The engagement between the employer and the trade union, with the latter acting as the representative body or bargaining agent for employees, is a legal process that falls under the practice of collective bargaining. The International Labour Convention No. 98 stipulates that workers have the right to bargain collectively with the employer to set wages, working hours and terms of employment. It is right that the government has a responsibility to safeguard and protect.

In the process of collective bargaining, the parties engage in discussions with the sole intention of reaching an amicable agreement. The process is built on the spirit of goodwill, reaching an understanding based on compromise, rather than on the premise that an agreement is reached through the unilateral imposition by either party. The unilateral approach is more commonly associated with governments, which resort to legislating wages and salaries for public sector workers. This is often done under the guise that negotiations are deadlocked.

A deadlock in wage and salary negotiations is a stalemate in which an employer and employees/labour unions reach a standstill over compensation terms. This occurs when neither party is willing or able to compromise further on their demands, causing discussions to stall completely. Past experiences in which the government is involved as the employer suggest a readiness on its part to wield a big-stick policy approach to resolving the matter. This is where the government brings the matter before Parliament for a decision. Here, the elected members of the Lower House, by a majority vote, impose the government’s will. In the contemporary world, some would describe this as a bullying tactic. There are questions to be raised about whether the government’s process for breaking a deadlock in the negotiations is right or wrong.