Question:
Discuss about the Management of Industrial Relations Vanuatu.
Vanuatu since its independence in the year 1980 has been developing noticeably. Being stretched over 12,200 kilometres, the republic is constituted of approximately 83 islands and provides home to 286,759 people. It is noted that among the many South Pacific micro states, New Hebrides became to be the first host centre of for trade unionism. Concerning recent trends there has been a downfall in trade unionism and membership in the nation. Despite of strongly built developmental objectives, the presence of major constraints significantly affects its achievement. According to Lansford (2014, p. 131), poor infrastructure, degraded communication and scattered population are recognized to be the most adversely affecting factors. Moreover, the lowered GDP (4.0%) and financial downturn tends to be affecting development in Vanuatu as well.
This particular project takes into consideration the several factors that affect trade unionism and its membership in the republic of Vanuatu. Further, various examples has also been included to compare and contrast outcomes with defined objectives.
As per Blackburn et al. (2016, pp. 101-159), the Prague meeting in the year 1978 resulted in an overall effort to set up trade unions across the South Pacific region. Since the meeting of WFTU, many leaders like John Halfpenny, Ken Douglas and Jin Knox have made great efforts to mould unions not only in the pacific, but also all over Vanuatu. Additionally, a number of important factors such as anti-colonialism and many others have also been taken into consideration to ensure a productive union. However, leaders in republic complained that the ‘downunder’ representatives have not made noticeable attempts themselves to build up a long lasting unionism (Weber, 2017, pp. 1089-1101). On the other hand, the poor economic conditions of the state have also contributed to the weak development of trade unions as well. In addition to the bounded fiscal growth, opposition by the government acts as a major factor to the decline of trade unionism.
As stated by May (2017, p. 451), the VTUC in 1986, charged the Vanuatu`s government and privately controlled industry to suppressing union activities along with treating strikers roughly. It is noted that the ruthless and unsympathetic behaviour of companies towards union members evolved to be one of the most crucial topics for the union congress. In comparison to any other nation like Fiji or Samoa, the fall of trade union and membership tends to be quite unique in nature. Apart from the presence of an unreliable legislative body, leaders in the republic portray themselves to be independent in nature. It is the fake and unproductive individuality of leaders that noticeably affect trade unions. Additionally, the active presence of political parties and leaders who make an effort to retain power and thereby oppose any rivalry directly or indirectly put a pressure of the unions, henceforth resulting in its downfall (Woodward, 2014, pp. 390-401).
According to Ortigueira (2013, pp. 825-855), in order to ensure expansion and growth of trade union membership across Vanuatu the VCTU (Vanuatu Trade Council) was set up in the early period of 1985. There has been a huge change in trade unionism scenario over the past few years. Moreover, membership has faced downfall since the conflict and bitter strikes of the republic with Maxime Carlot Korman government in the year 1994. The essential function of trade unions is to provide a direction guide and regulate employment relationship. A key aspect of VCTU is to focus on building up and maintaining union membership. In spite of the fact that the power of a union cannot be based on memberships, its attempt to attract representatives from specialized work groups act as a major step towards expansion among the corporate sector. However Peetz & Alexander (2013, pp. 425-442) stated that it is only in the presence of a huge and dedicated group of members in a trade union that makes it recognizable and important enough to be taken into consideration by organizations or the government.
In the words of Schoeman (2013, pp. 236-253), the existence of trade unions within a firm largely depends on the wants and bargaining power of employees. Over the last few bygone years there has been sufficient decline in trade union membership in Vanuatu. Northrup (2014, pp. 712) mentions that the situation of unemployment acted as the primary reason that gave rise to trade unions in the 1990s. It is the modern trends in legislative environment, business cycle proponents and nature of the unions that has resulted in a downfall of memberships. As compared to the unfavourable situations during the early periods, the low inflation rate, creation of job opportunities and healthy employment relations have worked in favour of both workers and their employers. It is noted that the inconsideration of labour law and regulations by the successive governments of Vanuatu greatly impacted workers. Further, the low amendments in the favour of employment laws, non-prioritization of employee bargaining power and not picking up these topics in the parliament ultimately lead to the expansion and development of trade unionism across the republic (Levinson, 2013, pp. 511-523). On the contrary, modern growth measures within the state have greatly degraded such concerns.
It is noted that the set up Labour Commissioner Office to enact the Trade Disputes Law (UK) have played a great role in dissolving employment disputes. Further, the construction of Arbitration Board by the act has also greatly contributed to bring down trade union memberships as well. On the other hand, the courts in Vanuatu have also been helpful in this matter (Harrison, 2014, pp. 312-320). With a strong system to provide justice, jurisdiction in the court is able to make proper decisions, command financial verdicts, sanction parties and also grant case costs to the winning party, thereby dissolving employment arguments. The development of a stronghold legal, political and corporate environment in the republic has acted as major reasons behind the declining trade union memberships (Lansford, 2014, p. 131).
Based on Blackburn et al. (2016, pp. 101-159), the young generation and the worker on low pay scale consider trade unions as irrelevant and often seek the help of government in case of any clash with employers. In good circumstances, labourers do not bother with unions to secure increments in wages and gains since everyone benefits from a firm`s economic prosperity. While in degrading situations, unions cannot shield their members from cutbacks, wage and benefit decreases and harder working conditions. As per Levinson (2014, p. 89), union contracts regularly appear to exacerbate the situation. On the other hand, modern developments in Vanuatu have created a negative and poor public image for trade unions. In some cases, non-members tend to benefit more as compared to the associates of a union, ultimately leading to decline in memberships by them in the near future.
Conclusion
Based on the above project it can be inferred that Vanuatu`s trade unionism and membership have suffered huge losses from the past few years. It is noted that the restructuring of legislative bodies and dissolving of employment conflicts has played major roles in their decline. On the other hand, construction of new laws, policies and their prioritization not only in the corporate industry, but also in the political surrounding has played major roles in cutting down trade memberships. Further, it can be understood that workers perspectives, wants and bargaining power has played a crucial role in the presence of trade unions. Analyzing the various parts of the project and comparing the earlier situations with modern developments, it can be concluded that expansion and maintenance of productive changes will not only completely remove trade unions, but also contribute towards building up a sustainable environment in Vanuatu.
References
Bieler, A. (2015). Free trade and transnational labour. London: RoutledgeBottom of Form, p. 612.
Blackburn, D., Cross, C., Molinari, E. J., Menon, S., & Owens, D. (2016). Trade unions of the world. London : International Centre for Trade Union Rights, pp. 101-159.
Harrison, A. L. (2014). Business environment in a global context. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, pp. 312-320.
Lansford, T. (2014). Political handbook of the world 2014. Thousand Oaks, Calif: CQ Press, p. 131.
Levinson, C. (2013). International Trade Unionism (Routledge Revivals). Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, pp. 511-523.
Levinson, C. (2014). International trade unionism. London: Routledge, p. 89.
May, S. (2017). Capital-in-crisis: Trade unionism and the question of revolutionary agency. Oxford: Peter Lang, p. 451.
Northrup, C. C. (2014). Encyclopedia of world trade: From ancient times to the present. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, Boston, Massachusetts: Credo Reference, pp. 712.
Ortigueira, S. (2013). The Rise and Fall of Centralized Wage Bargaining. The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 115, 3, pp. 825-855.
Peetz, D., & Alexander, M. (2013). A synthesis of research on training of union delegates. Industrial Relations Journal, 44, 4, pp. 425-442.
Schoeman, H. C. (2013). The rights granted to trade unions under the Companies Act 71 of 2008. Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal, 16, 3, pp. 236-253.
Weber, E. (2017). Trade agreements, labour mobility and climate change in the Pacific Islands. Regional Environmental Change, 17, 4, pp. 1089-1101.
Woodward, K. (2014). A political memoir of the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides. Canberra, A.C.T.: Australian National University Press Bottom of Form, pp. 390-401. Bottom of Form
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