Use and abuse of right to strike

Sq. Ldr. J. T. REX FERNANDO SLAF (Retd)

A trade union is an organisation of workers formed to promote, protect and improve through collective action, the social, economic and political interests of its members. While the philosophies of trade unions have gradually changed with the times, trade unions are essential entities in any democratic country and should be encouraged to represent the voice of the workers.

Regrettably in Sri Lanka, trade unions which were formed to protect the common interests of workers have become tools in the hands of power seeking selfish individuals who sacrifice the interests of the country and the workers, by launching ‘wild cat’ strikes.

During the past few months we have witnessed a surfeit of strikes, demonstrations, protest marches and fasts.

Year		No. of strikes/		Loss of
		work stoppage		man hours

1997		156			325,477
1998		122			270,145
1999		125			304,246
2000		87			64,481
2001		92			69,997
2002		104			70,250
2003		98			87,172
2004		90			81,100
2005		57			158,352
2006		52			4,895,148
2007		25			39,237

No strikes and loss of man hours from 
1997 to 2007.

Total Number of strikes	  	 Loss of man hours
1008                  	                 6,365,605

What is puzzling the public is the absence of any sense of responsibility and concern for the general public and the country as a whole. Apparently the union leaders fail to realise the irreparable devastating and paralysing effect on the economy. Offices are closed, people are subject to untold misery to run helter skelter in search of food, water and medicine. Schoolchildren and university undergraduates are unable to pursue the studies, and the sick in hospitals facing an unenviable trauma due to lack of power and water.

Ours is a developing country with limited resources and it is by higher productivity that we can ensure more foreign investments and economic development. Everyone accepts without dispute that investment is essential for development and a harmonious labour relation is an essential pre-requisite. Consequently, job creation is high up in the country’s priorities. Investors will be wary and apprehensive if they are not adequately certain that unions will act with a sense of responsibility.

Considering the economic predicament, the enormity of the security problem with an unprecedented escalation of terrorism any attempts to destabilise the country by wild cat strikes will inevitably have adverse effects on the economy. If the economy is given a further blow, the beneficiaries would surely not be the working class.

RIGHT TO STRIKE

Most democratic countries have reformed their trade unions to ensure that unions respond to wishes of the general membership. At present workers are coerced to strike, if they do not they are harrassed.

The right to strike is one of the most fundamental rights enjoyed by employees and unions and is an integral part of the right to defend their economic and social interests.

While the law in several countries expressly recognise the right to strike, in others strikes are prohibited. In some others limitations exist in regard to certain types of strikes eg. General strikes, stay in strikes, sympathetic strikes, strikes designed to inflict hardship on the community or to coerce the government.

In certain countries a strike, if it does not resolve furtherance of a trade union dispute within the industry concerned is prohibited. Strikes may be considered legal, but as a breach of the contract justifying dismissal as in Malaysia.

In Sri Lanka while the freedom of association is established in the Constitution and in Statute from, there is no express right to workers to go on strike.

ULTIMATE INSTRUMENT

A strike is meant to be the ultimate instrument in trade union action; not a political tool to destabilise a Government as in the case of the recent ‘General Strike’. What is worse is that strikes go against the work ethos; and no nation was built on strikes, but on hard ‘work harder for your larder’ was the slogan that broken-down Britain used to rebuild after the ravages of World War II.

It is not trade unionism to resort to strike action for the slightest grievance, which should be the ultimate weapon when negotiations fail.

The ‘Cart before the horse’ policy of striking first and then negotiating is alien to trade unionism. It is regrettable that even professionals, like the doctors and engineers have to restored to strikes at the drop of a hat before the authorities have had time to look into their grievances, regardless of loss of life that may ensue. In essential services, unlawful striking can be considered criminal negligence or even homicide.

The strikes and work stoppages which have been launched in recent years have denied the country of ‘hundreds of thousands’ working hours painting a gloomy picture in the minds of the investors and creating and adverse image of the country in the global community, apart from the untold hardships imposed on the public.

In 2006 the economy generated new jobs to only 60 per cent of those entering the university according to the Central Bank. The failure to create new jobs was not only due to the growth rate of 5.5 per cent, it was also due to labour rigidity, strikes and industrial unrest which drove away foreign investors and deterred local entrepreneurs from investing.

Public sector

A study of each of the major strikes, particularly by public sector employees, will indicate the devastating effect of each of these strikes, had on the economy and the untold hardships imposed on the general public. From the tabulation set out below one can possibly realise the devastating effect on the economy consequent to the loss of man hours.

The recent wild cat strikes launched by the doctors and certain sections of the Ceylon Electricity Board, Railway Employees, Para Medic and the hospital minor staff the recent strike by the trade unions of health sector employees of Ratnapura robbed the lives of three innocent patients.

These patients are from the poor and did not have the wherewithal to enter a private hospital. So these trade unions are apparently exercising power of life or death over a large section of our poor people.

Unions are essential entities in any democratic country and should be encouraged to represent the worker. The worker, however, must not be suckered into launching unreasonable industrial wars that would only lead to the closure of productive ventures. This will be eventually only hurting themselves, and the country.

The need for unions to maintain their independence without aligning themselves to any political party cannot be over emphasised. Unfortunately trade unionism in Sri Lanka is mostly inspired by political factions, with leaders aspiring to catapult themselves into the political arena by championing the causes of the workers.

It is in the larger interest, both of the workers and the country, that trade unions breakaway from the stranglehold of political parties. Politicians have created divisions among workers and those differences have stood in the way of worker’s unity, which is anathema to the ruling elite who seem to have borrowed a leaf out of the colonialists’ book on divide and rule policy.

Unless some meaningful action is taken to rid the country of strikes for frivolous reasons by the public sector trade unions, the day will not be too far when those given to ‘wild cat’ strikes will be strong enough to paralyse the whole country.