Absence of Strikes as a Criterion of Efficiency of Staff Security Costs Management at Industrial Enterprises

Abstract

The article is devoted to studying the possibility of using the absence of strikes as a reliable criterion for measuring the efficiency of staff security cost management at industrial enterprises. The authors proved that the threat of losing a job due to an industrial downturn and economic instability creates conditions under which the interest of employees in protecting enterprises and their owners is higher than the benefits of initiating a labor dispute with them. Based on the results obtained, it is established that despite a low level of social standards in most Ukrainian enterprises, including wage arrears and a low wage level, the number of strikes in Ukraine is scanty. In 2018-2020, there was not a single strike in Ukraine. In 2021, 11 strikes were recorded in the field of education, with the total number of participants accounting for 700 people. Since 2022, strikes in Ukraine have been banned due to the martial law introduction. The article introduces the concept of “employees’ forced loyalty” and elaborates on the classification of loyalty types. The authors proposed the matrix for determining the situations, in which the absence of strikes is a criterion for the efficiency of staff security costs at Ukrainian industrial enterprises. It is grounded that the relationship between employees and employers in Ukraine can be described by the term “neo-feudalism”. The authors systematized the negative consequences of neo-feudalism for labor productivity and staff security. Having considered the results of the study, the authors proposed a list of measures aimed at minimizing and eliminating those consequences.