Editorial
Trade unionism in banks
Reform plan turns toothless
Dealing with trade unions that have become entrenched in many sectors of the economy has been problematic for successive administrations, and the current administration appears no closer to solving the impasse than any of its predecessors. The present government has compromised its earlier stance on chastening unruly trade unionists by dropping some proposals from a recently approved draft amendment to the Bank Company Act which would have given it teeth.The fact that the government is now backing away from some of the proposed changes to the law smacks of a populist pandering aimed at placating the powerful union leadership. The Daily Star has always supported the right of workers to form trade unions and to bargain collectively. We are not, however, for the abuse of such rights, especially when such abuse harms not only the business prospects of the affected industry, but also, ironically, the interests of the very workers that the unions are supposed to represent. Time and again, we have seen trade union leadership subordinating the interests of the institutions they profess to work for and the union members themselves to those of a particular political party or constituency. The entrenchment of such union leadership makes it difficult for management to function professionally in the best interest of the banks and other institutions and to enact needed reforms, and also for the work force to elect leadership that is more closely aligned to their interests. Currently, everyone, except for the union leadership, loses. Witness the recent proposals dropped from the amended Bank Company Act: a proposal limiting the union leadership's perks and privileges and another one aimed at curbing the harassment of bank officials. No rank and file union member would have been hurt by these measures, but the leadership would have been. Labour law reform is clearly needed. The unions must be delinked from political parties so that they serve their members' interests rather than that of their political masters. In addition, the membership percentage for forming a union or CBA needs to be raised from 33 percent to 51 percent to ensure that there can be only one legitimate union per industry, membership should be limited to those who work in the industry, and workers should be given the right to opt out of any collective bargaining agreement that they feel does not benefit them. As with many of the problems facing the country, simple steps to a solution exist. All that is needed is the political will.
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