Online Reporter
The Herald, 26 June 1986
WORKER participation in management decisions will channel the national efforts towards the fulfilment of the first Five-Year National Development Plan, the Minister of Labour, Manpower Planning and Social Welfare, Cde Frederick Shava, said here yesterday.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Governor of Matabeleland North, Senator Jacob Mudenda, the minister told a two-day seminar on labour participation, job ownership and the share economy, that a worker who was involved in decision-making would become more productive, motivated and responsible for the benefit of the country’s economy.
Cde Shava said the introduction of management committees should not be viewed with suspicion as had happened with the workers’ committees. The introduction of management committees would be methodical and well-co-ordinated to ensure smooth integration.
The minister congratulated those enterprises that had already started involving their workers in profit-sharing, self-management or co-determination. He said the Government had urged and encouraged the formation of management committees on every enterprise in Zimbabwe where workers and management would be represented at decision-making levels.
The seminar, organised by the Zimbabwe Promotion Council, is being attended by 35 participants from trade unions, the Employers’ Confederation, the Ministry of Labour, Manpower Planning and Social Welfare, co-operatives, parastatals and also include company executives.
“The Government has been determined to place the worker at the centre of the development process. The need for such a bias towards the worker was based on the primary fact that the worker should not be treated as merely another statistical unit of production,” said the minister.
The Labour Relations Act was the legal instrument through which the Government’s ideological commitment to the entrenchment of the worker’s rights and the protection and promotion of their interests, would be attained. The Minimum Wages and the Employment Acts of 1980 were for protecting workers and raising their living standards, he said.
Lessons for today
- The idea of involving workers in management (often called worker participation or co-determination) is widely recognised globally and has been successfully applied in some countries and companies. However, its success depends heavily on implementation.
- It increases productivity especially When workers are involved in decisions, they feel valued, understand company goals better and work harder toward shared success.
- Involving workers in management results in higher efficiency and better performance because it would have improved motivation and morale. Workers stop feeling like “just employees” and become partners in the organisation. This reduces conflict between labour and management.
- Worker participation is a powerful idea, but it succeeds only when it is genuine, well-managed, and supported, not just a policy on paper.
