LABOUR LAWS AND Unit 4, section 2: Why occupational
WHY OCCUPATIONAL health and
HEALTH ANDsafety is an industrial
SAFETY IS AN relation
UNIT 4 SECTION
INDUSTRIAL 2
RELATIONS issue INDUSTRIAL RELATION ISSUE
Hello! You may be wondering why occupational health and safety is being
discussed in an industrial relations module. Well, this is an attempt to help
you understand why health and safety at work is an industrial relations
issue. We trust you will find this section insightful and informative. Enjoy
your reading.
By the end of the section, you should be able to:
explain the relationship between Industrial Relations and Occupational
Health and Safety.
Now read on……………….
What is industrial relations?
Industrial relations as the name suggest is essentially about relationships and
interactions that exist within industry or the labour market. These
relationships are usually between or among
Employers and their employees
Employers’ organizations, employee organizations (Trade unions) and
the government.
Workers and other workers etc.
These relationships and interactions are often governed by rules and
regulations and so can be regarded as a system of rules regulating
employment. Most of these rules and regulations are derived from
international labour standards of the International Labour Organizations
(ILO). You will learn more about the ILO in the next Unit.
The system described above is a normative system where a norm can be
seen as a rule or pattern, which is generally accepted and agreed as the basis
upon which the parties concerned should operate and from which deviations
could be made only by agreement.
The various parties in industrial relations have different interest and
therefore different roles to play in the traditional relation system.
The employer
The employer is essentially interested in profit surpluses and the survival of
the organization. In an attempt to achieve the high profits, employers tend to
cut down the cost of other expenses and often, the cost of labour is affected.
The cost of providing safe and healthy work environment tends to be proned
to these expenditure cuts.
The worker
The worker is also interested in the survival of the organization but not in
high profits. Rather, the worker is interested in high wages and good
working conditions of which occupational health and safety is a part.
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Trade unions
Trade unions are voluntary organizations formed by workers in order to
fight for improved conditions of their members at work. Traditionally, they
exist to redress the balance of power between employers and employees. In
other words, they exist to let management know that, they cannot take
workers for granted and that there will be, from time to time, alternative
views on issues affecting employees. Trade unions through collective
bargaining, try to promote and protect the interest of their members. In fact,
the existence of trade unions has been recognized from time immemorial
and there are many ILO conventions which guide their activities. The
activities of trade unions are numerous but are usually grouped under terms
of employment and conditions of service. It is the work of trade unions to
ensure that workers work under very good health and safety environment.
This they do with particular reference to issues pertaining to accidents, the
need for adequate ventilation, adequate light and free from excessive noise.
Thus traditionally, the terms under which people work are negotiated
between workers’ representatives and their employers. The main procedure
used by trade unions is through collective bargaining.
The government
The government plays a dual role in industrial relations – as a state and as
an employer. As a state, it has the responsibility to promote socio-economic
development within which industries could thrive and within which citizens
could enjoy satisfactory livelihood. In view of this, the state is interested in
maintaining harmony between employers and employees which can
potentially help the growth of industry and eventually lead to socio-
economic development.
Relationship between Industrial Relations and OHS
From the interest of the employer discussed above, it can be seen that if left
unchecked, the employer will hardly provide Occupational Health and
Safety measures because they are expensive and will go against the main
objective of capitalism.
It can also be seen that the worker is vulnerable in relation to the employer
and so in a situation where jobs are difficult to come by, workers have the
tendency to compromise their safety due to fear of displeasing the employer
and consequently losing their jobs. The argument in favour of insisting that
conviction in the absence of such insistence, workers are susceptible to
exploitation by their employers. In this regard, trade unions often come in to
provide a collective voice for workers. They bargain on their behalf and
insist that the right things concerning health and safety at work are done.
Also, if the government fails to provide an enabling environment,
businesses cannot thrive to serve as employers in the first place. On other
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hand, if the right of the citizens are trampled on unchecked, the government
will be losing as a state, unable to protect its citizens.
Once Occupational Health and Safety standards are met, a peaceful and
harmonious industrial relations environment is bound to exist and this is a
compelling reason why OHS should be treated as an industrial relations
issue.
Another reason why Occupational Health and Safety issues are not left to
the discretion of the employer but treated as an industrial relations issue is
the human reason. When accidents occur a lot more people suffer than the
victim alone. The family of the victim suffers, even the entire business
environment in the country suffers in the sense that, investors tend to be
reluctant to invest in a country with a lot of industrial accidents.
Thus, the need to strike a balance between the employers’ needs and
interests as well as the need and interests of the employees and the wider
society is what makes Occupational Health and Safety an industrial relations
issue.
Industrial relations are essentially the relationships and interactions between
and among workers, their employers and the wider society, which is often
represented by government. Though the interactions are governed by rules
and regulations, the various parties in industrial relations have differing
interests and needs one such area of difference is Occupational Health and
Safety. The good news however is that through the operating structures of
Industrial Relations, some balance between the differing interests is
achieved, leading to peace and harmony.
Self-Assessment Questions
1) State one reason why occupational health and safety is given a legal
backing as an Industrial Relations Issue.
2) State the paramount interest of the employer
3) State one basic interest of trade unions
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