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Managing Human Element at Work
Notes that the direction of economic and social development is largely their responsibility. A more
realistic model where developing countries are concerned is one in which a government
consults the most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations on labour market
and related issues which are within their spheres of competence, and takes account of their
views in national policy formulation and its implementation.
There are many examples of tripartite mechanisms at the national level, as well as informal
applications of tripartism. In many countries there are minimum wage fixing bodies which
reflect the participation of all three parties, often leading to a consensus on minimum wages,
and sometimes on other minimum terms of employment. In some countries (as in Australia
in recent years), agreements are reached at the national level among the three partners after
a process of bargaining on important social policy issues. The principles agreed upon in the
1950s in Japan as a forerunner to its productivity movement did much towards assisting that
country’s productivity growth. In Japan, the Industry and Labour Conference has been a
major form of cooperation at the national level, and consultative mechanisms (both tripartite
and bipartite) exist at the industry level. In Singapore the National Productivity Board is a
tripartite body, and is credited with much of the success in productivity improvement there.
Tripartite participation in Singapore’s National Wage Council has avoided a potential conflict
on wages. The introduction of a flexible wage system in Singapore was made possible by
a tripartite approach towards reaching a consensus on the issue in the late 1980s.
At the national level the mechanisms and procedures could be either formal and
institutionalized, or else informal and ad hoc. Where the labour administration system
consults, on an ad hoc basis, workers’ and employers’ organizations on subjects falling
within their purview. It represents a method of policy formulation on labour management
relations. Sometimes these consultations may take place between the two social partners and
other public authorities. For instance, a finance ministry may consult the social partners on
an issue relating to wage policy.
National level policy formulation can take place through institutions which provide for
periodic tripartite discussion and consultation. There are also examples of institutions with
functions limited to a particular subject matter such as training, social security, minimum
wages (for instance minimum wage fixing bodies), safety, and health. Such specialized
bodies may even cover collective bargaining, as in the case of the Singapore National Wage
Council created in 1972, which was empowered to issue annual guidelines to coordinate
collective bargaining with overall economic policy so as to ensure that wages remain
consistent with economic development.
Labour management relations policy formulation may takes place and be reflected in basic
agreements or codes or industrial relations charters in which all three parties in the labour
relations system have participated. Some such agreements may be bipartite, and may cover
a variety of subjects including principles and procedures of labour relations such as freedom
of association, trade union recognition, collective bargaining, labour-management cooperation
mechanisms, procedures for the prevention and settlement of disputes, etc. The 1983 Australian
national consensus (Accord) and the succeeding Accords on economic questions among the
government, trade unions and employers contributed towards increased employment and
profits, and a reduction in the days lost on account of strikes. Other examples include the
agreements negotiated by the Tripartite Labour Conference in India (in particular the Code
of Discipline of 1958), the Code of Practice for Industrial Harmony, the Code of Practice for
the Promotion of Labour Relations (Thailand 1981), the Pancasila Labour Relations and the
labour policies resulting from tripartite consultations in Pakistan. Referring to the failure
to implement some of these last mentioned arrangements, J. Schregle points out:
“However, failure in practical implementation is not necessarily a valid argument against
the concept as such of basic agreements or negotiated industrial relations charters or codes
of conduct. The very idea of reaching agreement on these matters between the social partners
is in line with a forward-looking tripartite approach to labour relations. The alternative is
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