The concept of conciliation

Court is being overwhelmed by cases. While the labour court has been deemed highly com-petitive, time factor has affected many people so much that by the time of judgment, recourse would have been eroded by inflation and other factors, such as death.

Some cases are taking years to clear, with feuding parties – especially the complainants – regretting taking that course of action which is apparently the longer route.
Alternatively, emphasis has been put on expeditious mediation and conciliation of labour cases by labour officers before parties can opt to go for arbitration or approaching the Labour Court.
It is against this background that the International Labour Organisation last week held a training workshop in Bvumba for 45 officers from the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare from across the country.

ILO regional director Mr John Brand – who is based in Pretoria, South Africa – facilitated the workshop and Mr Sylvain Baffi, an ILO programmes officer based at the International Training Centre in Turin, Italy. The workshop was aimed at developing participants’ knowledge and understanding of consensus-building approaches to conflict management and dispute resolution.
It was also aimed at enhancing participants’ skills and practical competence in consensus-based dispute resolution processes. Particular focus was on strengthening the capacity of the Labour Officers in handling extra-judicial of conciliation as part of the broader dispute resolution machinery in the country.

Processes like mediation and conciliation have increasingly been used across the world, because they help relieve pressure on the court system, which is often overloaded with cases.
This leads to delays and rising costs for both workers and employers. It is certainly the same case with the system in Zimbabwe where the Labour Court has been struggling to clear cases brought before it. The definition of “conciliation” as formulated by the ILO in 1983 refers to the practice by which the services of a neutral third party are used in a dispute as a means of helping the disputing parties to reduce extend of differences and arrive at an amicable settlement.

ILO standards provide useful guidance regarding conciliation, in particular core standards, the Freedom of Association, Convention No. 87, and the Right to Collective Bargaining Convention, No. 98, that lay the basis for democratic and stable labour relations.
The standards create a framework in which workers and employers can negotiate mutually beneficial agreements concerning workplace issues. Collective bargaining can be advantageous for both workers and employers. It provides workers with an opportunity to engage collectively with the employer regarding the improvement of their wages and working conditions.

For employers, collective bargaining can play a significant role in promoting and maintaining industrial peace and provide an opportunity for parties to engage on issue modernisation and restructuring.
In the event that dispute arise where parties to collective bargaining processes are unable to conclude agreements, parties can chose to have their dispute resolved through conciliation and mediation. Like collective bargaining, the process of conciliation and mediation enables parties to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes which meet their underlying needs and concerns, rather than having their dispute adjudicated by a third party.

There are some very particular ILO instruments dealing with dispute prevention and settlement such as the Voluntary Conciliation and Arbitration Recommendation, 1951 (No. 92).
It recommends that voluntary conciliation should be made available to assist in the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes between employers and workers.
It further recommends that such procedures should include equal representation of employers and workers, should be free and expeditious and that provision should be made to allow the parties to enter into conciliation voluntarily.

Dispute resolution is further addressed under the Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154), which provides that bodies and procedures for the settlement of disputes should be designed to contribute to the promotion of collective bargaining.
With respect to the public sector, the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) provides that the settlement of disputes over the terms and conditions of employment is to be sought through

independent and impartial machinery, such as mediation, conciliation and arbitration. These should be established in such a manner as to ensure the confidence of the parties involved. The Examination of Grievances Recommendation, 1967 (No. 130) addresses dispute resolution at the enterprise level, including rights dispute over alleged violations of collective agreements. The instrument sets out a number of recommendations on the development and implementation of workplace dispute mechanisms.

This is with emphasis on the importance of preventive measures such as sound personnel policy and cooperation between social partners on decisions that affect workers. Other ILO instruments make reference to the role of the labour administration in resolving disputes.

One example is the Labour Administration Recommendation, 1978 (No. 158). It provides that the competent bodies within the system of labour administration should be in a position to provide, in agreement with the employers’ and workers’ organisations concerned, conciliation and mediation facilities, appropriate to national conditions, in case of collective disputes.

The ILO has been extending support to Zimbabwe through the tripartite partners to entrench the principles outlined in the conventions and recommendations mentioned in this article.
It is also supporting the ongoing process of labour reform and some of the principles so far agreed for the harmonisation of legislation relate to the strengthening of the dispute resolution mechanism in Zimbabwe.

The establishment of an alternative dispute resolution system is the key element to achieving this process.
The ILO supported a study that looked at the feasibility of establishing such a system in Zimbabwe and it pointed out the need and possibility of such a system.

This support is being realised under the umbrella of the Decent Work Country Programme for Zimbabwe, which is the distinct ILO contribution to United Nations country programmes in support of national development priorities. It is part of the elements on the strengthening of social dialogue and tripartism and particularly on strengthening of the labour administration system. The DWCP adopted in 2009, ends this year and preparations of the next programme have already been initiated.