Trade union formation and collective agreement
ArticleS 11&12 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana provides that the worker, regardless of being casual, permanent or temporary, has the right to join any association or trade union.
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Section 79(1) of the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651) also provides that “every worker has the right to form or join a trade union of his or her choice for the promotion and protection of the worker’s economic and social interest”.
What then is a trade union? A trade union is an association of working people formed to safeguard the working conditions of the workers. Its main objective is to protect workers, improve security and raise the vocational status of members.
A trade union can either be enterprise service or trade-based with majority of them affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and others to the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL). There are other professional trade unions like the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT).
In the formation of a trade union, Section 79 of the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651) provides the guidelines as follows: Registration with the Registrar General’s Department, application to the Labour Department, union notifying the employer of the intention to form a union, union and employer discuss the classes and levels of workers to be unionised members, union applies for a collective bargaining certificate, election of local union leaders and finally the issuance of a certificate.
However, one most important practice in trade unionism is the negotiation for a collective agreement to govern the relationship between the employer and the employees. The compilation of this document has been a bone of contention between management and union representatives.
While management fails sometimes to recognise the presence of unions, thus dragging their feet to constituting such a document for workers, the union also feels workers’ rights per the constitution are being trampled upon, thus being an impediment on the way of unions to seek the welfare of workers.
The Collective Bargaining is a method or process of conducting negotiations about wages and working conditions and other terms of employment between an employer and group of employers, or employers association on the one hand and the representatives of workers and their organisations on the other.
Generally, the process is intended for the parties in the negotiation to arrive at collective agreements. Collective bargaining is also recognised as the central feature of democratic industrial relation systems and the most desirable and normal means of regulating contracts of employment.
In effect, it is a document that spells out the dos and don’ts, rules and regulations for the parties.
The parties, which are employers and employees, are consequently bonded by this agreement. This enables parties to bargain on equal terms, taking into account demands, counter-proposals, discussions and opposing arguments, interrupted by periods of separate deliberations, all in the hope of improving their livelihoods.
The bargaining process.
Where large numbers of workers are involved, collective bargaining takes place annually or every two years, but where the workforce is small, it might be at certain shorter and frequent intervals.
Pursuant to the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), Section 96-111, discussions on collective agreement shall be based on negotiation in good faith.
Here, parties shall negotiate in good faith, making every effort to reach an amicable agreement. Again, all parties shall make available to the other party information relevant to the subject matter for negotiation. Where an amicable solution is arrived at, the employment relationship is advanced and the parties co-exist in peace and in harmony.
But in the event of exhausting all the internal procedures of negotiation and the issue remaining unresolved, the best solution and alternative is to seek the intervention of the National Labour Commission (NLC), the body mandated by law to facilitate and settle industrial dispute.
The formation of a trade union is, therefore, a blessing and not a curse, where the slightest friction between partners in the employment relationship should end up in strikes.
The writer is Public Relations Officer , National Labour Commission