Dr Anthony N Sabga, chairman emeritus of the ANSA Mc AL Group has called on the Employers Consultative Association (ECA) to reposition itself and create more innovative solutions to cleanse the bleak industrial climate overshadowing T&T. "We exist today in an adversarial climate. The Government and the unions are locked in another bitter dispute. What makes this different from previous years is the uncertainly of the times we live in. The ECA is one of the oldest industry groups in the country. Not very long ago, the ECA was the premier business representative group in the country. The ECA bridged the gap between employers and the union movement. It helped in the resolution of conflicts. The ECA was consulted by the Ministry of Labour and other major industry association on all employment issues," he said. Dr Sabga added: "The maintenance of those roles and that influence, today, is crucial to our country's success. How can the ECA help to re-shape the present social and economic situation into one which we can all benefit from, rather than one where we all lose?" The chairman emeritus of the ANSA McAL Group was speaking at Wednesday's inaugural Leadership Lecture Series conceptualised by the ECA and held at the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency • Continued from Page A34 Trinidad. The event was sponsored by energy company, Atlantic.
Dr Sabga underscored the need for the relationship between unions and the Government to be revisited:
• We need strategies that will make companies profitable and have workers satisfactorily provided for;
• In the new paradigm of highly mobile employees, should employees be bound to a union in order to seek remedies at the Industrial Court?
• What is the position where employees are pressured into endorsing strike action which they do not support?
• Should local trade disputes (in one sector or a group company) be allowed to become national issues?
• Are unions accountable for irresponsible behaviour? This includes for example resisting mandatory drug and alcohol testing for workers?
• How can salary increases be justified without a measurable increase in productivity? If wages continue to go up, but we produce no more, are we making ourselves competitive?
While the questions may seem confrontational, said Dr Sabga, he believed that they must be addressed. Dr Sabga recalled having both good and bad experiences with union leaders on forming ANSA Industries back in 1964. The first thing he did was invite labour unions to come in and talk to staff.
The environment created in that business, said Dr Sabga, was such that the employees decided they were better off without the unions' representation. He said this was achieved not only because workers were motivated, but they felt they worked in a company they owned. "ANSA Industries was a huge success story. We were able to see a 120 per cent return on capital within two years. A few years later, when we took over the clay plant in Longdenville, Chaguanas, the country was in serious economic trouble and the industry had changed. The industry was no longer protected. We told the union that the money was simply not there. We could either shut the plant, or everyone could take a wage cut, but remain employed. I believe many of the workers understood this, and they were willing to take a pay cut," he said.
Dr Sabga added: "But the union, the OWTU in this case, would not hear of it and we shut the plant. Everybody lost. The plant remained closed for six months and when we re-opened, it was with new technology, which made it cost efficient." As Dr Sabga worked to carve out a more productive future for T&T, he admitted to this country's history is one of "confrontation" and a national personality that seemed built for "bacchanal". He said, however, education was ideal in advancing the national psyche. "People can return to school at night or evenings and begin new careers. Armed with education, the prospect of companies and industries closing down would be less frightening. This new emphasis on education can be of benefit to everyone. The ideas employees learn can directly affect our day-to-day operations.
"One of the ways I have discovered change is through listening to my employees, especially the younger ones. Many times, their ideas might not be what the occasion needs, but even if their ideas are not usable, you get something else from them; you see the way other people think," said Dr Sabga.
