Nurturing Basic Human Rights for your Benefit

Written by: Chane da Costa

Our legendary former president Nelson Mandela once said “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their humanity”. These are wise words spoken by a man who is greatly respected and has influenced many worldwide. Many employers forget about basic human rights and focus only on workplace rights, which can be of disadvantage to the company. So how are you able to nurture basic human right in your company?

Right to Equality

The right to equality is an important aspect to retain your employees. Many employees resign because they feel companies do not deal with matters fairly. Although there is the right to equality, we all know some employers will promote an employee because they are male/female or African/Caucasian depending on friendship or for the company’s status. Instead employers should focus on those next in line for the position and who has the top performance. By nurturing employees’ growth accordingly and respecting each employee as an individual, they will feel the company works fairly and will most like stay loyal to the company.

Right to Dignity

Everyone has a right to dignity and this should be respect especially in the workplace. This includes not being subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In many situations in office environments employees are physically, sexually or verbally abused against their will and feel trapped and unable to leave their job. Employers should respect their employee’s dignity and should deal with matters accordingly for both parties’ interests. If there is an issue, a one on one meeting with HR would be the most appropriate situation to resolve the matter, for either the employer or employee.

Right to Privacy

Privacy is important to many individuals and an invasion of privacy can make many people uncomfortable and potentially lead to them resigning. Unless stated in a contracted or a signed agreement an employer should not search or enter an employee’s property without their consent unless it is for a reasonable cause/stipulated by law/ deemed acceptable in an open and democratic society. This includes interference with employee’s private communications, spying, and secret files on the employees without their consent.  A reported case in America was brought to the public’s attention when an interviewer did not hire candidates who would not give them access to their Facebook accounts.

Freedom of Association

Freedom of association is important for employees, as a lot of employees form or join trade unions, religious and social and cultural bodies. Trade unions are available to help resolve disputes and negotiate employee matters with the employer. Providing employees with the freedom to association with their trade union shows them that you care about them. Allowing employees to be themselves by associating with organisations they feel fit for them, allows them to feel accepted as an individual and comfortable with who they are in the company.

Freedom of Religion

Everyone has the freedom to commit a religion of their choice and this should be tolerated in all organisations. Places with religious observances must be respected and no one shall be barred from entering them on the grounds of race. Employees appreciate workplaces that respect their religion. Practising Muslims pray every Friday and every day during Ramadan. Employees who have employers that respect their religion tend to be happier and productive because they can satisfy their religious needs appropriately.

Freedom of Language

The languages of South Africa are, in alphabetical order Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. The employees right to speak their own language in the work place is important.  As in African cultures many African people still think it is pompous if they speak English to each other when they have the same cultural background. However, out of respect for one another,  the most commonly understood language should be spoken so that everyone understands in situations where meetings or discussions in the work place are taking place.

Property Rights

There have been many instances where employers confiscate employees’ phones and personal possessions during work hours to try increase productivity. Although in some cases this might work, it is actually violating a human right to remove them of their personal property. Each person has the right to undisturbed enjoyment of their personal enjoyment unless it conflicts with public interest. Employers can however put clauses in their contract stating that employees may not use their personal property during working hours.

Although there are workers’ rights in place, employers often forget about the basic human rights. These two are very similar and both consider each other, but there are always gaps and advantages both employers and employees take advantage of. It is important to know your rights and what you can do about it. Trade unions often assist employees with workplace issues but another option could be to report the issue to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

Employers need to consider the above aspects carefully in order to protect themselves, and even more so when trying to create a happy and productive environment for employees to work in. Although the primary focus in business is the bottom line, the sole drivers of a company is it staff component. Therefore, it is essential to nurture employee rights for both their benefit and the companies’.