Meet to discuss labour issues as firms make costly errors

The CHRM principal Margaret Kinyanjui.

A series of workshops to look into employment relations is set for Kilifi next month. The Labour Relations Symposium by the College of Human Resources Management (CHRM) will be held between March 11 and 13.

The college, which has been holding such symposia for the last two years, points out that labour relations is an inexhaustible area of discussion as most employers have great difficulty in striking a balance between the legally right and best practice.

"Judging from the numerous employee related cases at the labour courts, it is evident that organisations have a serious problem in handling employee issues within the stipulated laws,” says Margaret Kinyanjui, the CHRM principal.

She states that multinationals have been faced with major lawsuits and ordered to pay because ‘small’ legally sound procedures were not handled well within the law.

Kinyanjui says “contrary to popular belief, employee and labour relations no longer exist in isolation. It is linked to all managerial and supervision at all levels.” 

She said in numerous cases, when there is a problem, it is often left to HR departments to deal with. But most of these issues stem mostly from line managers.