Transcript presentation - Conference of the Regulating for Decent Work Network

Two Sides to Better Work:
Worker and Management perceptions of the impact of BW Lesotho
Kelly Pike, York University, Canada
Shane Godfrey, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Regulating for Decent Work, Geneva: Friday, July 10, 2015
Outline of Today’s Talk
• Background context
• Motivation for study
• Research questions
• Hypotheses
• Data collection
• Findings
• 1. Worker perceptions
• 2. Management perceptions
• 3. Comparing worker-manager perceptions
• Conclusions
Map of Lesotho
Motivation For Comparative Study
• ‘Before and after’ data collected with both workers and
managers
• Unique opportunity to compare two sides of the story
• Common critique of CSR is literature is that it lacks
worker voice
• Critique of ‘worker perceptions’ study in Lesotho that it did
not consider management’s input
Research Questions
• What do worker and manager perceptions in 2013/14 tell us
about the impact of the BWL programme in Lesotho?
• Is there agreement between workers and managers on the issues
on which BWL has had an impact? If so, to what degree?
Hypotheses: 6 possible outcomes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Agreement between workers and managers on positive
improvements to a set of compliance issues
Agreement between workers and managers that there has been
no improvement (or even a decline)
Disagreement between workers and managers, with workers
indicating positive improvements and managers indicating no
improvements (or even a decline)
Disagreement between workers and managers, with managers
indicating positive improvements and workers indicating no
improvement (or even a decline)
Mix of agreement and disagreement on an issue by issue basis,
or agreement but with workers and managers differing in the
strength of their perceptions that there had been an improvement
There were certain issues that were addressed in worker and
management interviews that cannot be directly compared
Data Collection
Workers
Managers
2011/12
17 focus groups with 149
workers; 129 questionnaires
1-2 interviews per firm at 10 firms
2013/14
20 focus groups with 141
workers; 230 questionnaires
6-8 interviews per firm at 7 firms
Findings: Worker Perceptions
• Workers report significant improvements in health and
safety
• Receive PPE more frequently
• Training on fire safety and emergency preparedness
• Improvements in health and safety at home
• e.g. First Aid, hygiene, air circulation, fire safety
2011
2013
Received PPE
48%
72%
OSH policy
39%
71%
Osh training
13%
26%
Findings: Worker Perceptions
• Workers view PICC as effective tool, instrument of change
• Improved communication and relations between
workers and supervisors
• Effective for identifying and resolving workplace issues
• Aided by Supervisory Skills Training offered by BWL
• Has also led to improvements in communication and
relations at home
• Less stress at work means less stress at home
• Workers report being more open, calm, playful with children
• Men and women more open with each other at home
• Trying to share responsibilities, budget better, resolve conflicts calmly
Findings: ‘Improvements vs. Problems’
60.00%
25.00%
20.00%
50.00%
15.00%
10.00%
40.00%
5.00%
0.00%
PICCs
30.00%
Contracts & HR Sup relations
Communication and relations
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
OSH
Communication &
Relations
Working Time
Compensation
Discrimination
FOA & CB
Findings: Management Perceptions
• Somewhat surprisingly, managers not concerned that
BWL had not led to more orders
• Some senior managers suggest workers feel more secure
and satisfied in their work because of BWL
• “Likely” to have impacted positively on productivity and quality
• Supervisors link improvements in communication with
improvements in productivity and quality because there
are less interruptions due to arguments, fewer mistakes
• HR managers have more time to develop proactive HR
initiatives to improve productivity and quality
Findings: Management Perceptions
• Managers believe one of the biggest improvements since
BWL is that of communication between workers and all
levels of management, in particular with supervisors
• Shift in mind-set of supervisors has led to reduction in
verbal and physical abuse of workers
• Managers highlight the role of both the PICCs and BWL
training in improving communication and relations, and
solving problems
Findings: Management Perceptions
• All managers and supervisors agree BWL has had a
major impact on health and safety
• They believe it has been enhanced in part because
workers now understand the need for rules regarding
OSH
• Managers pleased with BWL training but want more
Findings: Comparative Analysis
• Areas of significant improvement on which workers and
managers agree
• Communication and Relations
• Both workers and managers attribute improvements to PICC and
supervisory skills training
• However, workers see a bigger role played by PICCs and do not
perceive the same degree of improvements in supervisor relations
• Health and Safety
• Both workers and managers see major improvements here
• Additionally, workers feel the PICCs are an effective tool for addressing
and resolving OSH issues
• Furthermore, workers notice improvements in health and safety at home
Findings: Comparative Analysis
• Differences of emphasis between workers and managers
regarding improvements
• When talking about compliance with minimum standards,
workers spoke about OSH but also alluded to improvements in
contracts and HR, compensation, working time, discrimination, and
freedom of association (though they also identified persistent
problems in each of these areas as well)
• Managers spoke only about improvements in OSH
• Might be explained by priority to improve OSH and getting behind BWL
on a ‘special mission’ to target improved OSH
• Could point to lack of sustainability if not part of a more holistic
management strategy to address all problem areas
• Managers’ perceptions suggested the emergence of a pluralist
approach to labour relations, whereas workers also saw some
change but emphasized due to presence of BWL
Conclusions
• Possible outcome 1: Agreement between workers and
managers on positive improvements to a set of
compliance issues
and
• Possible outcome 5: Mix of agreement and disagreement
on an issue-by-issue basis, or agreement but with
workers and managers differing in the strength of their
perceptions that there had (or not) been an improvement
Conclusions
• Degree of overlap highly encouraging
• Possibly linked to BW strategy of improving compliance without
negatively impacting supplier competitiveness
• As well as increased social dialogue between stakeholders, and
through mechanism of PICCs
• Significant improvement but off a low base, long way to go
• To achieve sustainable improvements, need effective
management systems in place
• Inconsistent improvements across factories might be explained by
lack of adequate systems for institutionalizing and enforcing
compliance
• Increases risk of ad-hoc fixes
• Address the issue of technical skills transfer for local supervisors