Why some businessmen lost their labor

There are many good and ethical businessmen who have no problem at all in winning their cases in courts and labor tribunals. They have put in a lot of foresight and care in the choice of their people, especially HR staff and industrial relations lawyers. They support their HR managers in training their staff on proactive and preventive approaches to the art and science of leading and managing people. However, there are some who are in business, we are sad to note, with all due respect, who think that it's all about money, without taking into consideration the basic rights of workers. Some owners of business firms do not respect labor laws, do not listen to the professional advice of their own HR staff, and simply believe that they can buy the loyalty of personnel and can bribe their way to the courts, all the time.

So, how do employers lose their cases? Let me count the ways. First, some businessmen believe that doing business is all about making money, that people are just one of the factors of production and profit-making, that all the laws and the judges can be bought and that everybody has his own price tag. This is a monumental mistake. Sooner than later, these guys would learn their lessons the hard way. People do not just want to earn their wages. They want to be respected, and beyond respect, they want to be treated as human beings with dignity and honor. These misguided businessmen would soon find out that there are many more important things than quick profits, like goodwill, positive corporate image and the respect and loyalty of their own workers. Ethics in business and corporate responsibility can yield tremendous positive and long-range results.

Second, there are businessmen who are too busy to mind knowing fundamental labor laws. They delegate responsibility but do not share authority. They only react when summons are issued against the firms, adverse decisions or even writs of execution. They blame everybody else and never accept command responsibility for their own failures and neglect. Third, some businessmen choose the wrong HR people. They want personnel staff who take and follow instructions without expressing their professional views, and get HR staff who just follow their orders blindly, people in the HR department who do not think proactively but just want to keep their jobs. In effect, the real HR top man is the businessman himself and the so-called HR executive is reduced into a robot who will do the top man's whims without whimper. At the end of the day, business is bound to suffer and the real loser is the businessman.

Fourth, some businessmen hire the wrong person to handle labor cases. With all due respect, not all lawyers are labor law specialists. There are attorneys who are very good, even excellent, in criminal and civil cases. They may even excel in commercial and corporate laws, or taxation, immigration, litigation and appeals. But many of our lawyers have already forgotten labor laws, either for lack of interest or for being overloaded with criminal, civil and other litigation. Like medicine, you would not ask an OB-Gyne to handle a cardio case. Law is highly specialized. Thus, good businessmen should be represented by excellent labor lawyers who do not only know labor law but also know Labor Arbiters very well. They can be quite expensive but to hire incompetent ones could be more financially disastrous.

Fifth, many in business do not invest in preventive approaches and proactive and developmental interventions. They wait for disasters to happen and they spend tremendous amounts in fire-fighting and reactive responses that create more problems than solutions, and do more harm than good. They do not believe in the power of training their people, both staff and line managers and supervisors. They do not invest in building the knowledge, competencies, skills and attitudes. They just focus on production and sales. There are no team-building and mentoring, counseling and problem-solving activities. The HR staff is not trained in grievance-handling and employee disciple. They have absolutely zero knowledge in fundamental labor laws. This situation can result to serious labor problems causing millions in adverse labor decisions.

Sixth, some businessmen do not have a balanced view between profit and people. They are too profit-oriented that even legal benefits owing to employees are being denied or delayed. They cheat on SSS membership and on Philhealth, PAG-IBIG and employers contribution to the ECC for the State insurance fund. They do not mind the safety, health and welfare of their people. They are rabid anti-union and commit various unfair labor practices. They use force, intimidation and threats against their own people. They have no time to do employee relations and consider these activities as mere waste of money. At the end of the day, their business can be subject to serious labor disputes, a strike or mass action which could end up in company closure and the end of the business.

What matters most are long-range master plans and strategies that build relationships, empower people and make the business succeed. Profits will follow as a matter of course. I should know. I am the consultant of many banks, pharma firms, airlines, universities and big manufacturing firms, BPO's and PEZA companies. They are all in peace and in leaps and bounds in productivity. Above all, they are all very happy. That is what matters most.