof, excellence and governance, while unions should concentrate on productivity to maximise their bargaining power. It is obvious that there’s a lack of mutual respect between trade unions, the employees, and the employers. It seems that trade unions demand higher salaries and perks, in most cases through political coercion, without justification to productivity output and input levels and the shared benefit to the economy. The situation is compounded by the absence of productivity centres (PIs). A PI studies and recommends best practices of management systems, unionism, strengthen micro-economic policies, endorse the best skills to employ, train young graduates, intellectuals and innovators. Their studies ensure that unions know what they are talking about and corporations understand the predicament of workers, and ultimately agree on mutual benefits to improve the workers’ rights and maximise the profits of the shareholders. There’s currently a perception that the workers’ demands, especially in the public service, are in no way connected to productivity. The private sector has informally created productivity standards for their individual companies and sectors, and that’s why there’s a belief that they perform better than the public service where productivity and economic prosperity are sacrificed for political patronage or electioneering incentives. PIs contribute to a stable working environment, well-paid workers and booming economies. We are not referring to countries that turned themselves into sweatshops at the expense of their workers’ welfare. It’s time to build a mutual understanding between unions, employees, employers, and the economy. If trade unions start using scientific economic arguments, there could be a brighter future for their members and employers alike, to proudly celebrate May Day.
Posted on: Fri, 09 May 2014 10:00:00 +0000