For those who believe in eternal life Good Friday is associated, for good reason, with deep spiritual reflections. Such contemplations vary from one person to another. Some seek to be alone, go for walks in the admittedly limited but beautiful countryside as yet available, or for a stroll by the seaside. Others congregate in churches or shrines and try to re-live what Jesus Christ went through more than 2,000 years ago for the sake of humanity.
A good-sized portion of the Maltese, and masses of tourists, flocked to pageants and processions on Good Friday, a combination of tradition and spiritual revival. All this, however, depends on the inner voice of the individual.
Until the not too distant past, on this day, most of the economic activity was brought to a standstill to help people reflect better on their lives. Economic forces have somewhat restricted, although not altogether defeated, this tradition today.
After Good Friday’s reflections, on Saturday morning the daily hustle and bustle returned. The CDs of Gregorian chants and hymns are back in their sleeves until this time next year. The current top of the charts songsters, and the ever popular, are back on the airwaves. It’s all back to business.
To pick from where I have left on Thursday evening, the industrial relations pot, which has been simmering for the past weeks, was by Saturday morning, boiling. The HSBC/MUBE are at loggerheads over a new collective agreement. The MUBE called a two-day strike. Workers are now expected to return to work tomorrow. Nonetheless, HSBC and MUBE will reach an agreement at the negotiating table through mediation or otherwise, hopefully, at the earliest possible.
Some days earlier, trigger happy Paul Pace, former MUMN President, resigned unceremoniously, claiming that his colleagues have pulled a fast one on him. There are other industrial relations issues melting in the pot; some may look straightforward to address, but in reality such issues rarely are.
Matters related to union recognition have, and will continue to push, the social partners to tread on slippery-slopes. Union recognition issues will continue to be a source of industrial conflict, whether between rival unions or between companies and unions claiming employee representation. This issue requires clear definitions and demarcation lines agreed upon by the stakeholders while a revision of the Employment and Industrial Relations Act 2002 must reflect the current and future economic and labour market needs.
In the conduct of healthy industrial relations, a wide range of issues must be addressed. To this end, the Department for Industrial and Employment Relations should continue to act as facilitator to bring about industrial peace.Conducting healthy industrial relations is a multifaceted task which has to be nurtured regularly. If industrial conflict is not addressed at sourcethis may spread like wildfire.
The Industrial Relations Research Unit at the University of Warwick recently organised a special event in honour of Sir Patrick Lowry. Sir Lowry served as an employers’ delegate to the International Labour Organisation. He Chaired the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) in Great Britain.
Acas is an executive independent non-departmental public body tasked to convene conciliatory meetings between employers and unions.Acas is not subject to Ministerial direction.
Sir Lowry was a peacemaker, who earned his reputation partly through his fairness. He was an employer, but recognised and respected the important roles and functions unions play in representing workers’ best interests.
During his six years, 1981/87, as Chair, Sir Lowry turned Acas into a respected organisation, valued by all sides for its impartiality and skill to go through the minefield of conducting salubrious industrial relations. Sir Lowry dismissed the high-handed attitude of some of the Conservative government ministers.He warned that the emerging school of ‘macho management’ offered no long-term solutions to Britain's industrial relations problems.
I trust that locally we can draw some lessons from the sterling work of this gentleman in the industrial relations field.If we do it right yes, it matters to the economy, to you and me.
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