THE ROLE OF EMPLOYEES IN GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURE AT BARCLAYS BANK, TANOSO BRANCH IN THE KUMASI METROPOLIS

Abstract

The nature of the workplace is that, from time to time complaints and disputes will arise relative to the application or interpretation of the collective agreement. To address this reality, the collective agreement at the Tanoso Branch of Barclays Bank Ghana Limited contains some provisions for grievance settlement procedure (GSP) and resolution of conflicts by which a dispute arising between the employers, the union or the individuals (employees) may be resolved. It is often lauded as one of the most significant innovations in industrial relations serving several roles and functions and having benefits that outweigh its weaknesses. The research is therefore to establish the significance and role of involving employees in the formulation of the grievance policies and also to find out the main weaknesses that affect the implementation of the grievance process. It was among other things to assess the level of employees’ awareness of the existence of grievance settlement procedures within the Tanoso Branch of the Barclays Bank in the Kumasi Metropolis. In all, a total of 30 employees were interviewed, of these 60% were females while the remaining 40% were males. A high percentage of the employees (56.6%) said fairness is the most influential factor in relation to promptness, acceptability and simplicity. Employees’ involvement in the formulation of grievance policies was overwhelming with a majority of the employees indicating that it would lead to easy implementation, bring fairness in the settlement process and further prevent most of the numerous industrial actions usually associated with the resolution process. It is recommended that employees should be involved in the formulation of grievance polices. The research findings suggest that a greater employee involvement would be associated with reduced workplace conflict or dispute and lower grievance rates.