Thoughts on May Day
Saturday, 1 May 2010
Historic May Day is being observed in Bangladesh today with the rest of the world. The Day commemorates the 1886 uprising in the Haymarket of Chicago in the United States by workers to demand limited hours of work and other benefits. May Day gradually became a rallying occasion for the expression of the aspirations of working people the world over for realisation of their rights.
Workers are, no doubt, among the main factors of production. Despite the progress of automation, the man or woman behind the machine continues to be pivotal for production activities everywhere. Production is at the heart of economic activities and such activities are impossible without an workforce. This workforce has to be kept motivated and achieving of workers' satisfaction is considered today as one of the important qualities of a successful entrepreneur. Then, there are other challenges to be overcome. The entrepreneur needs to be able to provide enough to his workers in the form of wages for the latter to meet their basic needs reasonably. At the same time, the entrepreneur also needs to keep his spending on wages under control so that his firm can avoid becoming uncompetitive from wage escalations.
Workers on their part need the facility to bargain with their employers for fair wages. But what is fair to them may prove to be unbearable for the employers. Thus, it is imperative to have and sustain a system of collective bargaining between workers and employers. The aim of such bargaining should be, under all circumstances, to strike a balance between what wages would be acceptable to the workers but bearable as well for the owners of industries. Any rude attempt to tip this balance can only bring disruption to the production process with all the attendant ill consequences for all stakeholders.
Bangladesh has a tradition of collective bargaining in its older industries such as jute and textiles while relatively new industries, the present all-too-important readymade garments (RMG) industry, for instance, remain largely not served by any form of trade unions. While collective bargaining or trade unions are to be progressively encouraged here, the existing and potential trade unionists also need to realise that it is by far more advantageous for the country's millions of the presently unemployed to go after some income and employment than losing everything by pressing too hard on the pedal for allowing full-fledged trade unionism in the new industries. At the same time the owners should also realize that they need industrial peace in their own interest and healthy trade unionism helps industrial peace. The RMG sector, in particular, plays a crucial role in the economy of the country. It is a large-scale employer of labour. Nothing should be done by the government, owners and workers that may hamper flourishing of this sector.
The capacity to pay to workers by entrepreneurs do depend on the former's productivity. Increasingly in the Bangladesh context, the demand for higher pay should be linked to productivity based on mutual consent by workers and management. The owners should take a proactive interest in training up their workers or provide advanced training to them for enhancing their productivity. The workers on their own should also explore the ways and means to be so trained.
Workers are, no doubt, among the main factors of production. Despite the progress of automation, the man or woman behind the machine continues to be pivotal for production activities everywhere. Production is at the heart of economic activities and such activities are impossible without an workforce. This workforce has to be kept motivated and achieving of workers' satisfaction is considered today as one of the important qualities of a successful entrepreneur. Then, there are other challenges to be overcome. The entrepreneur needs to be able to provide enough to his workers in the form of wages for the latter to meet their basic needs reasonably. At the same time, the entrepreneur also needs to keep his spending on wages under control so that his firm can avoid becoming uncompetitive from wage escalations.
Workers on their part need the facility to bargain with their employers for fair wages. But what is fair to them may prove to be unbearable for the employers. Thus, it is imperative to have and sustain a system of collective bargaining between workers and employers. The aim of such bargaining should be, under all circumstances, to strike a balance between what wages would be acceptable to the workers but bearable as well for the owners of industries. Any rude attempt to tip this balance can only bring disruption to the production process with all the attendant ill consequences for all stakeholders.
Bangladesh has a tradition of collective bargaining in its older industries such as jute and textiles while relatively new industries, the present all-too-important readymade garments (RMG) industry, for instance, remain largely not served by any form of trade unions. While collective bargaining or trade unions are to be progressively encouraged here, the existing and potential trade unionists also need to realise that it is by far more advantageous for the country's millions of the presently unemployed to go after some income and employment than losing everything by pressing too hard on the pedal for allowing full-fledged trade unionism in the new industries. At the same time the owners should also realize that they need industrial peace in their own interest and healthy trade unionism helps industrial peace. The RMG sector, in particular, plays a crucial role in the economy of the country. It is a large-scale employer of labour. Nothing should be done by the government, owners and workers that may hamper flourishing of this sector.
The capacity to pay to workers by entrepreneurs do depend on the former's productivity. Increasingly in the Bangladesh context, the demand for higher pay should be linked to productivity based on mutual consent by workers and management. The owners should take a proactive interest in training up their workers or provide advanced training to them for enhancing their productivity. The workers on their own should also explore the ways and means to be so trained.