HUBUNGAN PEKERJAAN DALAM SEKTOR INFORMAL DI LAWAS, SARAWAK

Abstract

ABSTRAK Pertubuhan Buruh Antarabangsa dalam ‘Report of the Committee on the Employment Relationship’ menyatakan bahawa hubungan pekerjaan pada masa kini semakin kompleks dan tiada satu definisi yang boleh diterima untuk mendefinisikan hubungan pekerjaan. Pelbagai ujian dan kriteria diwujudkan pada peringkat kebangsaan untuk mentakrifikan hubungan pekerjaan. Malah, asas hubungan pekerjaan sebagai bidang kajian dikatakan adalah untuk meneliti sifat hubungan yang wujud antara majikan dan pekerja. Sehubungan itu, kajian ini mencadangkan bahawa sifat hubungan pekerjaan di sektor informal boleh difahami dengan mengambil kira dua dimensi: Pertama, sejauh mana majikan bergantung kepada pekerja masing-masing dan sebaliknya. Kedua, sejauh mana pekerja mempunyai keupayaan secara individu atau secara kolektif untuk mencabar kuasa majikan. Berdasarkan dua demensi ini, empat sifat dikenal pasti untuk melihat sifat hubungan pekerjaan di sektor informal iaitu ‘fraternalism’, ‘paternalism’, ‘benevolent autocracy’, dan ‘passive acquiescence’. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif, iaitu temu bual separa berstruktur bersama lapan orang responden di Lawas, Sarawak. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa sifat hubungan pekerjaan dalam sektor informal adalah bersifat ‘benevolent autocracy’. Hal ini demikian kerana majikan kurang bergantung kepada pekerja mereka dan menyebabkan keupayaan pekerja agak terhad untuk mencabar kuasa majikan. Ia adalah keadaan yang paling biasa di sebuah firma kecil, iaitu pengurus atau pemilik kurang bergantung kepada pekerja dan dapat mempengaruhi mereka dari kedudukan kuasa sebagai majikan. Hasil penemuan kajian ini turut menjelaskan bahawa konsep hubungan pekerjaan itu tidak hanya semata-mata ditandai dengan hubungan undang-undang seperti yang dinyatakan dalam kajian lepas, tetapi hubungan pekerjaan itu juga meliputi sejauh mana majikan dan pekerja saling bergantung antara satu sama lain dan mewujudkan hubungan pekerjaan.

ABSTRACT International Labour Organization in the ‘Report of the Committee on the Employment Relationship’ states that current employment relationships are increasingly complex and there is no acceptable definition to define ‘employment relationships.’ Various tests and criteria were established at the national level to define employment relationships. Literature review states that the basis of employment relationships as a field of study is to investigate the nature of the relationship between the employer and the employee. This study suggests that the nature of employment relationships in the informal sector can be understood using two related dimensions: First, the extent to which the employer is dependent on the employees, and vice versa; and second, the extent to which the employees have the capacity individually or collectively, to challenge the power of their employer. Based on these two dimensions, four distinct categories that reveal the nature of employment relationships in the informal sector are identified. They are ‘fraternalism,’ ‘paternalism,’ ‘benevolent autocracy’ and ‘passive acquiescence.’ The study is conducted using the qualitative approach through in-depth interviews with eight respondents in Lawas, Sarawak. The findings show that the nature of the employment relationships in the informal sector is 'benevolent autocracy' as the employer is not overly dependent on their employees, therefore the employee has a limited capacity to challenge the employer's power. This is most common in small firms where the manager or owner is not overly dependent on the employees and is able to influence the employees from a position of power. The characteristic of the informal sector like family members and unregistered that causes lack of protection to workers is the main reason for creating employment relations in the informal sector. The findings of this study also describe that the concept of employment relationships are not merely bound by legalities as stated in previous studies, but that employment relationships cover the dependencies between the employer and the employee.