MANY progressive and successful organisations have long realised the immense value that is added by a well-trained workers’ committee working with managerial employees who have good people management skills.

For the workers’ committee to add or not to add value depends largely on the labour relations skills of the board and the Human Resources of the board, in terms of labour relations policy making. 

If the board makes labour relations policies that are not productivity-focused and devoid of human relations, the workers are unlikely to add value as there will be frequent conflict between senior management and workers’ committee.

Where the CEO and the heads of department have no labour relations skills there is frequent conflict between senior management and the workers’ committee and the position can be worsened where the executive team also starts war with workers. 

If the managerial or non-managerial workers’ committee is to add value, labour relations must be founded on a well-crafted workers’ committee constitution whose objectives cater for both business and workers’ interests.

The employer should put in place a handbook for guiding supervisors relating with worker leadership and all in supervisory positions must be trained on their role as guided by the handbook. 

The handbook should cover such things as basics of employee relations, the role of the workers’ committee, the place of the works council in the work- place including an appendix that has the workers’ committee constitution.

It must also cover the place of the supervisor and the head of department in labour relations and how they can utilise the workers’ committee to add value. 

In detail things like how workers will be released to attend meetings, how workers’ leaders will attend to workers’ problems during working hours, how performance targets will be communicated to workers and what roles the workers’ committee would play. Coverage should also include how productivity will be driven in the department, how problem employees will be jointly handled, how grievances will be handled, how disciplinary cases will be handled, how conflicts will be handled, how success will be shared and many others.

In conclusion, if all these are done, teamwork flourishes and the workers’ committee becomes part of the organisation’s success story and not a problem.

• Davies Ndumiso Sibanda can be contacted on:

Email: [email protected]