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June, 2002 |
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Interview |
“Care for social demand”
Toshio A Suzuki Nikkeiren, the employers association of Japan, has been helping its Nepali counterpart The Employers Council of FNCCI in several aspects. Managing Director of Nikkeiren International Cooperation Centre Toshio A. Suzuki was in Kathmandu in May to conduct a program on globalization and enterprise development. Before catching the flight back home, Suzuki, who is also a member of Nikkeiren Policy Board and ILO Governing Body, shared his impressions about the industrial relations situation in Nepal. Excerpts from the interview: How do you find the industrial
relations in Nepal ? Going by the voice I heard during the discussions on the workshop, I find negative signs. But on the other hand I have also found that companies are actually discussing with the unions and they have been able to reach agreements for good employment conditions and good payment packages on the basis of good understanding of the corporate situation. During the coffee breaks, when talking informally with the employers, I found that they are quite willing to discuss the crux of the matter with the unions by using the database. Did you visit any workplace here to
have a first-hand feel of the situation ? I went to a biscuit factory in Kathmandu and I found it well maintained. People are very conscious of hygiene I also found them very well disciplined. What did you find from the labourers ? I talked to them through the interpreter. So, perhaps I may have got it wrong. But the impression I have got is that the workers are working hard because there is some good atmosphere. What difference do you find between
the situation here and in other developed countries ? So far as the workers in that factory are concerned, there is not much difference. They know how the company is doing and they are conscious of the business process. So I do not find much difference. But on the other hand, I also have a feeling gathered from talking to other employers that there are some union leaders who are just speaking against the business. But I don’t think it to be a general trend. There are good possibilities for the employers and workers to sit down together and talk. Is there any fundamental difference
between the employers and employees of Nepal and their counterparts in
other countries ? No, not at all. What you are noticing in Nepal is normal with the stage of development that Nepal is at present. Nepal is in that stage of structural adjustment where there is a growing shift of people from agriculture towards the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy. Such a move is quite visible here, whereas in other countries the mobility is rather stagnant. It is said that the trade unions here
are denominating over the employers. How is your observation ? No, I don’t think they are dominant. Their views and activities are better reported in the mass media. I see the unions here involved in politics very much. Therefore, they seem to be powerful. But actually they are not that powerful. What is your comment about the recent trends in the industrial relations in Nepal ? I find that the employer-employee negotiations are held more at the national level. That is not a healthy sign. The world trend today is that such negotiations are taking place at the enterprise level. I hope Nepal will follow the international trend. What do you say about the demand of
the employers here for right to “hire and fire” ? I think, the more basic principle is “no work, no pay”. What I say is that employer-employee relationship should be based on trust, not on the basis of “hire and fire”, which I think has more to do with the legal aspect. What are the issues in Nepal that need immediate attention with regards to the employer-employee relations ? Employer-employee relations are parts of the culture of the respective society. They differ from one place to another and from one enterprise to another. So generalizations can’t be made so easily. I can’t specify anything as priority number one or priority number two. However, the general principle does not change. For example, the enterprise objective is not always to make profit only. That may be true for the shareholders. But the enterprise has to cater to all kinds of stakeholders. This is the number one important thing. Would you highlight us about the mission of Nikkeiren ? Our mission is to educate the employers to make them able to fulfil their economic responsibilities. To fulfil these responsibilities it is not enough to understand the labour and social question only, the employers have to take some positive actions as well. What has been done so far in Nepal with Nikkeiren help ? We have been providing some opportunities to the employers here to study the situation in Japan and also elsewhere. We have also been suggesting to set up some fundamental database to be used by the employers, such as wage survey, corporate performance analysis etc. We are also helping employers in corporate planning to achieve corporate objectives. Would you please shed light on the
concept of life-time employment in Japan ? I was discussing the same issue in the workshop in response to a question. To tell you the truth, there is no life-time contract in Japan. Any job contract longer than one year is prohibited by law, so the worker is free to quit the company with 30 days notice and the employer is free not to hire the worker. That is the legality. But, as I told you, trust-relationship is more sustainable and therefore, both the worker and employer may like to continue working together for much longer period. What do you recommend Nepali employers
under the present conditions? From my several visits here what I have
found is that there has been good progress going on in terms of Human
Resource Development. There has been some kind of structural change
going on here. We saw the dissolution of parliament and many people were
expressing fear that there will be a period of political instability
for, may be, another six months or so. I presume, this in not a good
situation to run the business effectively. So, I have very few
suggestion to make and they are very common sense things. Employers
should know where they stand. They have to be righteous and strong
enough to influence the political system. What is important is that we need to look at the overall demand, not only on the consumer demand. We need to care for the housewives’ demand, children’s demand and also for politician’s demand. This gives us new business opportunities as well as new requirements. We should not close our eyes in front of such requirements. |
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