Industrial Relations Journal 27:l ISSN 0019-8692

Democracy, labour and development: transforming industrial relations in Africa

Tayo Fashoyin and Segun Matanmi
Here the authors assess the status of labour development in Africa. The continental constraints of the political context and overall environment of the employment relationships are discussed. They conclude that the longer term role of African unions should be facilitated by greater tripartite concertation and government flexibility.

The subject matter of this article is significant as it brings together three interconnected concepts that appear to basically underlie any meaningful discussion of industrial relations in the African context. Even though these terms are conceptually separable, they can hardly be isolated from one another as a result of their interplay within the context of employment relationships. For example, the term democracy is useful in the discussion of the orientation of labour groups, just as labour has salience in the analysis of various issues of social and economic development. It is clear that certain characteristics have been associated with the concept of democracy. These are, among others: anti-authoritarianism, consensual decision process, majority rule, and representativeness. When applied to the world of work, industrial democracy connotes worker participation,
0 Tayo Fashoyin is of the Labour Law and Labour Relations Branch, International Labour Office, Geneva. Segun Matanmi is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria.

which is an arrangement that guarantees employees role in some aspects of operation of an enterprise; workers control, which is a mechanism by which workers gain appreciable power in juxtaposition to managerial power, or workers councils, which is essentially another organisational system that facilitates the exercise of full control by workers over the running of an enterprise[l]. Nevertheless, the organisational profiles of African labour movements have revealed a predominance of internal practices that are still a far cry from democratic tenets[2]. But it is also appealing to find that, even though unions in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Benin had welcomed dictatorial (military) regimes which had dislodged democratic civilian governments, those unions have continued to support the clamour for the installation of viable democratic governance[3]. Our argument in this article is that the larger environment of wage employment and under-development in the post-independence African states, as well as the labour policies that have been in vogue, have, on the whole, restricted the role of trade unions

@ Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 lJF, UK and 238 Main St., Cambridge, M A 02142, USA.

38 Industrial Relations Journal

in the development process. This argument is generally articulated across the entire article but especially amplified in the ensuing contexts of the employment and labour market conditions in Africa, and also in our description of the frameworks of economic development and political governance in these states. However, some notable achievements by African unions have been made particularly at the enterprise level. These are acknowledged and further discussed in the final section. Significantly, the current slow but gradual diffusion of democratic values in Africa has presented yet another opportunity for African unions to contribute meaningfully to development. Nevertheless, in the foreseeable future, perhaps the only feasible avenue for these unions is through participation in tripartite national institutions and bilateral negotiations at the enterprise level, both for the promotion of democratisation and national development.

Employment and conditions of labour in Africa

It is necessary to account for the structure of wage labour in Africa, although wage employment itself engages a small proportion of the African labour force. For example, the aggregate labour force in SubSaharan Africa in 1995 constituted only some 9% of the worlds total labour force by region-a meagre growth differential of one percentage point from the 8% ratio attained in 1965. More specifically, in the context of African economies, the scope of the wage employment sector remains largely urbanskewed-suggesting a widespread policy neglect of the traditional sector. Also, the associated labour force relative to the economically-active population is small. Approximately, only about 15% of the labour force is engaged in the formal, or so-called modem, economic sectors that comprise wage-paying non-agricultural private firms and the public sector[4]. The breakdown of international statistics limits the quantum of wage employment as a proportion of total employment generally in the poor, low-income countries o f the world to a relatively scanty 17.1/o, compared to 57.470 in the middle-income countries and 84.4% in the high-income countries[5]. Since the majority of African countries is classified as low-income, the overall status

of wage employment in these countries can be imagined. At this juncture, we note that data problems are a part of the horrendous problems of development generally in the developing countries but particularly in Africa. The international statistical authorities on employment such as the ILO also acknowledge the various limitations of data quality, quantity, reliability and comparability that are imposed by the local sources on most African countries and attributable to the difficult conditions in the latter[6]. Therefore, for the purpose of this article, the inability to source complete time series data on a number of these countries has restricted our choice to the ones that are coherent and relatively more longitudinal to allow for a reasonable perception and meaningful discussion of the exhibited trends for Africa. Table 1 shows a generalisable pattern for Africa, in which wage employment-in spite of its acknowledged limited scope-has progressively declined generally from about the mid-1980s in the selected countries. It should also be noted that the various economic reform (or structural adjustment) programmes took off in many of these countries around this period[7]. The nature of SAPS and their effects are discussed in the next section. Meanwhile, although in relative terms, the trends in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi and Mauritius have definitely increased, some of the increases are only marginal (reflecting sluggish overall economic growth) and could be rendered meaningless in a developing country context with typically high rates of total population growth. Furthermore, as revealed in Table 1, the data configuration for South Africa began to dip as from 1990, and for Zimbabwe, from 1992. Thus, the overall picture of the existing wage employment in Africa is not a bright one. The accounting factors for this negative scenario, because of their inter-linkages, will be collectively discussed later in this section and further also in the subsequent section on the economic environment. A further structural dimension of African wage employment is portrayed in Table 2. Again, the available data on the scale of paid employment in the broad sectors of labour activity are incomplete and sometimes non-existent for several countries[8]. Therefore, some of the counties that are previously represented in Table 1 are

0Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996.

Transforming industrial relations in Africa 39

Table I: Trend data on wage employment in Africa for non-agricultural activities, 19841993selected countries (thousands)
Country Botswana Burundi Cen. Afr. Rep. Ghana Kenya Malawi Mauritius Niger South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe
1991 1992 1993 104.7 112.8 125.2 144.6 163.0 168.9 202.6 216.1 221.4 36.3 38.1 39.6 42.4 46.6 43.1 40.3 38.1 16.1 15.0 14.8 13.7 13.4 12.7 374.4 362.3 279.7 196.7 394.5 407.9 884.0 933.5 972.1 1007.5 1039.6 1098.4 1139.3 1169.8 205.1 221.9 244.9 229.8 232.1 224.4 262.2 273.3 144.1 159.0 181.2 204.1 219.9 224.0 232.8 235.3 238.1 19.7 21.5 24.0 25.3 23.7 26.2 23.2 22.1 5109.6 5036.4 5093.9 5197.7 5302.7 5333.9 5301.5 5191.8 5082.7 4950.5 329.7 326.6 325.7 325.4 323.9 322.4 765.2 778.6 805.6 820.0 854.1 882.5 902.1 939.8 935.8 909.5 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

Source: International Labour Office, Yearbook of Labour Statistics, 1994, Geneva, pp. 360-362 Table 2 : Trends in African wage employment as percentage of total employment, 1982-1993
Country Algeria Botswana Central African Republic Egypt Ghana Liberia Mauritius Morocco Nigeria South Africa Tunisia Wage employment (as O/O of total) Agriculture Non- Agriculture 1982-87 1988-93 1982-87 1988-93

46 5 8 7
-

36

29 1

84 93*
-

89 43 82
-

37

78 79
-

27

78 34 41
-

43

93 36

78

86 80 33* 92 78

* = 1981-86 Statistic t = 1987-92 Statistic

Source: ILO, World Labour Report 1994, Geneva, p. 104 and ILO, World Labour Report 1995, Geneva, p. 112
missing from Table 2, thus limiting comparability across this dimension. Nevertheless, in addition to Botswana, Central African Republic, Ghana, Mauritius and South Africa that are also represented in Table 2-because data exist for them on wage employment as percentage of total employment, six other countries for which similar data exist are featured. Further on Table 2, it is clear that, with the rare exceptions of Mauritius, Morocco
40 Industrial Relations Journal

and South Africa (the latter, particularly, with a history of high settler activity in plantation or commercial agriculture), agriculture (and, hence, the traditional sector) has not been a prime contributor to wage employment in most of Africa. On the other hand, wage employment in the modem (non-agricultural) sector has been the norm. At either extreme, it had accounted for at least 33% of non-agricultural wage employment in Nigeria for the 1987-1992 period or 0 Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1946.

34% in Ghana for 1982-87, as well as up to 92% in South Africa for the 1988-93 period or 93% in Botswana for 1981-86[9]. Nevertheless, the general picture of African wage employment as portrayed in Table 2 is that, not only is the desired growth of this form of employment practically stagnant, the generality of these economies is inflexible-to the extent that a potential engine of growth for job expansion in Africa, such as the agricultural sector, has been mostly neglected as a fall-out of largely asymmetric public policy. The historical and contemporary variables that are associated with this predicament and which further hinder the growth of the African economies are explained in the discussions in respect of Tables 3 and 4 in the subsequent section. But, there has also been a parallel develop-

Table 4: Average annual percentage growth of the GDP for other African countries in the middle-income group as compared to global reference group, 1970-1993
Country or Income Area Algeria Botswana Cameroon Congo Gabon Mauritius Morocco Senegal South Africa Tunisia All middle-income economies 1970-80 1980-93 4.6 2.1 14.5 9.6 8.0 0.0 5.8 2.7 9.0 1.2 6.8 6.0 5.6 3.7 2.3 2.8 3.2 0.9 6.8 3.7 5.5w

2.lw

Table 3: Country-wide profile of annual average percentage growfh of the GDP for Africa in the low-income group as compared to global reference group, 1970-1993
~~

Source: The World Bank, World Development Report 1995, New York, Oxford University Press, 1995, pp. 164-5

Country or Region 1970-80 1980-93 Benin 2.2 2.7 Burkina Faso 4.4 3.7 Burundi 3.1 3.6 Central African Republic 2.4 1.0 CBte dIvoire 6.8 0.1 Gambia 4.5 2.4 Ghana -0.1 3.5 Guinea 3.7 Guinea Bissau 2.4 4.8 Kenya 6.4 3.8 Lesotho 8.6 5.5 Malawi 5.8 3.0 Mali 4.7 1.9 Niger 0.6 -0.6 Nigeria 4.6 2.7 Sierra Leone 1.6 1.1 Tanzania 3.0 3.6 Togo 4.0 0.7 Zambia 1.4 0.9 Zimbabwe 1.6 2.7 Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) 3 . 8 ~ 1 . 6 ~ All low-income economies, excl. China and India 4.3w 5.7w w = weighted average Source: The World Bank, World Development Report 1995, Washington D.C.: Oxford University Press, 1995, pp. 164-5

ment of the informal sector or, stated differently, a growing informalisation of employment in the African countries. The informal sector exists as an agglomeration of small businesses and disparate non-agricultural activities usually found in the urban areasand a dominant source of employment in these countries[lO]. Throughout the 1980s and the present decade, the informal sector has become the employment source of last resort for the unemployed persons in Africa. Most people who lost their jobs due to contractions in the modem sector have been absorbed in the expansive informal sector. This also explains why open unemployment, particularly in the urban areas, tends to be low in most African countries. And, obviously, these insights into the structure of wage employment in the African countries have meaning in terms of our understanding of the magnitude of the problems of industrial relations in the region and the enormous prospects of harnessing the vast human resources in the informal sector for the purpose of trade union organisation[ll]. Be that as it may, the unionisation of African labour has marked another epoch in the historical chain of events that have been associated with the development of wage employment in the continent. This

0Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996

Transforming industrial relations in Africa 41

is particularly so when labour unions as collectivities are veritable institutions that have tended to survive political parties. Hence, their importance even in the context of African industrial relations cannot be over-emphasised. Perhaps, the demands of the modem work method and the imbalance of the structure of work relationships that generate inequalities in the terms of industrial relations have variously provided rational explanations for the origin and growth of labour unions in Africa. Arising from this overall historical development has also been the fact of the association of the early African trade unions with political action alongside with the nationalist and pro-independence movements. Thus, it happened that the rise in labour unionism was aided and promoted by the nationalist struggle for independence from colonial hegemony. But, it should also be noted that there was an international pattern to this development in the sense that examples of similar action were found also in Latin America, China, Asia, France and Portuga1[12]. Nevertheless, there was a recurring theme in that, in their struggle for political independence from the various colonial powers, the various nationalist movements collaborated with the emerging trade unions in this struggle. Therefore, in Africa generally, labour unions provided a major resource that broadened the base of anticolonial sentiments[l3]. However, it is worthy of note that the postindependence experience of African labour unions with the new national governments did not necessarily reflect the level of interaction and rapport of the nationalism era. In fact, not only was the assumption of unions that political independence would automatically bring about the economic upliftment of the working class erroneous, post-independence relations between trade unions and the new African governments soon became strained and the former began to suffer from fascist and repressive actions of the latter[l4]. Thus, the 'liberalised union freedoms and strike rights' which the unions had enjoyed up to the dawn of independence did not last in most states. The various unions had thereafter suffered repression from their Africn governments who appeared to have perceived the former as competitors and adversaries. Hence, the emerging governments exerted strong legal, administrative

policies and regulatory measures on these unions in order to literally 'clip their wings' and neutralise the potent threats that they appeared to constitute to their new regimes[l5]. Besides, it is also necessary to understand the general state of development of labour unions to date in Africa. For example, there has been the observation of a general link between the relative level of socio-economic development of African nations and the degree of unionisation or workers organisation. Thus, specific case situations have been cited, such as Tanzania where there is a high level of unionisation and where the state has promoted rural trade unions, compared to many other countries with correspondingly low levels of union organisation. In addition, it has been observed that isolated cases exist of state intervention in the internal affairs of the trade union movement. Some of these are Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia[l6]. Furthermore, for most parts of Africa the organisable labour pool even in the large enterprises is still relatively small, given the level of industrialisation and when compared to total national populations[l7]. As previously noted, there exists in the African region a vast informal sector where unionisation is more difficult.

The environment of economic underdevelopment

The different conditions of the African economies also warrant a focus in order to appreciate how the economic and political environments impact on trade unions and their role in social and economic development. Beginning from the 1970s, a downward trend had been associated with the growth of the African economies. Table 3 below is provided to illustrate the declining trend in the economies of Africa. The data compare low-income, SubSaharan, African countries across two broad time periods. Thus, it is noted that, in the latter decade, countries such as Benin, Burundi, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have shown comparatively higher average rates of growth than the group weighted average for the entire region. Yet, the longitudinal trend for Sub-Saharan Africa from 1980 through 1993 has generally declined. This is further evident from the

42 industrial Relations journal

0Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996.

composite data on all low-income economies (excluding China and India) which exhibited a modest positive average growth in the same period-and, by implication, depicting how worse off the African sub region has been. If the dismal picture of Table 3 above is attributed mainly to the peculiar impoverishment of these low-income economies, an account of the middle-income economies of Africa for the same period in Table 4, below, still does not project a n average growth trend. Although, for the 1980-93 broad period, several countries such as Algeria, Botswana, Congo, Mauritius, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia had equated or exceeded the group weighted average for all middleincome economies in the world, it is clear that, from 1980, the overall trend in Africa has also been one of protracted decline. The bottom line is that the overall deterioration of economic performance, as portrayed by Tables 3 and 4, has adversely affected the standard of living and quality of life in the African countries, as well as aggravated the unemployment problem in the region both in structure and magnitude[ 181. It is also necessary to point out that the present economic problem in Africa, which has been regarded as a crisis[l9], is attributed to both internal and external factors. The internal factors derive from structural constraints that evolved from historical circumstances, and from the physical environment[20]. Relatedly, the poor performance of investment in critical sectors, made worse by ill-advised financial, economic and social measures, particularly with regard to agricultural pricing policy, investment strategy, choice of technology, exploitation and use of human resources, and the participation of the general public and the social partners, have aggravated the economic problem[21]. Furthermore, the frequent absence of clear policies makes a fair and timely evaluation of management and planning strategies of past years difficult. Two external factors have negatively affected the economic prospects of African countries since the 1970s. These are natural disasters, mainly drought and famine, and the vulnerability of virtually all countries to external shocks. The drought that hit many African countries in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as well as their persistence coupled with occasional floods and widespread civil

wars, such as in Sudan and Zaire, or the menace of inter-ethnic conflict as in Rwanda, have variously exacerbated the problem of low level agricultural output in the region[22]. Although considerable variations exist in the effect of natural disasters on the agricultural sector, most African countries suffer from low levels of agricultural production and productivity due mainly to under-investment, technological backwardness, insufficient and inefficient production methods, and inadequate agrarian and extension policies[23]. Additionally, much of the economic crisis in Africa is attributable to international commerce and financial forces. Virtually all African countries have experienced adverse balance of payments difficulties for various reasons, such as soaring oil prices for the oil-importing nations or sharp declines in prices for the main exporters, a decline in world trade in primary commodity and severe terms-of-trade losses and, therefore, equally serious current account deficits. These problems have been exacerbated by the severe debt problem faced by the various countries. Since the 1980s and 1990s, many African countries have been expending a high proportion of their export earnings on debt-servicing. As an illustration, Africas debt had risen from $189.0 billion in 1985 to $299.7 billion in 1992. Examples of such highly indebted countries are Malawi, Niger, Nigeria and Zambia[24]. Therefore, it is clear that such unsatisfactory economic relationship between poor countries and the industrialised economies actually hampers development in the former, as considerable time and resources are dissipated on debt management rather than economic and social development. So far, the discussions in this article have also addressed the implication of the economic decline on employment and hence trade unions. Thus, the size of employment in Africa has been largely dependent on the performance of the economies, and, given their nature, employment has fallen dramatically in most countries. There are generally two main sources of the reduction in employment. The first is the reduction in output due to a shortage of inputs, itself dependent on foreign exchange earnings. Consequently, massive redundancies have taken place. From the 1970s to the present, the situation experiences of CBte dIvoire, Zambia and Zimbabwe are exemplary.

0Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996

Transforming industrial relations in Africa 43

The second reason for the reduction in employment has been the drastic cut in government expenditure, due primarily to a fall in revenue. Not only has the decline in government revenue affected employment opportunities in some parts of the private sector, such as the construction industry, it has adversely affected public sector employment since, in African countries, the government is still the single largest employer of modem sector labour. It is also important to note that the adjustment policies, including privatisation in the various countries, have not brought short-term relief to labour as, in practically all cases, the policies tend to reduce the number of job opportunities in both sectors of the economies and trigger steep decline in the standard of living. Hence, the decline in employment has often created tension and acrimony among the social partners in industrial relations. The logical policy response on the part of the governments of those African countries has been to explore the stemming of the unfavourable economic decline through the adoption of structural adjustment programmes, often initiated by international lending institutions. Suffice to say that despite the differences in the nature and magnitude of the problems facing each country, adjustment programmes have generally had the following objectives: to reduce balance of payment deficits, eg. through overvalued exchange rates, trade and economic liberalisation, and rationalise the public sector[25]. Conclusions on the impact of adjustment measures are subjects of debate, but the evidence available points to the fact that, in most countries, quite apart from its negative social impact with regard to deteriorating standard of living, adjustment measures have resulted in shifts in the labour market, marked declines in job opportunities and rising unemployment[26]. As might be expected, the contraction in employment has had adverse effects on the organisational strategies of trade unions, as the loss in membership and union income has crippled their effectiveness. Additionally, in several African countries, trade union rights have been severely curtailed while union leaders are often harassed and detained.

Labour and the development process

Against this complex backdrop of unfavourable economic environment, the role of labour in development can be discussed. Previous studies on the role of unions in the developing countries have generally focused on the misleading dichotomy between the narrow, self-serving interests of unions and their role in the development process. The argument has been that, bearing in mind that the purpose of trade unions is to defend and improve the wages and working conditions of their members, unions invariably must concentrate on the narrow job interests of their membership. One of such perspectives is by Kindleberg, who claimed that to assign other roles to unions would turn them into overseers, and in the process undermine their appeal to workers[27]. Yet, it has also been argued that trade unions in the developing countries should subordinate self-interests to national (development) interests. In other words, unions in these countries should play, if only in the course of development, roles different from those they were founded to serve. According to Schweinitz, this approach to labour is bound to emerge since the ideological and economic environment in the less-developed countries (LDCs) makes this form of state-union relations and control of the latter inevitable[28]. Although this debate is an old one, it remains essentially inconclusive. More importantly, the issues for debate are no less relevant in the 1990s because they concern how trade unions can effectively participate in economic recovery and national development for meaningful integration into the apparently global economy and international economic relations of the 1990s and beyond. The first argument is misleading when considered from the perspective of the developing world, for it presents too narrow a view of what trade unions are. The incompatibility between the sectoral interests of workers and national interests is generally exaggerated. In the same vein, the second view is erroneous because it assigns to unions roles that appear to contradict the objectives behind their formation. This view, as defined usually by political elites, sees the unions as governmental agencies in the execution of national development pro-

44 lndusfrial Relations Journal

0Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996.

grammes. Unavoidably, union members' interests are subordinated to those of political parties or, as is commonly argued, to societal interests of nation-building[29]. Be that as it may, the main reason why trade unions are encouraged to play a major role in economic development appears fairly obvious. For the structural reason that many of the developing countries depend heavily on a small, although crucial, industrial sector, the role of industrial workers, especially when they are organised, in the growth of that sector is very important. A little strike action can have a boomerang effect on the economy as production is lost and this can discourage investment. Similarly, the actions of the organised workers indirectly affect the conditions of the unorganised positively, as any benefits received by union members often provide a basis for the treatment of the unorganised, subsistence sector and rural workers. On the other hand, the actions of trade unions in the articulation of their sectoral interests have been adduced for the growing differentials between the organised and the unorganised workers[30]. Thus, in either case, trade union activities, particularly as regards the advancement of the economic interests of their members, affect development. In the view of Bates, the concern for economic development and social justice demands high productivity and restraint on wages, plus an equitable distribution of national wealth and resources. In seeking to achieve these objectives, the activities of trade unions must be reconciled with the imperatives of economic development[31]. Nevertheless, Damachi[32] has argued that attempts by many developing African countries to achieve the above objectives through subordination or co-optation of unions are questionable. He suggests that many African leaders experience anxiety about the right of trade unions to operate as independent institutions. That is to say, primarily for reasons of political expediency, many political leaders prefer to control trade union power so that the latter do not threaten the political stability of the ruling elites[33]. From the foregoing, two broad operational approaches to the relationship between the state/party and trade unions can be discerned. At one end of the spectrum are countries in which a partnership relationship between unions and the partylgovern-

ment is emphasised, the former being called upon to pursue the sectoral interests of their members in so far as these do not create obstacles to the development programmes of the state. Incidentally, the countries in this category are strikingly few in Africa: post-independence Nigeria (mainly in the 1960s and 1970s)' Sierra Leone, Zambia and, to a lesser extent, Kenya and post-independence Ghana under Busia, but excluding Rawlings's military regime. These are examples of countries that have emphasised, in varying degrees and contexts, the partnership relationship[34]. The second type of union-state relationship, undoubtedly the common type in African states today, is one that co-opts labour into the party/state framework. Cooptation, as used here, is defined as "a political structure which integrates organised labour through a system of mutual interaction at the leadership level and social mobilisation and control at the mass level" [35]. This relationship has existed in Tanzania, Botswana, Ghana under Nkrumah (1959-66), Nigeria (1985 to-date), and in practically all the Francophone West African states. In these countries, trade unions are, to use Galenson's words, "administrative arms of the state charged with the primary responsibility of maintaining discipline and furthering productivity . . ."[36]. In this perspective, trade unions operate within the limits set by the state and, consequently, their influence to significantly improve the conditions of their members are severely constrained in many African countries. However, available evidence suggests that the consequences of union co-optation into the state/party framework are not desirable for the promotion of economic development since such strategy detracts from the constructive role of trade unions in the development process. Unions tend to lose their members and their vitality the moment they are denied the right to perform functions that appeal to their members. Furthermore, they lose their image as an effective source of social change in the society. It seems to us, therefore, that co-optation or subordination of unions in African states for the purpose of achieving economic development is not only a misconception of the purpose of trade unions but that such policies rely on the erroneous concept that unions cannot participate effectively in the development process and still remain

0Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996.

Transforming industrial relations in Africa 45

independent institutions. We agree with Flanders that unions can and have transformed society by remaining doggedly confined to their primary objectives and refusing to be captured and exploited by political parties[37]. It is from the foregoing perspective that we can examine the argument for union participation in politics in Africa. This argument rests on the assumption that unions being mass organisations are in a vantage position to advance the interests of the working class and thereby promote development. Such an argument looks attractive, particularly in the era of democratisation. Being democratic organisations themselves, the unions can, in principle, serve as formidable institutions for promoting democracy in the vast authoritarian terrain of Africa. Unfortunately, the evidence in virtually all African countries where this phenomenon had been promoted or tested, is a painful realisation that union involvement in politics has usually caused them self-destruction. Participation in politics has brought many African unions into disrepute and open confrontation with the ruling elite. More importantly, it has detracted from whatever gains might have been achieved through resolutely confining themselves to industrial activities. In Lesotho, for example, the unions' resolve to support a particular political party led to the persecution of their leaders and ultimately, to the demise of the labour movement[38]. Similar events occurred in Ghana during the Nkrumah and Busia regimes of 1959-1966 and 1969-71 respectively[39]. A very recent experience in Nigeria was the involvement of trade unions in the abortive democratisation process which has led to the ultimate dismissal of pro-democracy union leaders in 1994 by the military junta. Furthermore, in Zambia where the unions played a key role in the election of their former leader, Mr Frederick Chiluba, as President of the country, the latter has recently taken legislative measures to undermine the unity of the Zambian Congress of Trade Unions. President Chiluba's sudden decision to ratify, without consultation, International Labour Conventions No. 87 and 98 on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, has the undertone of a ploy to weaken the powerful organisation which he himself had led to fight former President Kaunda for many 46 Industrial Relations Journal

years. In any event, it should be noted that in the particular conditions that prevail in Africa, workers do not form a trade union because they all share the same political view or ideology. As Fashoyin[40] has demonstrated, the fact that all the political parties that have been formed in Nigeria since the 1950s on the platform of the working class have failed to arouse the interest and commitment of workers is testimony to the claim that, in Africa, unions-especially if they value labour rights and self-governancecannot successfully operate on a political party basis in the foreseeable future.

The challenge of transforming industrial relations in Africa

It is well known that an industrial relations system is influenced by a country's economic, political and cultural environments. In Africa, as elsewhere, attempts by governments to restructure their economies in response to the challenge of development and growth have brought about a myriad of economic systems. Though each economic system invariably introduces a peculiar industrial relations framework, there are contradictions or what has been referred to as "development dilemma"[41]. These have arisen partly as a result of the conflict of ideas, on the one hand, in terms of the purposeful role and independence of trade unions in the development process and, on the other, the responsibility and commitment of governments to ensure rapid economic development within an atmosphere of industrial democracy and peace. The economic crisis that has been discussed earlier in the article constitutes an enormous challenge to industrial relations institutions for which the social partners are expected to respond, not only to achieve sectoral objectives but also to enable them play a role in the task of economic recovery and national development. This provides the background for examining the nature of this challenge. It is significant that the problems of unemployment, low productivity, declining real wage and falling standard of living have been perhaps the most troublesome for African workers. Consequently, trade unions generally continue to lose their appeal to workers especially as they are seen to be incapable of stemming the tide of unemploy0 Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996.

ment. For the unions, the loss has been in both ways: the changing composition of the labour force has meant a reduction in unionised employees, and consequently the financial resources of unions. Also, through legislative, administrative and coercive measures, made ostensibly to give governments a free hand in dealing with intractable development problems, trade unions are being marginalised in national development efforts. This is in spite of the reality that the goal of achieving rapid economic recovery, through higher productivity, national competitiveness in global markets, and improved standard of living is not a task that can be effectively pursued with the exclusion of labour. In the final analysis, the way out appears to be clear. There is no doubt that the parties in African industrial relations systems need to re-appraise themselves to appreciate the need for their mutual coexistence. In particular, any fruitful discussion of democracy, labour and development must recognise the overriding influence of the economic and political environment on union organisation and behaviour. It is however important to note that the present problem of economic recovery, compounded by unstable political structures in these countries, does not present a promising outlook for extensive use of collective bargaining for sectoral gains in the immediate future. Given this intimidating and hostile environment, the prospects for labours contribution to democracy and development in Africa would seem to derive from two interrelated industrial relations structures. At the macro or national level, the point cannot be overemphasised that the transformation of industrial relations in Africa for the promotion of democratic values and national development ought to focus on the reactivating of existing labour relations structures, or the creation of new ones where they do not exist, to allow for the unification of the parties and their seemingly disparate interests in a way that there is an embrace of tripartism and the achievement of social concertation in employment relationships. It would also imply the promotion of trilateral values such that labour, employers and government will perceive the mutual benefits that are derivable from partnership, and the fact that the interest and gains of a second or third party do not necessarily negate the aspirations and opportunities of

a first party. In the process, the status of collective bargaining will be enhanced in the workplace as a further institutional mechanism for the entrenchment of industrial democracy as an engine of positive industrial relations. Available evidence sugests that there is indeed a trend towards this development. Recently, the social partners and government in Kenya have renewed their commitment to tripartite consultation on all issues of development, including economic reforms, social and workers welfare[42]. Similar development appears to be taking place in Uganda where the partners have expressed a desire to return to tripartism. Undoubtedly the most encouraging case is South Africa which has newly emerged from apartheid to a full representative government. In that country, a fresh Labour Relations Act in which specific responsibility is given to tripartite consultation is in the process of being enacted. In fact, the new tripartite organ created by government, the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) has made an impressive start by successfully negotiating some aspects of the proposed legislation. The trend is becoming observable in a number of African countries. in such countries as Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Congo, Tanzania etc.[43], the return to pluralistic democracy is taking place also with positive effect on labour relations at the enterprise level. Here, the possibility of greater participation of employees at the company level can be described as the outcome of a new managerial strategy designed to deal with labour relations matters as they affect individual organisations. Through joint bilateral effort, labour and management at the enterprise level are effectively handling the challenge of increased productivity, efficiency and competitiveness. Also, employers and unions are developing flexible approaches to the management of human resources so that they can address the problem of human resource utilisation in the face of technological constraints, declining non-labour inputs and low productivity. In the public sector, governments are continually faced with strikes and other forms of industrial action, declining revenue and the need to reduce deficits. As employers of labour, governments too can use existing bilateral and tripartite institutions,

0Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996.

Transforming industrial relations in Africa 47

essentially for promoting participation and co-operation in the workplace, and for solving the problems of low productivity, efficiency and declining revenue.

References
1. Munck, R., The N e w International Labour Studies: A n introduction, London: Zed Books Ltd., 1988, pp. 145-162. 2. Ibid., p. 112. 3. Kraus, J., Trade Unions and Democratisation in Africa, in Marian Doro (ed.), Africa Contemporary Record 2989-90. New York: Africana Publishing, 1994, p. A70. 4. See The World Bank, World Development Report 2995. New York: Oxford University 1 1 , 72-73. Press, Inc., 1995, pp. 9 5. Ibid. 6. See International Labour Office (ILO), Bulletin of Labour Statistics, 2995-2, Geneva, 1995, p. xi. 7. International Labour Office/Jobs and Skills Programme for Africa (ILO/JASPA), African Employment Report 2992, Addis Ababa, 1993, p. 11. 8. ILO World Labour Report 1994, and ILO, World Labour Report, 1995, Geneva. 9. See ILO, World Labour Report 2994, p. 104; and ILO. World Labour Renort 2995. D. 112. 10. Fashoyin, Tayo Spatial anh Sectoral kattems and Trends of the Unemployment Problem,

Industrialisation of the Third World, London: Zed Books Limited, 1988, p. 111. 18. See Fashoyin, Tayo and Damachi, U. G., op. cit., pp. 47-48. 19. See Ornanisation of African Uniw (OAU), Report zf the Secretary-General on the Role of the Ministries of Labour in the lmplementation of the Lagos Plan of Action and Africas Priority Programme for Economic Recovery (2986-2990).

Addis Ababa, April 1987. 20. The World Bank, Accelerated Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A n Agenda for Action, Washington DC, 1981. 21. ILO, Review and Evaluation of ILO Activities in Africa Including the Economic Crises in Africa and the Implementation of International Labour Standards, Geneva, 1986. 22. The World Bank, Financing Adjustment with Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2986-90. Washington DC 1986; and ILO/JASPA, op. cit., p. x. 23. OAU, op. cit. 24. Fashoyin, Tayo and Damachi, U.G., op. cit., p. 49; and ILOIJASPA, o p . cit., p. 6. 25. See The World Bank, op. cit., pp. 15-24. 26. Adepoju, A., The Impact of Structural Adjustment on the Population of Africa, London: Heinemann, 1993. 27. Kindleberg, C. P., Economic Development, New Yo& McGraw Hill, 1958. 28. Schweintz, K., Industrialisation, Labour ConProceedings of the Annual Conference of the trol and Democracy, Economic Development Nigerian Economic Society, Kaduna, May 13-17, and Cultural Change, 7, 1954, pp. 38-04. 29. Fashoyin, Tayo, Trade Unions and African 1986A. 11. Fashoyin, Tayo and Damachi, U. G., IndusDevelopment, International Studies of Managetrial Relations for African Economic Recovment and Organisation, Summer 1986, ery, Nigerian Journal of Industrial Relations, pp. 59-60. Vol. 2, December 1988, pp. 56-57. 30. Fajana, O., Intra-industry Wage Differentials in Nigeria, Journal of Developing Area, 9,1975, 12. Munck, R., op. cit., p. 108. pp. 523-38. 13. All of the following: Friedland, W. H., Unions and Industrial Relations in Underdeveloped 31. Bates, R., Union, Parties and Political Development, New Haven: Yale University Press, Countries, Ithaca: New York State School of 1971, pp. 40-51. Industrial and Labour Relations, Come11 University, 1963, p. 36; Ref. No. 13; Milen, B. H., 32. Damachi, U. G., The Role of Trade Unions in The Political Role of Labour in Developing Counthe Development Process, with a Case Study of tries, Washington D.C.: The Brookings InstiGhana. New York: Praeger, 1974. tution, 1963, pp. 54-63; Davies, I., African 33. Bates, R., op. cif.; Gertzel, G., Labour and Trade Unions. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1966, the State: The Case of the Zambian Mine ch. 5; Yesufa, T. M., The State and Industrial Workers Union, The Journal of Commonwealth Relations in Ross, A. M. ed. Industrial and Comparative Politics, 13,1975, pp. 290-304; Relations and Economic Development, London: and Gladstone, A., Trade Unions, Growth and Development, Labour and Society, Vol. 5, Macmillan, pp. 104-5. 14. Tokunboh, M. A., Labour Movement in Nigeria, No. 1, 1980, pp. 49-68. 34. Fashoyin, Tayo, op. cit., p. 61. Lagos: Litramed, 1985, pp. 59-67. 35. Panitch, L., Trade Unions and the Capitalist 15. Kraus, J., op. cit., p. A54. State, N e w Left Review, 125, 1981, pp. 2 5 4 3 . 16. Gabre, Michael Mesfin, The Role of Trade 36. Galenson, W., Labour and Economic DevelopUnions and Employers Organisations in the ment, New York: Wiley, 1962, p. 107. Social and Economic Development of Africa: 37. Flanders, A., Management and Unions, London: An Overview, in Tayo Fashoyin, ed., lndusFaber and Faber, 1970, p. 39. trial Relations and African Development. New 38. Ananaba, W., The Trade Union Movement in Delhi: South Asian Publishers, 1992; Kraus, Africa, London: C. Hurst and Company, 1979, J., op. cit., p. A55. pp. 89-101. 17. Southall, R. (ed.), Trade Unions and the N e w

48 Industrial Relations Journal

0Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996.

39. Damachi, U. G. op. cit. 40. Fashoyin, Tayo, Industrial Relations and the Political Process in Nigeria. RS 69. Geneva: International Institute for Labour Studies, 1981. 41. Damachi, U. G., 'Industrial Relations: A Development Dilemma' in Damachi, U.G. and H. D. Seibel (eds.), Management Problems

in

Africa.

London:

Macmillan,

1986,

pp. 117-118.

42. ILO, Structural Adjustment, Labour Refations and Productivity in Kenya. Labour-management Relations Series, Geneva, forthcoming 1996. 43, seeILO/JASPA, op. tit,, p, 2,

0Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996

Transforming industrial relations in Africa

49