Explain the functions of the following and their relevance to payroll administration,

workers’ committee, works councils and news.

A workers' committee is an essential component of any organization's management,

acting as the fulcrum and nerve centre – of industrial democracy, bridging the gap
between workers and management. Since settler occupation in 1890, successive
governments in Rhodesia have encouraged capitalist and racist economic development,
ensuring that control of the economy remained in white hands while severely limiting
the diffusion of technological and scientific skills among blacks.

Kallaste, Jackson, and Eamets (2005) defined works councils as "permanent elected bodies of
workforce representatives established on the basis of law or collective agreements with the
overall task of promoting employer and employee cooperation and perpetuating industrial
democracy." This can be accomplished by creating and maintaining good and stable
employment conditions, improving employee welfare and security, and increasing employees'
understanding of the enterprise's operations, finance, and competitiveness. The operation of
works councils and the laws that bind them varies by country.

A works council is a workers committee formed by employees to engage the employer or

management representatives in deliberations and negotiations on workplace issues of mutual
interest. Kadungure is an abbreviation for Kadungure (2015). According to Section 24 of the
Labour Act, workers committees only represent employees and their interests; management
employees are not allowed to be a part of or represented by the committee; if management
wants to be represented, they must form their own managerial employees workers committee,
to which general employees are not allowed to be a part. To ensure a fair platform, each
committee represents the needs and interests of its constituency without being aligned with or
influencing the needs and interests of the other constituency.

They are also prominent in Zimbabwe, and they are protected by law. According to
Trebilcock and Ozaki (2000), the concept of works' councils arose first in Europe because
forms of employee representation and participation were found at the industry level, such as
collective bargaining, and thus the need for employee representation at the company level
was not being met, so workplace representation platforms such as workers committees and
works councils arose.

Although the concept of works councils originated in developed countries, developing

countries have adopted it to promote industrial harmony and the benefits of workplace
democracy. They have been adopted in Zimbabwe as a means of promoting labour-
management cooperation and increasing democratization and joint decision making in order
to achieve industrial harmony.

A critical role played by works councils is that they help promote industrial harmony and
ensure labour and management collaborate and co-operate in settling their differences, in
order to find a common ground where they can both perform at their best. According to
Nguwi (2014) Settling of differences and conflicting views ensure that management and
labour work together effectively in utilizing company resources such that the organization
operates at its best. This becomes its competitive advantage at the same time ensuring that
favourable employment conditions are also sustained.

Works councils are the lynchpins of representative industrial democracy, serving to bridge
the gap between management and employees by bringing the two parties together on a
regular basis to discuss pertinent issues of mutual interest. According to Kadungure (2015),
they should operate in such a way that they advance the interests of the organizations as well
as the interests of the employer and employee constituencies. Blonch (2013) echoed this
viewpoint, stating that management and labour must develop mutual cooperation and work
together harmoniously so that organizations become successful, allowing an economy to
grow and sustain the lives of its citizens, workers, and employers.

This clearly demonstrates that workplace democratization through the use of works councils
is a worthy cause that employers should vigorously and robustly advocate for, particularly in
the Zimbabwean context, where various organizations are operating at or near capacity. To
ensure that the organization remains viable and operates without continuously choking,
highly turbulent business environments necessitate cooperation and the exchange of ideas
between employers and employees. Human resources, according to Armstrong (2012), are the
most valuable asset that can make or break an organization. Their consultation and
involvement in the affairs of the organization emotionally engages them and makes them
eager to work and put forth maximum effort, thereby assisting an organization in maintaining
its viability.

Works councils can serve as a "collective voice" for workers, communicating their
dissatisfaction and preferences to management. If an employee's "voice" rather than "exit"
determines the relationship between employers and employees, it can lead to a better work
ethic, less absenteeism, higher work satisfaction, and higher productivity. Employees, on the
other hand, may refuse to cooperate and exert effort if their employer does not commit to
taking their interests into account.

Furthermore, if a works council has a degree of control over management decisions,

employees have a greater sense of trust in management information. The willingness to invest
in a company's human capital grows as well. In contrast, the presence of a works council can
cause friction in the workplace because the council may use its co-determination rights to
blackmail the employer into concessions on issues over which it has no direct influence.
Importantly, the council has the authority to postpone decisions on personnel movements
over which it has veto power. As a result, co-determination can undermine management's
authority. In contrast, the council could commit to working with management and endorsing
work agreements in cases where it has legal rights.

It should be noted, however, that the impact of councils on workplace practices is ambiguous.
On the one hand, councils foster the trust needed to establish productivity-enhancing work
practices, which may result in higher wages. Councils, on the other hand, may advocate for
work practices that require less effort and, as a result, lower productivity. This calls into
question the finding that on balance, councils always have a strong positive effect on
productivity.

The type of workers who predominate determines whether owners and management view
councils and their activities as primarily positive or negative. Workplaces with a high
proportion of blue-collar employees are more likely to have a works council and a negative
management attitude toward employee involvement in decision making. When councils are
established in organizations with a high proportion of highly qualified white-collar
employees, management is more likely to be supportive. The presence of highly qualified
personnel promotes cooperative relationships between works councils and management, as
well as higher productivity. It is unclear whether this increase is due to increased workforce
qualification or to collaboration between the works council and management.

Another critical point is how conflicts over profit distribution are managed and whether they
are resolved at a higher level, such as the industry level, rather than at the establishment level.

As a tool for raising wages, works councils can direct their efforts toward increasing
productivity rather than profit redistribution. However, the presence of collective bargaining
is a necessary condition for this scenario. In comparison to councils in uncovered
establishments, one would expect works councils in establishments covered by collective
bargaining agreements to engage in more productivity-enhancing activities than rent-seeking
activities. Works councils and management are more likely to agree on productivity-boosting
measures when wage bargaining is done separately, for example, because the latter is done at
a collective rather than firm level.

Although the majority of empirical studies show that firms with works councils have higher
productivity than firms without, this evidence alone cannot be considered a sufficient
argument to implement works councils.
REFERENCES

Armstrong, M (2006) Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 10th Ed, Kogan
Page; Philadelphia

Encyclopedia of Business (2016). 2nd Edition, Works Council Forum, www.reference for
business.com

Nguwi, M (2014) Works Councils and Disciplinary Committee/ Officers Workshop for
N.E.C Insurance Industry; Industrial Psychology Consultants; Harare

Kadungure, S (2015, May 29) Workers Committee Functions Explained, The Chronicle p9

Jevtic, M (2012) The Role of Works Councils and Trade Unions in representing interests of
the employees E.U member states, Friedrich-Ebert Stiflug: Serbia