Labor-management relations are like water; they can float a ship, and they can sink it. One of the major reasons for Japan's success on the world economic stage is its harmonious labor-management relations.

Although difficult to express quantitatively, labor-management relations are susceptible to description in general terms.

As Wong Yi-ting, the chairman of Taiwan Sugar Corp., points out, the Republic of China on Taiwan has not experienced serious labor problems in its economic development over the past thirty years. This has been due both to government controls and to economic growth, which, by providing rising wages and abundant job opportunities, has reduced the motivation for dissatisfaction.

However, labor problems have become more apparent in recent years, particularly since 1984, when enactment of the Labor Standards Law awakened greater labor awareness. According to statistics of the Taiwan Province Department of Social Affairs, there were 1,078 cases of labor-management disputes in 1985, the most on record. The cases involved around 12,500 people. And that could be only the tip of the iceberg.

What are labor-management relations like in the Republic of China today?

"Compared with twenty years ago, there's a lot less company consideration and employee loyalty," says Huang Yueh- ch'in, a professor of law at National Chengchi University.

Before industrialization, Taiwan's land reform program had already set the population on the road to "equality of wealth," causing changes in the social structure.

The old "paternalistic" relationship between employer and employees began to break down, as more and more employees followed the Chinese adage of "better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox" and went out to set up businesses of their own.

"Chinese say that 'blood is thicker than water,' and family enterprises are founded on just this kind of relationship," Ch'en Tzung-hsien a professor at the Chinese Culture University, has pointed out in a paper. This has adversely affected the normal labor-management relationship.

Dr. Huang believes that if society today hopes for harmonious labor-management relations it must see that the interests of both parties are realized.

Article 15 of the ROC Constitution stipulates that the people's right of existence, right of work, and right of property shall be guaranteed. Based on this article, labor has been granted the right to collective bargaining and the right to form unions, although the right to strike has been suspended under martial law. Some people believe that strikes should continue to be prohibited even after martial law is lifted because of Taiwan's special situation. Otherwise, they argue, foreign firms will be afraid to invest on the island, which would be of no benefit to either labor or management.

On the other side, many people believe that the right to strike should be permitted. "It's important to labor as a 'strategic weapon,'" Dr. Huang says. And Chang Hsiao-ch'un, a sociology professor at National Taiwan University, compares the right to strike to a policeman's gun, without which labor has no way to protect its interests.

In talking about labor-management relations, many people will think of Japan and the U.S. as contrasting models.

"Japan's labor-management relations can be summed up in the word "benevolence,'" Dr. Huang says. Employers take care of their employees from the moment they are hired, and employees are loyal in return, often remaining with the same firm for life.

Loyalty to the firm has even reduced the importance of the family. Family members not only forgive an employee for staying at work late; they may consider it a loss of face if he does not. And quite a few young men contemplating marriage have been known to run to their supervisors before reporting to their families.

Nevertheless, Japanese workers still hold a symbolic one-hour strike every January; the purpose is just to remind management that labor still retains its "strategic weapon."

Labor-management relations in the U.S. rely on "trust."

Everything is clearly spelled out to an employee when he is hired; if he doesn't perform accordingly, he's out the door. "Relations between people are cold, but honest," Dr. Huang says. "Management and labor stick to their word."

In addition, West Germany, a "model student" in labor-management relations, is also worthy of consideration.

Germany was where the workers' movement originated, but West Germany is home to one of the most moderate and best-educated labor movements in the world. "Unions in West Germany are full of Ph.D.'s," Dr. Chang says, adding that the unions there pursue labor interests rationally and scientifically, like a capable partner in management.

But these model students are not without their defects. In Japan, for instance, women have still not obtained equality on the job, and pressures on labor are increased by the demands of elders toward their youngers. In the U.S., the power of unions has expanded to such an extent that some no longer truly represent workers' interests. And in West Germany, it may take over a year to fire someone!

Each model has its strengths and weaknesses; each has its particular cultural background. So what form of labor-management relationship is best suited to the Republic of China?

Dr. Huang believes that "benevolence" and "trust" are the keys to good labor management relations.

China's cultural background was originally similar to Japan's, and in China too a benevolent relationship was stressed between master and servant, employer and employee. "But Taiwan's land reform program broke up the traditional tenant-farmer system and the feudalistic way of thinking it reflected. Although the concept of 'benevolence' still exists here, it's not as deeply rooted as in Japan. That's why we first need to establish 'trust,'" Dr. Huang says.

Hsiao Hsin-huang, a member of the Institute of Ethnology at Academia Sinica, stresses that the Chinese have traditionally valued the virtue of trust, and that this is a favorable cultural condition for making labor-management relations harmonious.

"Concepts will also need to be changed," says Ko Yu-ch'in, a union official. He believes that a prerequisite for good labor-management relations is for each side to change its attitude from that of a master-servant relationship to one of equal partners in cooperation.

A Chinese-style labor-management relationship is still evolving and developing. As to whether "trust" or "benevolence" will carry the most weight, that may well reflect which way the scale tips in the balance between tradition and modernization!

[Picture Caption]

Performing calisthenics together is one way Japanese companies cultivate a group spirit in their employees. Japanese labor-management relations are characterized by "benevolence." (photo from A Day in the Life of Japan)

An American autoworker works diligently. U.S. labor relations are characterized by "trust"--both sides respect whatever is in the contract.(photo courtesy of the American Cultural Institute)

National Policy Advisor to the President Tao Pai-chuan (far right) expresses his support for a speech on labor rights presented by National Taiwan University Professor Chang Hsiao-ch'un. (photo by Arthur Cheng)

At year-end company dinners, the chicken's head used to be pointed at whichever of the employees was to be fired; now it's always pointed at the boss, to the general relief of all. (photo by Chung Yung-ho)

An American autoworker works diligently. U.S. labor relations are characterized by "trust"--both sides respect whatever is in the contract.（photo courtesy of the American Cultural Institute）

National Policy Advisor to the President Tao Pai-chuan （far right） expresses his support for a speech on labor rights presented by National Taiwan University Professor Chang Hsiao-ch'un. （photo by Arthur Cheng）

At year-end company dinners, the chicken's head used to be pointed at whichever of the employees was to be fired; now it's always pointed at the boss, to the general relief of all. （photo by Chung Yung-ho）