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Judging from the inability of the present (supposedly pro-business) administration to tackle trade unions that go on strike in sectors considered as “essential services”, this government is giving out the worst signals to potential investors – either to those keen to pump money into the economy or even take up some of the to-be privatised enterprises.
Employers in the private sector, who have been struggling to rebuild their business on their own without any significant help from any person, organisation or bank, are now faced with increasing cases of strikes in public utilities and services that are essential to the recovery of the economy.
With cash-flow still at its lowest ebb and affordable credit just trickling into the economy, businesses are once again seeing their reserves being depleted. But for economy to recover, we need to see stability, a factor that will not come out of favourable rating agency upgrades or a Troika pat on the back.
A sense of normalcy, stability and credibility of those in charge will only come when not every idiot is allowed to go on strike, simply because they want to keep a number of privileges.
On the one hand, we had strikes in the ports over reasons that everyone is still confused about, while on the other hand, the trade unions at the electricity producer EAC threatened with rolling strikes if the government was to go ahead with the privatisation of the utility.
Once again, the administration buckled (due to parliamentary elections just 14 months away) and is now having a re-think if the EAC needs to be split up or even privatised. Why did this administration about-turn on its policies, based on which it was elected just over two years ago? Surely, if there are other options, why are these only being discussed now?
As the employers federation OEV has rightly declared, the government should determine what are essential services (almost all sectors, actually) and how the right to strike should be regulated in these sectors, just as the previous administration hesitantly did when air traffic controllers went on strike in December 2012.
No trade union should stand in the way of progress. And progress will only come through the privatisation of all semi-government enterprises, including the EAC.
