Dispute prevention and resolution

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The dispute prevention and resolution process seeks to assist parties in the employment relationship to settle their grievances or disputes peacefully and orderly through agreed machinery with minimum disruption of work. In a sense, it is a peace-making arrangement. It assumes that disagreement will from time to time occur, where there are different perceptions of what is fair or equitable. At the same time, disputes can be managed, indeed prevented. As such, the effective prevention and settlement of labour disputes remains at the core of sound labour relations and in creating a conducive environment for efficiency, economic growth and development.

Disputes manifest themselves in many ways. Disputes of right relate to the implementation or interpretation of an existing right, whether embodied in law, collective agreement or in an individual contract. Interest disputes usually arise when collective bargaining fails to lead to agreement. At another level of analysis, a dispute may involve an individual worker (individual disputes), or a group of workers (collective disputes).

The settlement procedures are most often established in national legislation incorporating voluntary procedures reached by the parties themselves. A key objective of the settlement procedure is to promote collective bargaining, hence, where possible, bipartite settlement is preferred. The procedures fall into three categories, namely conciliation and mediation, arbitration and adjudication through a tribunal or labour court. In all cases there is an element in various jurisdictions of a in-built voluntary approach, providing the parties some freedom in the use of the specific machinery. There is, in addition, a growing practice referred to as "alternative dispute resolution" which de-emphasizes the legalistic approach in favour of a type of workplace justice outside the conventional channels.

Apart from helping member States to improve the mechanisms for the settlement of disputes, the ILO has in recent years assisted some countries to establish tripartite institutions for dispute prevention and resolution. These institutions give responsibility to the tripartite partners in managing relations in the workplace. However, irrespective of which of the institutional options is chosen, the overall aim of dispute prevention and resolution is to contribute to deepening democratic governance, and promoting social, economic and political stability.

ILO Conventions and Recommendations
• Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, (No. 151) 1978
• Collective Bargaining Convention, (No. 154) 1981
• Voluntary Conciliation and Arbitration Recommendation, (No. 92) 1951
• Examination of Grievances Recommendation, (No. 130), 1967
• Collective Bargaining Recommendation (No. 163) 1981