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PRB: negotiations take off in a strained atmosphere
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PRB: negotiations take off in a strained atmosphere
Trade unions have been in the forefront defending working conditions during the past few days. They strongly opposed the government’s plan to implement the National Wages Council (NWC) and made it clear they would boycott meetings of this tripartite committee. On the other hand, the Federation des Syndicats du Service Civil (FSSC) – representing the largest number of employees – made its recommendations to the Pay Research Bureau (PRB) yesterday with a view to improving the working conditions of all civil servants.
Unions have actually been protesting against the National Wages Council since its announcement by minister Sithanen in his budget speech. Today, the situation has remained unchanged, as trade unionists argue that “life is becoming increasingly expensive and it would be a crime not to grant wage compensation based on the inflation rate.”.
The new system proposes that wage compensation not only reflects inflation but also productivity and the employer’s capacity to pay his employees. 200 members of 13 union federations met last Wednesday and decided to start a boycott of the new council. They pointed out that the government never mentioned it in its electoral manifesto.
The ministry of Labour and Industrial Relations has kept on reassuring employees that they have nothing to lose in the new system. But unions have turned a deaf ear so far. In fact, the NWC will recommend a national wage compensation rate that all companies will have to pay. Then, every company will have collective negotiations to decide on the compensation together. However, unions fear that employers will not play the game and simply refuse collective negotiations.
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Through their boycott, trade unions hope that the government will finally accept to go back to the former system and agree to grant all employees a backpay compensation of Rs 800.
A few days later, the unions were again in the limelight with the FSSC making its recommendations to the PRB. That was done yesterday to help the PRB prepare its report for 2008, the sixth one since the PRB was set up in 1977.
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The acting president of the federation, Rashid Imrith, made it clear that the recommendations were not only aimed at improving wages and working conditions – the ultimate objective is the overall welfare of all civil servants. Among the proposals with that specific purpose in mind, the FSSC asked for the introduction of death leave on a strict scale (for example, seven days for the death of one’s parent and ten days for the death of one’s spouse). The increase of maternity leave and the introduction of paternity leave are other examples of proposals aiming at making the lives of civil servants more pleasant.
As for “more traditional” requests, the reduction of working hours from 40 to 35 a week is in a good position. As for wages, they request that the minimum wage goes from the present Rs 5,000 to Rs 16,500.
The increase in the amount of overtime is also an important point in the report submitted by the federation. They believe that civil servants doing overtime between 6 pm and 6 am should be paid twice the normal rate. As for those who work on Sundays and public holidays, they should be paid three times the normal rate, according to the federation.
Other federations of trade unions are expected to follow the lead of the FSSC. All are meant to focus on the improvement of working conditions for all civil servants. We only hope the proposals will be reasonable and responsible and that they will not promote the interests of certain sections of society at the expense of others.
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