The International Journal of Business Management and Technology, Volume 5 Issue 4 July – August 2021

ISSN: 2581-3889

Research Article Open Access

Topic:Nexus between public sector employees and

effectiveness of trade unionism

Mataba Augustine Torayi & Professor Faitira Manuere

Affiliation: Chinhoyi University Of technology

Abstract: This study sought to assess the nexus between public sector employees and effectiveness effectiveness of trade
unions .The study employed a descriptive research design with a sample size of 323 respondents. The questionnaires
were mailed to respondents due to the Covid 19 pandemic. A total of 284 questionnaires were returned which amounted
to 88 percent. The results showed that trade union effectiveness was being hampered by Government overriding the role
of trade unions by imposing salary increase without considering the function of trade unions. The legislative provisions
in the country although ratified from International Labour Organisation Conventions. The results also revealed that 74%
of the respondents noted that economic challenges faced since 2000 have affected collective bargaining in the public
sector. This was necessitated by the unwillingness by employees to pay the check off scheme. The effectiveness of trade
unions was also being impeded due to failure by Government to hear the side of public sector employees. Manipulation
of the activities of trade union was also viewed as an impediment of the trade union effectiveness in the public sector.
The results of the study indicated that the majority(61%) perceive trade unions ineffective in regards to openness and
accountability to its members.However, vis a-vis sharing information to its members,the respondents were rather evenly
divided,with 50% agreeing that the unions shares information and 50% disagreeing.69% of the respondents also
perceived the union to lack proper understanding of the employer‟s business.Based on the results trade unions should
endeavour to put in place a proper communication strategy so that they can relay information easily to its
members.Furthemore, un

Keywords:Nexus,Tradeunion,PublicSector,Employee, Perception,ratification

I. Introduction

Trade unionism is a universally acknowledged phenomenon which has a bearing on the employees‟ wellbeing.Although
the concept is practiced in both the publis and private sector.Employees in the public sector has certain perceptions in
light of effectiveness of trade unions in the public sector. The process by which the mutual agreement is incorporated
between the management and the Worker‟s Union is known as the collective bargaining agreement. By its very nature,
collective bargaining is a dynamic process in the sense that collective bargaining today is much different from what it
used to be before the advent of the modern labor laws. Today collective bargaining has assumed a complex nature,
conducted in the most formal environment, associating the services of a large number of experts, legal practitioners,
consultants and specialized personnel. Today it is regarded as a social process, because it occurs in a social setting.
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2010)

II. Statement of the Problem

Many organisations often find themselves in ruckus and topsy-turvy positions due to dynamic and unpredictable
operating environment.The trade unions in the public sector also face this dilemma as most employees in the public
sector have certain perceptions towards trade unions. The Zimbabwe Independent of 2 August 2019 also highlighted the
legal constraints being faced by public sector unions in fulfilment of their mandates. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions President Peter Mutasa outlined that “when the Zimbabwe Congress of trade union gave the government a five-
day ultimatum to respond on the issue of United States Dollar pegged Salaries based then the government promulgated
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Topic:Nexus between public sector employees and effectiveness of trade unionism

the statutory instrument 142 of 2019 which banned the use of US dollar as transactional currency.This led to many
employees shunning their unions as they view them as failures in fulfilment of their mandates.The unilateral declaration
of salaries to public sector employees without consulting the relevant constituency is thorny in the flesh for many
employees who have developed a negative perception over their trade unions ,therefore,this research seeks to
reconnoitre the perception of public sector employees on eff

III. Literature review

The literature review of this research is underpinned by two theories mainly goal system and pluralist perpective.

Goal System

The research on trade union effectiveness is guided by the „Goal-System‟ framework of trade union effectiveness. “This
framework rests on the assumption that an organisation is governed by a rational set of decision-makers who set goals
and develop strategies for their achievement” (Gall and Fiorito, 2016:196). Hence union effectiveness is defined on “the
basis of goal attainment, in relation to the aspects of the contract of employment” (Pyman, Holland, Teicher, and
Cooper, 2010:466). This theory is relevant because it sets out a comprehensive framework of penultimate goal criteria for
evaluating union effectiveness. “The theory deploys the concept of the coalition‟ to seek to understand how the trade
unions prevails and thus set the goals” (Gall and Fiorito, 2016:198). It also focuses on identifiable measures and goals by
recognising the relationship between the processes of achieving the set goals. Intrinsically, the theory is deemed
appropriate for the organising process because the “desire of non-members for membership, and members‟ satisfaction
with union representation, are higher where the trade union is perceived as an effective organisation capable of
delivering better terms and conditions for employees” (Bryson and Forth, 2017:7; Mohammed, 2010:89).

Pluralist Perspective
The workplace is viewed as a microcosm of society replete with heterogeneity in social groups, social interest, values
and beliefs that generate conflict. So, conflict is inherent as the actors have divergent interests and objectives. This is one
of the theories still resonating today, the proponent of the theory is Fox's „frames of reference‟ (1966, 1974).According to
the theory this is one of the approaches upon which industrial relations can be undertaken. The pluralist theory‟s
understanding is that employment organizations are a coalition of individuals and groups with diverse objectives,
values and interests. The underlying assumption with this perspective is that individuals in an organization combine
into a variety of distinct sectional groups, each with its own interest, objectives and leadership. In pluralism, the
organization is perceived as being made up of powerful and divergent subgroups each with its own legitimate interests
and loyalties and with their own set of objectives and leaders. Two predominant subgroups in the pluralist perspective
are the management and trade unions. In the Zimbabwean perspective the public sector the management is the
government with divergent views with trade unions. This supports the notion that conflict is inherently unavoidable
when dealing with industrial relations since different subgroups has different opinions in the day to day operations.
Trade unions are deemed as legitimate representatives of employees. Conflict is resolved through collective bargaining
and is viewed not necessarily as a bad thing and if managed, could in fact, be channeled towards evolution and positive
change. The perspective also acknowledges the fact that there is “widespread distribution of authority and power within
society, a separation of ownership from management, a separation of political and industrial conflict” (Salamon 1998).
This perspective therefore promotes industrial relations at the work place as it enables participation of workers‟
committees and their trade unions.

What are trade unions

according to Ghosh et al. (2009, p. 38) “trade unions are a legitimate system for organizing workers to voice their rights
and grievances.”.A trade union is also defined as means any association or organization formed to represent or advance
the interests of any employees or class thereof in respect of their employment(Zimbabwe Labour Act.28:01 section 2).

Effectiveness of trade union

According to Bryson (2014), unions need to identify practical methods like improving the perception of employees
regarding union effectivenessas one way to recruit and retain membership.Bryson (2014) identified two broad category
types of union effectiveness: 1. Unionorganizationaleffectiveness: This category type encompasses thefactors, whichgive
the union the mandate or ability to represent its members by virtue of its health state as an organization. Further Bryson
(2014, p. 5) breaks down union organizational effectiveness into the following dimensions: • Unions‟ ability to
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Topic:Nexus between public sector employees and effectiveness of trade unionism

communicate and share information • Usefulness of unions as a source of information and advice • Unions‟ openness
and accountability to members • Union responsiveness to members‟ problems and complaints • The power of the union
• How seriously management have to take the union 2. Union‟s ability to improve work and workingconditions
According to Bryson (2014), the union‟s ability to improve work and working conditions can also be broken down into
the following dimensions: • Getting pay increase • Offering protection against unfair treatment • Working with
management for improvedperformance • Increasing managerial responsiveness to employees • Making the workplace
a better place to work • Promotion of equal opportunities According to Bryson (2003), the two types of effectiveness,
signal a union, which is successful in representing its members in matters that concern them.Therefore, suffice to state
that the two categories of union effectiveness as propoundedby Bryson (2014) were adapted in this study in
ordertoevaluate the effectiveness

According to Bryson (2014), unions need to identify practical methods like improving the perception of employees
regarding union effectivenessas one way to recruit and retain membership.Bryson (2014) identified two broad category
types of union effectiveness: Firstly,Unionorganizationaleffectiveness: This category type encompasses thefactors,
whichgive the union the mandate or ability to represent its members by virtue of its health state as an organization.
Further Bryson (2003, p. 5) breaks down union organizational effectiveness into the following dimensions: Unions‟
ability to communicate and share information ,Usefulness of unions as a source of information and advice , Unions‟
openness and accountability to members , Union responsiveness to members‟ problems and complaints ,The power of
the union , How seriously management have to take the union.Secondly, Union‟s ability to improve work and
workingconditions According to Bryson (2003), the union‟s ability to improve work and working conditions can also be
broken down into the following dimensions: Getting pay increase, Offering protection against unfair treatment ,
Working with management for improvedperformance , Increasing managerial responsiveness to employees ,Making the
workplace a better place to work ,Promotion of equal opportunities According to Bryson (2003), the two types of
effectiveness, signal a union, which is successful in representing its members in matters that concern them.Therefore,
suffice to state that the two categories of union effectiveness as propoundedby Bryson (2003) were adapted in this study
in ordertoevaluate the effectiveness

Perception of public sector employees on trade unions

According to Shrestha (2012) trade union carries out various researches for new campaigns and policies especially for
government policy and for members. This on essence help trade union membership safeguard its members job security,
as union is there to campaign on behalf of its members. Trade union ensures that health and safety regulation exist in an
organization. All workers in a working place should have access to a safe working environment.

The motive behind being effective this is to attract and retain more union members. Union members measure union
effectiveness by the services they receive from their unions. It is worth noting that union members may be satisfied with
the delivery outcomes, but they may not be content with the internal operations of the union, thus trade unions need to
strike a balance between these two aspects. There was a universal declaration by Bryson and Forth (2017:8) that there is
an important correlation “between unions‟ organisational effectiveness and employee perceptions of whether they are
effective in achieving fair pay, promoting equal opportunities, protecting workers, making work interesting and
enjoyable, and working with management to increase quality and productivity”. Pyman et al., (2010) and Bryson and
Forth (2017) suggest that organisational effectiveness influences the delivery of outcomes and successes which may in
turn affect non-members‟ decisions to join a trade union, thus improving union effectiveness in the workplace.
However, according to Colquitt, et al., (2005) contextual variables such as the industrial relations climate and union
power, can moderate the perceptions of trade unions‟ effectiveness.

From the Zimbabwean perceptive members believe that as union density increases that is trade union‟s ability to
persuade more employees to join also increase and the management‟s ability to resist decrease (Gwisai, 2015). But
however unions may also suffer from saturation as when they become to large they also become unable to effectively
represent the needs of individual employees. The labour Act 28:01 section 29 which stipulates the entitlements of trade
unions has led to many employee having greater perception towards trade union membership among them,
recommendation of collective job action by trade unions although there are formalities to be adhered to employees just
perceive that trade unions should call for job action. Also to make representations to a determining authority or labour
court.

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Topic:Nexus between public sector employees and effectiveness of trade unionism

Like most concept in within the social science disciplines, perception is defined as act of being aware of one‟s
environment through physical sensation, which denotes an individual‟s ability to understand. According to Michener et
al(2014) avows that “perception is the by which w form impressions of other people‟s traits and personalities. The extent
to which positive attitudes converts into actual union membership appears to be critically dependent on a union
friendly Institutional structure(Thomas and Daryl,2012).The perception of public sector employees play a pivotal role in
trade unions effectiveness.

IV. Methodology

(Leedy&Ormrod 2001; Williams, 2011) describe the research methodology as the holistic steps a researcher employ in
embarking on a research work (p. 14). The term “mixed methods” refers to an emergent methodology of research that
advances the systematic integration, or “mixing,” of quantitative and qualitative data within a single investigation or
sustained program of inquiry. ... Collecting and analyzing both quantitative (closed-ended) and qualitative (open-
ended) data(Saunders et al ,2014).The study utilised a convergent triangulation design to reconnoitre the membership
perceptions and the experience of trade unions leaders on service delivery to the entire membership. The questionnaires
were mailed due to the Covid 19 that deter movement. This was the only effective data collection method at the
researcher disposal. The study sample of 383 trade union members and officials based in Harare who were randomly
selected from different workplaces

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 Topic:Nexus between public sector employees and effectiveness of trade unionism

Designing the strand: state Designing the strand: state

quantitative research qualitativeresearch questions
objectives and questions and and determine the qualitative
determine the quantitative approach
approach
Collect the Quantitative Data:
Collect the Quantitative Data:
 Obtain permission
 Obtain permission  Identify the qualiitative
 Identify the sample
quantitative sample  Collect open-ended
 Collect closed-ended and dat with protocols
dat with instruments

Analyze Quantitative data: Analyze Qualitative

data:Analyze data using
Analyze the quantitative procedures of theme
data using descriptive and development and those
statistics,inferential specific to the qualitative
statistics and effect sizes approach

USE STRATEGIES TO MERGE THE TWO SETS OF RESULTS:

 Identify content areas represented in both data sets and

compare,contrast and or synthesize the results in a discussion or
table
 Identify differences within one set of results based on dimensions
within the other set and examine the difference within a display
organised by the dimensions
 Develop procedures to transform one type of result into the other
type of data(e.g turn themes into counts).Conduct further analysis
to the transformed data to the other data(i.e conduct statistical
analyses that include thematic analysis)

INTERPRET THE MERGED RESULTS

 Summarise and Interpret the separate

results.
 Discuss to what extent and in what ways
results from the two data
converge,diverge,relate to each other and
or produce a more complete
understanding.

Source:Author’s Construct(2021)

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Topic:Nexus between public sector employees and effectiveness of trade unionism

Population

Study population is the total of people from which researcher choose participants for the area under
study(Robinson,2014).Population encompasses identifying a set of inclusion as well as exclusion technique(Brinjikji et al
2013).The inclusion requirements include defining characteristics that participants will possess in order to participate in
the study(Robinson,2014,stern et al ,2014).According to Daas&Osen(2013) described a target population for a survey as
the entire set of a collection or a category for which the data is used to deduce conclusions. The population of the study
is the collection of the idiosyncratic features under consideration that the researcher is interested in. The Zimbabwe
Public Services Commission employs about 188070 civil servants out of its substantive establishment strength of around
280,000 civil servants who occupied various grades and occupations in the service some of which were still vacant since
2006 (Zimbabwe Salary Service Bureau, 2016).

Sample Size

Sample size means the representation of population in a research study. The size of the sample is the extend or scope of
sample elements that are considered in a research study. Sekaran and Bougie (2016: 263) define “a sample as a subset of
the population to be studied”. According to Kothari (2004) defines “a sample design a definite plan for obtaining a
sample from a given population. It refers to the technique or the procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting
items for the sample”. After a thorough examination of the sample, “the researcher should be able to draw conclusions
that are generalisable to the population of interest” (Sekaran and Bougie, 2016: 264).

The sample size following formula used is as follows:

p (1−P)
n= P 1−P
(ℎ 2 /𝑧 2 )+( )
N

n = Sample size
N = Population size (188070)
P = % of public sector employees involved in trade unionism involved in advocating for the welfare of members
h = the allowable error of 5%
z = the confidence level 1.96
P is unknown and therefore P = 0.5

Sample size calculation

0.5(1−0.5)
n = 0.5 1−0.5
(0.05 2 /1.962 )+( )
188070

n = 0.25

(0.0006507705123 + 0.000001329)

n = 0.25

0.000652099

n = 383

V. RESULTS
Poor communication and legislative provisions were found to be the major impediments to the effectiveness of trade
unions in the public sector. These has polarised negotiations, hence creating a stumbling block. For example if workers
in the public sector sees it prudent to partake any industrial action they must follow the dictates of Labour Act 28:01
section 102.This is time consuming and making trade unions ineffective to fulfil their mandate in promoting industrial
relations

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Topic:Nexus between public sector employees and effectiveness of trade unionism

Table 1: Gender Distribution (N=324)

MALES FEMALES TOTAL
No % No % No %
200 61.7 124 38.2 324 100

The results depicts that male participants outnumbered their female counterparts. The imbalance was not by design but
it was by coincidence. Statistics show that there are more male employees in the public sector than female. This perhaps
explains why male participants slightly outnumbered their female.

Table 2: Perception of employees on factors affecting trade union effectiveness

Factor Frequency %
Yes No
Poor communication 67 33

Economic challenges 82 18

Political Interference 90 10

Legislation 31 69

Negotiate in bad faith 54 46

Unwillingness to pay check off 72 28

scheme

The research noted that there are a plethora of factors that affect effectiveness of trade unions in the public sector in
Zimbabwe.67% of the respondents noted that poor communication play a vital role in the barriers that deter trade
unions to execute their mandate satisfactorily. Amongst the factors noted political interference play a leading role with
90% of the respondents in agreement with the impediment that is caused by political interference. Although participants
agreed that there was a legal framework that guides the operational activities of trade unions such as Labour Act 28:01
and Tripartite Negotiation Forum Act No 4 of 2019.The implementation was not effective and 31% of the respondents
were in consensus. Economic challenges and Unwillingness to subscribe to check off scheme by both some of the
employees and employers had high percentages of 82% and 72% respectively. Table 2 above depicts the percentages in
relation to perception of employees on factors affecting effectiveness of trade unions.

Conclusion

The findings of this study provide some insight into the problems and challenges that act as impediments into the
effectiveness role of trade unions in the public sector. The employees perceive poor communication, economic
challenges, political interferences, legislation, negotiating in bad faith, unwillingness to pay check off scheme as the
major barriers to effectively achieve the intended mandate by trade unions. The organisation success is based on
satisfied employees. For employees to be motivated they need advocates who spearhead their grievances this can only
be feasible if trade unions play their role in an employment environment. Trade unions are a vital cog in the success of
organisations. The organisation cannot operate in a vacuum they need employees who carry forward or push their
existence agenda. The results of the study revealed both the theoretical and practical importance for understanding,
predicting and changing employer-employee relations and institutional productivity.

Recommendations

On the basis of the research findings the following recommendations were proposed to enhance the effectiveness of
trade unions in fulfilment of their mandate. The government must interfere by promoting collective bargaining which
promotes a win-win scenario. The pie must be equitably distributed as alluded to by McKenzie‟s analogy of slicing a pie
in collective bargaining. The government must strive to remove restrictions on workers organisations to organise
themselves freely. There must be training on both government representatives and trade unions representatives on the
functionality of committees in the tripartite negotiation forum.
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Topic:Nexus between public sector employees and effectiveness of trade unionism

REFERENCES

[1.] Bryson, A., Forth, J. and Stokes, L., 2017. How much performance pay is there in the public sector and what are
its effects?. Human Resource Management Journal, 27(4), pp.581-597.
[2.] Gall, G. and Fiorito, J., 2016. Union effectiveness: In search of the Holy Grail. Economic and Industrial
Democracy, 37(1), pp.189-211.
[3.] Leedy P.D. &Ormrod J.E. (2010) Practical Research: Planning and Design. (9th ed). Pearson Educational
International, Boston.
[4.] Robinson, O.C., 2014. Sampling in interview-based qualitative research: A theoretical and practical
guide. Qualitative research in psychology, 11(1), pp.25-41.
[5.] Stern, S., Wares, A., Orzell, S. and O‟Sullivan, P., 2014. Social progress index 2014. Methodological Approach.
Washington: Social Progress Imperative, p.p6.
[6.] Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R., 2016. Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.

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