Time for the labour movements to change

Labour Q&A with Terry Bell

Fin24 user David Fienberg feels the labour unions have stayed behind while the world moved on. He writes:
 
Dear Terry

Watching global trends over recent years is it not time for the labour movements to CHANGE? I feel they have been beating the same old drum for decades and the world has moved on. It is leaving the labour movements behind and this is contributing to the split and in-fighting.
 
Rather than debating strikes, minimum wages and being generally unfriendly toward employers and those who could employ more people, should labour not be debating how to upskill their workforce and attract new higher tech industries?

I think I am right in saying countries who have done that are the ones with a larger percentage of employed people and are paying decent wages.

Terry Bell responds:  

Dear David,

I have to commend you for providing the most sensible comments I have received so far this year. However, I would argue that the issue is more nuanced than being a matter of either strikes, minimum wages and being unfriendly to employers or upskilling workforces and attracting higher tech industries.  

This is especially so at a time of an ongoing global economic crisis. And there is a history to be considered when looking at those countries (the "Asian Tigers" or even Sweden?) that educated workforces, upskilled and so benefitted economically. But, in five sentences, you have raised a wealth of issues that need examination.

You are also spot on in pointing out — and this seems to apply particularly to the SA context — that unions appear stuck in a time warp. In our case, the issue seems to be complicated by the influence (and distortions?) resulting from party political linkages.  

There is much to debate here and since examples such as South Korea have been flung at me by far less thoughtful commentators than yourself, I should, in my column, perhaps start by trying to widen the discussion about when and why certain countries/regions have scored economically.

Regards, Terry

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