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How should collective bargaining be approached when trade unions are outlawed?
Anita Normark, Builders and Woodworkers International (BWI) secretary general, says we have started to look at the working conditions on the site and that is always where you have to start. This, along with health and safety, forms a basis for union discussions. In some countries it is not possible to form a union but we can still have these discussions and sometimes solutions can come from them.
Jaana Quaintance, Impactt MENA senior project manager, says companies should foster an elected workers’ representative committee to act as a conduit for negotiation between workers and management. Workers’ representatives must be properly elected and workers’ representatives and management must agree to their mutual rights and responsibilities. While negotiations through such a committee are not true collective bargaining, they do offer a way forward.
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Some workers are reluctant to join trade unions. Why is this?
Normark says if you want to be in a union you have to trust the organisers and know that they are there to help. You have to bond with people and help with their problems. Sometimes people do not believe that unions can have an influence. But unions can have an influence if they have many members so that the governments and companies listen to what they have to say.
Quaintance says two reasons – when they fear reprisals from management or when they feel that a union would not provide them with any benefit. In the first case, management should demonstrate an open and fair attitude to trade union members. In the second case, unions must clearly show that their only priority is to uphold workers’ rights with management, rather than pursuing a political agenda.
What is your response to recent reports concerning labour camp conditions?
Normark says the conditions of camps have to be improved and this is difficult if the labourers do not have a voice. I think that in this case the media has helped to push for change. During the building boom contractors took on whatever labour they could find and didn’t care for conditions.
Quaintance says workers who can’t sleep and relax in decent conditions are less able to do their jobs efficiently and safely. Companies should prioritise developing trained teams with responsibility for meeting decent standards and instituting whistle-blowing mechanisms so that issues can be reported and resolved. We have been aware of these conditions for several years now.
What do you think of the shift towards paying labourers electronically?
Normark says it’s good that wages will be paid directly into labourers’ accounts and there is no middle man to control the payment to ensure it gets processed. But there has to be a possibility for workers to negotiate an increase in their wages. The companies also have a responsibility to train the workers to use the ATM machines.
Quaintance says we are generally supportive of this move by the Ministry of Labour (MoL). The initiative’s success will be determined by how well it is communicated to workers and the training they are given to use the new system. The MoL should engage representatives of workers in the planning and implementation process to understand their needs and identify any problems.
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