Unions urged to focus on workers’ issues

The Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI) last week celebrated its tenth anniversary.

The shifting role of trade unions in contemporary Africa was a particular focus of the celebrations. Speakers from around the continent graced the panel, providing insights on the work that trade unions and labour institutions in their countries were doing, and providing a complex face of labour movements today.An overarching theme of the discussion was the relevance of trade unions today, and how this relevance could be enhanced.Speaking from the Namibian perspective, Herbert Jauch, senior researcher at LaRRI, reflected on how active and organised the unions had been prior to independence.”Unions could clearly articulate the issues, and understand that their role went beyond their members to all workers,” he said.He called for unions to get in tune with the needs of workers and to effectively serve their members.Jauch outlined a need for Namibian trade unions to move away from the party politics of the day, and focus on the issues facing members.”We are not Government.We are not the sidekick of Government.We are supposed to be the voice of the workers.”Anthony Yaw Baah, Director of Research at the Ghana Trade Union Congress, emphasised that the core mandate of trade unions should be “to protect the interests of workers by ensuring increased wages, improved working conditions and living standards, and decreasing poverty”.Baah added that the work done by unions is influenced by political, economical and environmental factors that affect this core mandate, and proposed that unions redefine their post-independent role in order to appeal to all workers, particularly those in the informal economy.Austin Muneka, senior researcher at the Zambian Congress of Trade Unions, cautioned that while “unions thrive where there is democracy, they sometimes have found themselves to be victims of their own systems/architecture”, and are increasingly becoming undermined and sidelined in what is happening.He stated that the centralised structure of unions limited internal union democracy, with unions being driven by their leaders and not by the members.Muneka also advised that unions become more strategic in their thinking and action.He called for increased representation for the casual workforce and that unions continuously engage with communities and societies (from where their members come).Women and youth must be integrated into the life of unions in a more active way.Sahra Ryklief – Director of the Labour Research Service in South Africa – was optimistic in her evaluation of the relevance of trade unions today, particularly during the past two years in which the “challenging of leadership on the political level has also led to challenging of leadership at the union leadership level”.Ryklief related how prior to independence, trade unions were at the centre of creating change, defending workers wages and conditions, and therefore tackling the then apartheid political structure.Following South Africa’s first free and fair elections, she stated that unions such as Cosatu decided to use their political influence through their link with the ruling African National Congress, believing that this would be their fastest way to social change.This, however, had the effect of de-emphasising collective bargaining, union leaders flocking to positions in government, a decrease in resources being ploughed back into the unions, and ultimately, an illusion of social power but with a weakened stance, with attention not given to the pivotal workers’ issues.See exclusive interview with Herbert Jauch, pages 14 and 15Speakers from around the continent graced the panel, providing insights on the work that trade unions and labour institutions in their countries were doing, and providing a complex face of labour movements today.An overarching theme of the discussion was the relevance of trade unions today, and how this relevance could be enhanced.Speaking from the Namibian perspective, Herbert Jauch, senior researcher at LaRRI, reflected on how active and organised the unions had been prior to independence.”Unions could clearly articulate the issues, and understand that their role went beyond their members to all workers,” he said.He called for unions to get in tune with the needs of workers and to effectively serve their members.Jauch outlined a need for Namibian trade unions to move away from the party politics of the day, and focus on the issues facing members.”We are not Government.We are not the sidekick of Government.We are supposed to be the voice of the workers.”Anthony Yaw Baah, Director of Research at the Ghana Trade Union Congress, emphasised that the core mandate of trade unions should be “to protect the interests of workers by ensuring increased wages, improved working conditions and living standards, and decreasing poverty”.Baah added that the work done by unions is influenced by political, economical and environmental factors that affect this core mandate, and proposed that unions redefine their post-independent role in order to appeal to all workers, particularly those in the informal economy.Austin Muneka, senior researcher at the Zambian Congress of Trade Unions, cautioned that while “unions thrive where there is democracy, they sometimes have found themselves to be victims of their own systems/architecture”, and are increasingly becoming undermined and sidelined in what is happening.He stated that the centralised structure of unions limited internal union democracy, with unions being driven by their leaders and not by the members.Muneka also advised that unions become more strategic in their thinking and action.He called for increased representation for the casual workforce and that unions continuously engage with communities and societies (from where their members come).Women and youth must be integrated into the life of unions in a more active way.Sahra Ryklief – Director of the Labour Research Service in South Africa – was optimistic in her evaluation of the relevance of trade unions today, particularly during the past two years in which the “challenging of leadership on the political level has also led to challenging of leadership at the union leadership level”.Ryklief related how prior to independence, trade unions were at the centre of creating change, defending workers wages and conditions, and therefore tackling the then apartheid political structure.Following South Africa’s first free and fair elections, she stated that unions such as Cosatu decided to use their political influence through their link with the ruling African National Congress, believing that this would be their fastest way to social change.This, however, had the effect of de-emphasising collective bargaining, union leaders flocking to positions in government, a decrease in resources being ploughed back into the unions, and ultimately, an illusion of social power but with a weakened stance, with attention not given to the pivotal workers’ issues.See exclusive interview with Herbert Jauch, pages 14 and 15