CURRENT AFFAIRS
Labour must also be part of the conversation: those in business who
want a world without unions need to look at research which shows
what happens when unions lose their influence on a workplace; the
result is chaos, not growth. The same is true for the broader economy –
if labour is excluded, the costs will outweigh the benefits.
The obstacle to inclusive growth is not business, government or
labour alone – it is all three and their failure to talk to one another.
One example is the conditions in which many Marikana miners
live. Everyone agreed that their shack settlement was a disgrace
which may have contributed to conflict – but all the actors blamed
the others. The mine said that it had made money available to local
government, which did nothing. Government said the mine left
workers to fend for themselves after the hostel system ended and
labour tended to agree. In reality, all three were responsible but
none was willing to acknowledge this.
Yelling at the other parties may be emotionally satisfying, but
it is a losing strategy because it ensures that no-one gets closer to
achieving their goals. Progress will be impossible unless all parties
acknowledge a need for new approaches. But, since this is an article
on business’s role, it will look purely at business attitudes which are
in need of change. Three issues are crucial if business is to protect its
interests but also contribute to a more workable society.
LIVING WITH DEMOCRACY
We have been living in a democracy for nearly two decades, but
many in business still seem unfamiliar with what this means.
Democracy is a system in which everyone is allowed a say – it
is unrealistic to expect everyone to say what business would like
them to say. People will be saying things business would rather not
hear as long as we remain democratic. And so the real question
for business strategy is not whether some people are saying
threatening things – it is whether what is being said is ever likely to
become reality.
In democracies, policies and laws change all the time. This is why
we have parliaments: to provide a platform for changes. And so
change is not threatening to business unless concrete government
plans are published and are threatening. “Policy uncertainty” is a
reasonable concern if there are wild and unexplained swings – not
if change happens in a predictable framework.
On the first score, for much of last year, business sentiment was
negative because some people in the African National Congress
(ANC) were talking about nationalisation and it refused to shut
them up. And yet there was no sign that the government was
shifting its position. On the ͕