ORGANISING IN THE INFORMAL ECONOMY

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ORGANISING IN THE INFORMAL ECONOMY

• Fred Parry,
• ILO Harare

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Outline

• What is organising
• Organising as an art
• Approaches to negotiations position and interest
• Question and answer

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What Negotiation is

• Negotiations is a process when two or more
  parties meet each other to get agreement over the
  use of distribution of a particular resource, the
  granting of a right e.t.c. In a negotiation each
  party seeks to advance their own interest.
  Negotiations can be between individuals or on
  behalf of a group. In unions we talk about
  collective bargaining i.e. negotiating for the
  collective rather than fro individual interests

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Power is the underlying dynamic of negotiations

• The underlying dynamic in most negotiations is
  the relative power of the parties. Some times
  this is obvious at other times it is more hidden.
  The relative power often determines the form and
  content of the negotiations.
• For example if one party is extremely weak and
  the other extremely strong, the stronger party
  will determine what is to be negotiated, how it
  should be negotiated and even when or whethre it
  should be negotiated at all. The powerful party
  will also dictate the terms of implementing the
  agreement.

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The weak can use negotiations to build power

• It is possible in the process of negotiations for
  the weak to develop power. This depends for
  example on
• Their negotiations strategy, i.e. how they frame
  their demands
• Their understanding of the issues being
  negotiated
• Their understanding of the positions and
  interests of the other party, their strengths and
  weaknesses
• The tactics in the negotiations i.e. how well
  they present their case whether they are able to
  win support among the other side, divide them,
  appear to be conciliatory, appear to be stronger
  than they really are e.t.c
• Whether they could use the negotiations to win
  support and unite their members
• Whether they are able to use the negotiations to
  win support among the community who may be able
  to influence the negotiations either directly or
  indirectly.

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Negotiating is a skill but also an art

• Negotiating is a skill to be learnt. There are
  rules, procedures to be followed, research to be
  done, and framing of demands and arguments. All
  these can be learnt and developed through
  practice. At the same time, negotiating is an
  art, it depends as much on personal style, flair,
  charisma, the ability to think imaginatively and
  creatively, the courage and strength of the
  negotiator to hold ground or to give way at the
  right time.
• The power of the union negotiations team depends
  on the state of their organisation of workers.
  Because the trade union has longer term goals
  within industry and the economy, a specific
  negotiation is not simply an end in itself but
  also a means to building stronger organisation
  and power fro more successful negotiations over
  time.

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Approaches to negotiations position and interest

• Some negotiators distinguish between a position
  and interest and argue that if we focus on the
  interests of the parties we sill be able to
  create mutually acceptable agreements.
• For example a supervisor is alleged to have
  sexually harassed a women worker. The Union
  position We want the supervisor fired and The
  Directors Position He does now want the
  supervisor fired but transferred.

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What interest underlies the unions position?

• The union wants to end sexual harassment and feel
  if the supervisor is dismissed this will send a
  message to other supervisors to stop their
  practice. While they are concerned with the
  incident they are facing, their interest is to
  ensure that it does not recur in future

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What interest underlies the Directors Position?

• He fears that if he pushes the supervisor he will
  lose the support of the management tem. He is
  however fully in support of the workers concern
  with sexual harassment in the workplace and is
  open to suggestions on how this practice could be
  curtailed.
• If the parties focused on their Positions they w
  ill not get to a solution except through a power
  struggle.
• If however they focused on their interests they
  may arrive at an option in which the supervisor
  is transferred and the management agrees to a
  code of conduct and procedure and an external
  arbitrator to deal with sexual harassment
  disputes.

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The interest based approach to negotiations

• The negotiations in this case must follow a set
  of systematic steps
• State your issues
• Set out clearly the issues, topics or
  subject that you are to negotiate on
• Make clear all interests
• Think about the following when you are preparing
  and negotiating
• What are your interests
• What are the interests of the other party
• What interests do you share in common
• what are your worries, fears, concerns.
• 3. Create Options
• Think about options that can bring about a
  settlement. Explore all answers and possibilities
  not simply those that are simple and popular

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Continued

• 3. Think about standards
• These are objective ways that will allow you to
  decide whether an option should be adopted or
  not. These could be rules or the outcome of
  respected research. Standards are respected
  criterion, which all parties can accept
• 4. Settlement
• Use the standards to agree on options created

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8 point checklist for negotiations process

• What is the members mandate?
• Who is (or are) the other party in the
  negotiations?
• Is it a bilateral or multi-lateral negotiation?
• What is to be achieved in the negotiations? What
  is being sought?
• What is being done to prepare for the
  negotiations?
• Where and how is membership involvement built in?
• How do the negotiations fit in with other
  activities and campaigns?
• What follow-up and report-back measures have been
  noted?

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!