There are those who describe trade unions as rise and fall stories but I am reluctant to write their obituary. Like the phoenix, they could be rising again.
Employee relations is one of the most important areas of study and practice but one that is, paradoxically, ignored in our country. No wonder it has faced enormous change over the years.
Although some may debate this, I believe employee relations is a newer term for industrial relations. Human resource management has adopted this term for two major reasons.
First, it's seen as being more strategic in approach, promising a good employee relations climate devoid of labour unrest and antagonistic relationships between trade unions and employers.
Second, the term is more encompassing and goes beyond the employer-trade union relationship. It covers aspects beyond the narrow traditional focus.
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Undoubtedly, despite our challenges, we have made significant strides as a country on the human resource management front.
However, even five decades after independence, there is still a lot of work to be done.
We seem not to have learnt how to deal with labour unrest, including strikes in the public service. The time is ripe for a national conversation on how we can forge partnerships within a tripartite framework.
We acknowledge the cost of labour strikes on our economy yet we rarely revisit employee relations unless there is a strike.
In our reactive approach, the threat of a strike always hangs over us like the famous sword of Damocles. The doctors' strike serves as a chilling reminder that we are far from being out of the woods.
High reward differentials remain the single most prominent cause of unrest among employees. To address this malignant problem, we need a multi-pronged intervention at national and organisational levels.
The wind of change has been blowing fast as far as employee relations is concerned but we seem unable to catch up with its magnitude and speed.
Looking back on our history, you will find that polarised industrial relations existed even then.
The exploits of the dock workers' union, among other unions, are well documented. India, Japan, the US and Britain, among others, witnessed the militancy of trade unions. In Britain, some argue that unions have never recovered from the post-Thatcher years.
Today, signs of trade union recovery and the regaining of power are evident across the world. This implies that suppressing unions is a bad strategy that is usually short-lived.
In Kenya, there is a sound legal framework surrounding employee relations. The labour laws of 2007 serve as a good template for maintaining employee relations and solving labour disputes.
Actually, the Constitution grants both employers and employees rights to advance their interests. Additionally, it provides for employees' right to picket and go on strike.
The recurrence of strikes merely points to a defective employee relations strategy.
The endemic strikes also catapult to the fore the fact that since independence, we have failed to learn and put in place relevant mechanisms for employees, employers and trade unions to co-exist as strategic partners rather than foes.
The matter of employee relations has a great impact on organisational performance, yet it rarely occupies any discourse in the management of human resources in our organisations.
And yet, there seems to be an almost perfect correlation between the two concepts. We can even extend that and argue that employee relations in the public service plays a role in national development.
Indeed, it dovetails well with the eighth sustainable development goal adopted recently.
Universities in Kenya have not developed programmes to produce specialist employee relations experts as happens in other countries where you will find specialist post-graduate degrees in this field.
