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SMEs should focus on labor-management relations, urges Dr. Yazdi
An APO training course in Tehran focused on how SMEs can improve productivity through effective human resources management.
Labor-management relations refer to the system in which employers, workers, their representatives, and, directly or indirectly, the government interact to set the ground rules for the governance of work relationships. How SMEs develop and maintain an amicable relationship between labor and management is an important process that they see as mutually beneficial. The experience of countries with good productivity records underlines the link between labor-management relations and productivity growth.
To share the status and issues of labor-management relations and identify the role of governments, labor unions, and NPOs in the era of Industry 4.0 in creating constructive, harmonious workplace environments, the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) recently concluded a training course on Labor-Management Relations in SMEs. It was organized in association with the National Iranian Productivity Organization (NIPO) in Tehran, 25–29 November 2017.
Addressing the inaugural session, APO Director for IR Iran and NIPO Head Dr. Roya Tabatabaei Yazdi stated that labor-management relations were one of the key success factors to ensure sustainable productivity improvement in the era of Industry 4.0. She hoped that participants would be able to gain insights on current issues affecting labor-management relations and what SMEs could do to develop more cordial frameworks for cooperation between the two parties.
The five-day training course was attended by 23 participants from 12 APO member countries, including experts from the government, public sector, NPOs, and labor unions as well as representatives of SMEs. Two APO international experts, Japan Productivity Center Counselor Yasuhiko Inoue and KDi Asia Pte. Ltd. Principal Consultant Praba Nair of Singapore, conducted the training. They also introduced participants to a manual on applications of appropriate labor-management relations strategies. The course included a field visit to the Industrial Estates Company in Qazvin province to learn more about labor-management relations in IR Iran and current best-practice models.
