The Labour market is one of the most important components of an economy. It is the mechanism through which a country allocates its most valuable and productive resources: human work, effort, creativity, and ingenuity. It is through the labour market that human skills, supplied by individuals seeking to earn a living, are matched with the demand for labour by enterprises, governments, and households. Therefore, the efficiency and performance of the labour market should be central to the priorities set by government, enterprises, and citizens in a country.
Unfavorable industrial relations have an adverse effect on the economy as they slow the pace of government in implementing its development agenda and erode the productivity and competitiveness of businesses. A dominant feature of both the advanced and developing economies today is that economic policy has become more and more dependent upon a process of consensus building.
FKE advocates for tripartite arrangements and commitment to social dialogue. This will make policy formulation and implementation easier, social disruptions will be minimized and citizens can be guaranteed certain basic benefits such as a good standard of living, equitable wages and conditions of service and the rule of law.