Social Dialogue is Essential to Boost Productivity
By definition, social dialogue is referred to as communication activity involving social partners. The aim of the communication or dialogue is to influence the arrangement and development of work related issues. In certain quarters social dialogue is referred to as “class collaboration”. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), successful social dialogue structures and processes have the potential to resolve important economic and social issues, encourage good governance, advance social and industrial peace and stability and boost economic progress.
The ILO is a UN agency dealing with labour issues, particularly international labour standards and decent work for all. As an entity tasked with promoting the competitiveness and productivity of South African enterprises, Productivity SA finds the interpretation of social dialogue by the ILO quite weighty as it strikes at the core of what social dialogue should entail. The ILO "encourages tripartism within member states by promoting social dialogue to help design and implement national policies.
Achieving fair terms of employment, decent working conditions, and development for the benefit of all cannot be achieved without the active involvement of workers, employers and governments, including a broad-based effort by all of them." I hone in on the ILO’s declaration primarily because of its significance as an international body. Productivity SA is of the view that promoting social dialogue – involving strong and independent workers and employer organisations is central to increasing productivity, avoiding disputes at work and building cohesive societies.
Through social dialogue, constraints to productivity which manifest in different ways are normally identified and eliminated. One of the key impediments of productivity is job security. Job security sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives. It involves opportunities for work that are productive and deliver a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families. Job security also offers better prospects for personal development and social integration and allows freedom for people to express their concerns. It enables people to organise and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men. Social dialogue should be at the heart of global, national and local strategies for economic and social progress. It is central to efforts to reduce poverty, and a means for achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable development.
Multilateral organisations such as the ILO work to promote decent work through its work on employment, social protection, standards and fundamental principles and rights at work. Job security which is a bi-product of social dialogue is now an overriding priority for the South African government, and hopefully for our social partners as well. The key test of our policies will have to be their ability to contribute to job creation. Social dialogue and productivity go hand in hand. Promoting productivity and social dialogue in Africa can be a way out of the recent financial and economic crisis. There is need to investigate regional and national best practices to draw lessons which can be used to create a set of guidelines and a framework on social dialogue and productivity. Social dialogue and productivity can be leverage for development in times of crisis and prosperity for Africa. Social dialogue is a route to productivity, which makes it important that continental bodies like the Pan-African Productivity Association, the Asian Productivity Organisation and national productivity centres, should investigate best practices on how Africa can efficiently use social dialogue and productivity to respond to the current financial and economic crisis.
By: Bongani Coka – CEO of Productivity SA
This article was originally published on the Productivity SA website