adminDavies Ndumiso Sibanda Labour matters
ONE of the most talked about contracts in local government circles is the performance contract which is also very much misunderstood resulting in the country approaching it from an expensive and legally risky route. There is talk of the government wanting to extinguish existing contracts without limit of time that many officers in local government hold. If that is true the process will require retrenching the employees, a thing that the government cannot afford meaning that the whole process can stall at that point. It must be noted that in terms of present labour laws variation of employees contract requires mutual agreement. It becomes even more complex where the employer wants to substitute a more attractive contract without limit of time with an inferior fixed term contract.
Other issues that would have to be dealt with are possibility of employees litigating and objecting to the change of contracts. At that point the government could struggle to justify the change of contracts, more so if the workers argue that the basis of the problem is performance rather than changes in the business of government necessitating changes in contracts.
Where parties agree to negotiate the negotiations can go on for years considering the bureaucratic nature of government and possible legal brakes that parties can introduce along the way especially when matters like conditions of service are discussed. Questions related to what happens to benefits, chances of re-engagement, existing contractual rights like pension, medical aid, children’s fees, use of motor vehicle, salaries and others will arise and could take time to resolve.
I am of the view that it is more business prudent and likely to lead to better results if the government left local government employees with their existing contracts and if they want to introduce fixed term contracts they apply them to new employees. All employees can be made to then enter into performance agreements with local government. This will achieve the same results as performance contracts but at no cost to the government.
We also need to appreciate that management of performance contract is not as easy as many consultants put it. It requires that the performance management format be agreed to and accepted by both parties and must be capable of being objectively evaluated with very little room for subjectivity. The roles to be played by each party must be clear and agreed. Further, the method must be capable of responding to environmental changes.
In our present economic environment, if the performance management programme is to work effectively, realistic targets capable of being supported by limited cash inflows must be put in place and an enabling environment must be created and thereafter each party has to deliver on its agreed obligation, a very tall order in the present environment meaning that it could be difficult to hold an employee accountable.
Another thing that we have to take into consideration is that a fixed term contract by its very nature compromises job security meaning that most employees on fixed term contracts will start looking for alternative employment elsewhere and with a shortage of local governance skills in the region, we easily lose some to neighbouring countries. Some will engage in moonlighting so that when their contracts end, they have something to hold on to.
We also need to accept that contracts without limit of time allow the organisations to build capacity over a long time and we cannot afford to rebuild capacity every few years. The argument that people will be re-engaged is not always useful as towards the end of their fixed-term contracts people start preparing for life after the contract has ended and many might not be available for re-engagement.
In conclusion, it is better to leave employees on contracts without limit of time but introduce performance agreements that are capable of being correctly managed. The biggest challenge is capacitating councillors to manage the performance of the management team as it required a huge investment in performance management.
Davies Ndumiso Sibanda can be contacted on:
email:[email protected] or cell number 0772 375 235
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Bongani Ndlovu