And Their Will Be Done

And Their Will Be Done
By: Atty. Gabriel Cosh

An employee in the production ecosystem may be viewed in two ways, first, he can be viewed as a vital role player in the production process that without him no output can efficiently be had. Or, he may also be viewed, as a mere waste of office space, so redundant in fact that the loss of his services would not have any effect on the production process. In our day and time, with the advent of advanced technology, most of our labor are viewed in the latter.

After the Great Depression, which actually saw the downfall of the one greatest industrial revolution ever seen in the history of mankind, our business laws have given much leeway to the rights and individuality of employers. That is, they are given the independent hand in handling their business dealings, and in their relationship with their employees. Laissez faire paradigm that is the least government intervention is as of the present time adopted when it comes to the dealings of these business corporations.

Yet the adoption of laissez faire when it comes to business organizations is a two-edged sword. Although it brings about independence in our industrial sector, it also may lead to a degrading situation for the labor force in a production system. In our present time, the rule adopted is quite simple, business organizations abide with this business act known as employment-at-will doctrine. In a simple nutshell, the employment-at-will doctrine, operates in such a way that, absent an employment contract to the contrary, employment is actually presumed to be voluntary and it is also indefinite for both the employees and the employer. This placed in simple layman’s terms means that, an employee may quit his job at his own instance, and may even be without proper cause in doing so. In much the same vein, an employer is also given the right to exercise their option of terminating an employee’s services whenever there is a need to do so, and also usually without a basis.

This is where the rights and privileges of an employee may be ultimately sacrificed and put to waste. With less and less government intervention particularly in the rights and privileges afforded to labor, we will actually see the day when these rights and privileges would no longer be spoken of.