EMPLOYEES MUST COOPERATE TO PREVENT STRIKES

I wish to add my contribution to the on going debate about employee strikes. The most recent strikes in Africa are two; one by South African public servants and that of Makerere university lecturers. The common denominator in the two strikes is money. The need for money has justified strikes in many countries.

Strikes by public servants result in short and long term negative consequences. Some of the short term ones include death of patients in hospitals, reduced productivity in government ministries, and disruption of businesses, increased government expenditure on tear gas, vandalising government property and injuries of protesters. Some of the long term consequences include reduced family income due to loss of jobs and reduced GDP due to loss of productive manpower. It is also likely that prolonged violent strikes can result into a Coup Detart.

Resorting to strikes is a sign that many employees consider money as an end in itself. It also signifies poor communication skills among all stake holders. Whereas money is necessary for the survival of employees, it is not sufficient on its own. In negotiating for money issues employees’ representatives should not only demand to be listened to, but should as well listen and respect their employers’ views. They should present their options and align them with those of employers. These options should be evaluated in light of the ability to sustain the promises. This calls for the involvement of economists, human resource experts, financial consultants, management experts and policy analysts.

There is a tendency for the public employees to ask what the governments have done for them, and fail to ask themselves what they have done for the government. The latter is more important than the former in this case. Whereas the government is the whole, public employees are part of this whole. It is the contribution of several parts that make the whole. Any strike perpetrated by one or two parts hurts other parts and the whole government. This justifies why employees must cooperate with government the employer, in choosing the best salary strategies fair to both sides.

If the representatives of these employees inculcate a culture of nationalism and duty consciousness, there will be no need to strain communication. If negotiations are handled maturely by keeping such negotiations from politics, and with both sides respecting each others’ views, there can be no justification for strikes. The role of government is simply to establish communication channels and ensure that all communication mechanisms are fully utilised. There is need to train employees in negotiation skills so that proper approaches are adopted. Negotiations should have an element of flexibility, trust and honesty, in which case, demands from both sides can be adjusted to suite all in order to prevent the occurrence of strikes.


Everest Turyahikayo
Human Resource Management Specialist
Kampala