Labor Issues

Labor Issues Warning on Privation: Labor Issues Warning on Privation In 2003, the World Bank called for the disposal of some 220 publicly owned enterprises in the paper, food, and textile sectors in order to free up state funds for socioeconomic development and poverty alleviation. Meanwhile, the IMF pledged some $500 million in aid over the next three years to help the government implement a state divestiture program that targets some 100 companies for sale by 2005. In mid-September 2003, 11 unions organized a one-day nationwide stoppage to protest the government’s privatization plans.

If fully implemented, the program could result in the loss of as many as 150,000 jobs, and it is this prospect that prompted action by the unions. However, the finance ministry contends that inefficient state-owned enterprises cost the government more than $500 million each year, and the government appears to be committed to moving forward with privatization.

How can the process of restructuring and privatisation be better managed in order to minimize the social and economic costs to workers and the economy as a whole? What can be done to assist SOE workers for whom job alternatives are few and social security is inadequate? In what way could labour management relations become a positive factor for more socially responsive restructuring? There are enterprises that have undertaken steps to improve industrial relations and consultations between employers-management and workers; these could be the basis for more pro-active ways of managing the social and labour issues of restructuring and privatization.