Tv6 Interview With Kenneth Dalip (Part I)

Part I

Q:  Are the Unions Demands unreasonable? How does the Private Sector view these demands?

A: The Private Sector is suffering a lot at this time because the Economic conditions in the country are not very strong and our main markets for exports are very weak.  We are not making sufficient inroads into foreign markets.  Companies which once had manufacturing plants in Trinidad and Tobago are finding it more economical to go into Latin America and set up factories.

Q:  Why are the productivity levels at an all time low?    How can employers solve these productivity issues?

A:  First of all we have to recognize that there is a major problem. If you look at the World Economic Forum’s 2010-2011 Report on Competitiveness, we as a country rank 84th out of a total of 139 countries that were surveyed.  That is not good because we rank at the bottom half of the ladder.  We would like to transform that low ranking by a vision for the entire country, with the private sector leading in terms of productivity.  Government has already said it would be facilitators for industry.  To achieve this then, we must talk partnership.  Through partnership, we must transform talk into action. We must work together with the labor movement and our employees and demonstrate a clear vision of where we want to go at the enterprise level.  A National Competitiveness and Innovation Council was set up.  However it has not made any tangible impact on any part of the economy as far as I am aware.

Q: Why have we set up these councils, committees, associations and they don’t seem to be effecting the change that we need?

A: We have seen it work elsewhere, like in Singapore and Japan but we have not analyzed why it is not working in Trinidad.  In my view, we should not wait for these councils and committees to generate ideas but we must take it head on.  In fact, I have worked with several organizations in the private sector. In fact, the one I am working with now, for example has undergone major transformation – improving productivity.  An easy formula to work with is People, Processes and Technology.  Management has control over the technology and would make the investments.  The Processes is a management function but the people make it happen.  If we don’t understand that we have to work with them by making them productive and by creating the environment in which they have to function, then it is pointless to talk about productivity.

Q:  Do you think that the Unions are helping the process of cultural  change or are they hindering it?

A: Well I do not think that it helps us to ascribe blame at this stage but rather to look forward.  They can help by shifting the conversation in which they have tried to engage employers.  What they have been talking about is increases but not how they are going to pay for those increases.  In other words, the argument could be shifted from “you need more money” because there is inflation in the economy to “you are able to generate more revenue” and therefore you would like to share in that revenue.  There is a concept called productivity bargaining which has taken root in other societies and I think that is where we should go.

Q:      But we do not measure productivity well do we?

A:        We do not measure productivity at the national level but there are opinions

about productivity levels as well as narratives about low productivity. We need to engage individual employers in Trinidad and Tobago in measuring productivity and in fact, there are a number of them who already measure productivity and pay accordingly and bonuses are also linked to that productivity.

Q:      What are your thoughts on non-wage forms of compensation?

A:        I think that is a very important part of the package.

Q:      But the Unions do not bother with this do they?

A:        Some unions are better at it than others, but in my view, the initiative must come from the employers.  The unions generally will respond to the employers.  It is not something that the unions will find popular.  You must remember the structure and politics of a Trade Union.  For example, if the people that they represent are pushing them in one direction and they have to face an election in a year or so, the leaders will be mindful of that since their positions are at stake.  Whereas the employers are in a position where they have a responsibility to do a job, get results and they have to embrace the trade unions and assist them in coming along to that point where they are in favor of productivity as opposed to just looking for increases.

Q:      Mr. Dalip, why is it that we’re not seeing more of this collaborative process, this Dialogue.  Why is it that you get the impression that employers are not willing to sit down at the table and really hammer out these details.

A:        In my experience that is not common, whether or not there are unions in the organizations.  In fact employers have no choice but to engage employees and trade unions in that conversation.

This is the first of a two–part series based on a TV6 television interview with Chairman of the Chamber’s Industrial Relations Committee, Kenneth Dalip, conducted by Hayden Blades on August 7, 2011 which discussed the current state of industrial unrest and strategies for moving forward. Part II appears next week