‘Look at the positive side of strikes’

ED RICHARDSON STRIKE ACTION by Transnet unions is to be expected in an open economy, according to Robert Niemand, managing director of Labournet Eastern Cape. “The current Transnet strikes, far from being aberrant or abnormal, are a natural phenomenon,” he says. “We have sadly been socialised into believing that all conflict is bad. We need to have a drastic paradigm shift as to how conflict is viewed. “Conflict will automatically emerge or exist when parties believe that their current aspirations cannot be achieved simultaneously or perceive a divergence in their values, needs or interests and purposefully employ their power in an effort to eliminate, defeat, neutralise or change each other to protect or further their interests in the interaction.” Niemand says conflict should be seen as change, or growth. “Conflict can be so debilitating that it locks people into entrenched positions and destroys trust, but if well managed it can be a positive force in helping people work together to achieve resolutions to their differences. Conflict can bring out into the open alternative ways of thinking and behaving. It can challenge us to manage our lives in ways that utilise our differences for mutual growth and benefit.”