Employee Relations Lead at Maersk Line

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Labour relations vision and strategy and Management Advisory

• Ensure that the Labour relations policies are aligned with the Business and HR strategic priorities. Continuously align with the changing priorities and alter them with the current requirements.
• Proactively communicate and comply with the Vision and Strategy on Global Labour Relations and the Group Rule on Global Labour Relations with relevant stakeholders at the site and at Leadership level.
• Devise policies to ensure harmonious Labour Relations at the Site in a uniform manner. Adhere to the Company’s Ethics and Compliance process and MAERSK COMMIT rules when providing guidance, even if they seem to provide a positive outcome to the organization.
• Advise management and recommend solutions for development, application and interpretation of labour relations policies and practices which will bring desired outcome at the site.
• Lead the local team at the site in driving projects that align with the strategy.
• Gather intelligence on the ground on the IR scenario and align the strategy accordingly.
• Support the operations teams to monitor productivity assurance of the unionized category to get closer to or even better world class productivity standards.
• Provide counselling and guidance to management and employees as and when required.
• Drive training and onboarding of Labour Relations processes from time to time to strengthen the managers and the front-line supervisory levels on effective management of labour relations.
• Lead to set up the systems and process.
• Co-ordinate and have a full proof plan to close the compliance gaps as per the local labour laws and suggest the actions to correct.

Relevant legislation and information

• Furnish information, such as reference documents and statistical data concerning labour legislation, labour market conditions, prevailing union and management practices, wage and salary surveys.
• Conform to all local statutory and legal compliances that apply to the organization.
• Adhere to the processes defined by the Group Labour Relations. 
• Deal with various central, local, global statutory bodies and provide guidance to comply with various laws e.g.:  Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Labour Relations Act, Employment equity Act, BBBEE, Bargaining Council agreements and Union Recognition agreements etc.
• Independently appear before statutory authorities in respect of labour matters.
• Acquaint, anticipate and if needed deal with international labour bodies, interest groups and others who directly or indirectly impact the ER environment.
• Keep in touch with latest trends in the Employee relations field and maintain contacts at appropriate levels with statutory and government authorities/local dignitaries to protect overall interests of the organizations.

Collective Bargaining Agreements/Contracts:

• Ensure that all CBAs are addressed and signed off on time in full, basis the CBA guidelines laid down by the Global Labour Relations team. This includes negotiations of contract / blue collar workmen which will be directly negotiated and signed off by the relevant contractor / ER team under guidance of this position.
• Support Procurement in the implementation of contracts to ensure compliance with local labour legislation.

Communication and Stakeholder management

• Ensure there is continuous dialog and communication between Management teams, Employees, Contractors, and Union. Create processed for redressal of employee grievances and provide escalation matrices.
• Constant Network with relevant functional leads who are responsible for labour/unionised workforce.
• Liaise with Government authorities, Union Leaders, and local leaders to maintain a positive and supportive relationship.
• Review and monitor frontline workforce activities and employee services related to workforce.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

The ideal candidate must have:

• LLB specializing in Labour Law
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in dealing within a unionized workforce industry, preferably within a logistics environment.
• Should have demonstrated leadership skills and experience in Human Resources /Industrial Relations, with an emphasis in handling unionized workforce including CCMA and Bargaining Council Arbitration.
• Proven ability to deal with confidential information with complete discretion.
• Capability to work in a collaborative manner with all levels of employees, including top, middle, and supervisory levels of management.
• Strong interpersonal, analytical and negotiation skills.
• Must be able to exercise discretion and fair judgment, with an ability to understand the effect of decisions overall in the company.