Roles of Trade Unions in Influencing Employees Welfare

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GLOBAL INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY

THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC RELATION CAMPAIGN ON MARKETING IN THE

TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY IN UGANDA

(A CASE STUDY ON WARID TELECOM UGANDA LTD)

BY

KHATUNDI FLORENCE

Reg no.

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS STUDIES, FACULTY OF

MANAGEMENT IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF BACHELORS DEGREE IN BUSINESS

ADMINISTRATION GLOBAL INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MAKERERE

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FEB 2!"T#$%e o& Con'en'

DECLARATION

I Khatundi Florence declare that this is my original work and has never been submitted

in any institution for the award of certificate, diploma or degree I hereby present the

proposal in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of a Degree in Business

Administration

!igned" #############

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K#'*n+ F%o-ene

Date" ##############

APPRO/AL

I $ertify that this dissertation % phrase certifies the partial fulfillment of the requirement

for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration &'(BA'

I)!*I*+* (F I)F(-.A*I() *$/)('(&0

!upervisor1s signature" ######### Date" #########

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M-.

DEDICATION

I would like to dedicate this work to my dear parents, for giving me their emotional,

material and financial support all the time .y brother !tephen, my sisters2 -oselyn,

3udy and 4urity for being there for me It is through their support that this research is a

success

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to give thanks to our heavenly father for giving me wisdom and health

during my course of study *he completion of this research could not have been a

success without the consulted efforts of many people of whom I feel greatly indebted to

in gratitude I also like to acknowledge the contribution of my lovely parents, my

lecturers at GLOBAL INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, my friends, and

my supervisor, .r may Almighty &od reward them abundantly I am indebted to all my

lecturers who has seen me through this course and to all my teachers throughout my

school life for their precious knowledge

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It is difficult to thank all and sundry who contributed to this book by names, all of you

who contributed in whichever way2 I give my earnest appreciation *o all I say 51*/A)K

0(+11

CHAPTER ONE

!. In'-o+*'on

*his chapter will peruse through the background of the study, the problem

statement, ob6ectives of the study, general ob6ectives and specific ones, research

question, the scope of the study and the importance of the study

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2. B#0g-o*n+ o& 'e S'*+1

2..! T-#+e Unon

A '-#+e *non or %#$o- *non is an organi7ation of workers who have banded

together to achieve common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade,

achieving higher pay, increasing the number of employees an employer hires, and

better working conditions*he trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the

employer on behalf of union members 8rank and file members9 and negotiates

labour contracts8collective bargaining9 with employers *he most common purpose

of these associations or unions is :maintaining or improving the conditions of their

employment:

*his may include the negotiation of wages, work rules, complaint procedures, rules

governing hiring, firing and promotion of workers, benefits, workplace safety and

policies *he agreements negotiated by the union leaders are binding on the rank

and file members and the employer and in some cases on other non;member

workers

(riginating in urope, trades unions became popular in many countries during the

Industrial -evolution, when the lack of skill necessary to perform most 6obs shifted

employment bargaining poweralmost completely to the employers< side, causing

many workers to be mistreated and underpaid *rade unions may be composed of

individual workers, professionals, past workers, students, apprentices and%or the

unemployed

(ver the last three hundred years, trades unions have developed into a number of

forms Aside from collective bargaining, activities vary, but may include"

4rovision of benefits to members" arly trades unions, like Friendly !ocieties, often

provided a range of benefits to insuremembers against unemployment, ill health, old

age and funeral e=penses In many developed countries, these functions have been

assumed by the state2 however, the provision of professional training, legal advice

and representation for members is still an important benefit of trade union

membership

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Industrial action" *rades unions may enforce strikes or resistance to lockouts in

furtherance of particular goals

4olitical activity" *rades unions may promote legislation favourable to the interests of

their members or workers as a whole *o this end they may pursue campaigns,

undertake lobbying, or financially support individual candidates or parties 8such as

the 'abour 4arty in Britain9 for public office In some countries 8eg, the )ordic

countries and the 4hilippines9, trades unions may be invited to participate in

government hearings about educational or other labour market reforms

*he origins of unions< e=istence can be traced from the >?th century, where the

rapid e=pansion of industrial society drew women, children, rural workers, and

immigrants to the work force in numbers and in new roles *his pool of unskilled and

semi;skilled labour spontaneously organised in fits and starts throughout its

beginnings, and would later be an important arena for the development of trades

unions *rades unions as such were endorsed by the $atholic $hurchtowards the

end of the >@th century 4ope 'eo III in his :.agna $arta:Rerum Novarum

spoke against the atrocities workers faced and demanded that workers should be

granted certain rights and safety regulations Industries like te=tile mills and railways

companies had started in India in the latter half of the >@th century

O-gn #n+ e#-%1 'o-1

*rades unions have sometimes been seen as successors to the guildsof medieval

urope, though the relationship between the two is disputed .edieval guilds

e=isted to protect and enhance their members< livelihoods through controlling the

instructional capitalof artisanship and the progression of members from apprentice

to craftsman, 6ourneyman, and eventually to master and grandmasterof their craft

A trade union might include workers from only one trade or craft, or might combine

several or all the workers in one company or industry *hese things varied from

region to region, based on the specific industrialisation path taken in the place in

question

*rades unions and%or collective bargaining were outlawed from no later than the

middle of the >Cth century when the (rdinance of 'abourerswas enacted in the

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Kingdom of ngland +nion organi7ing would eventually be outlawed everywhere

and remain so until the middle of the >@th century

!ince the publication of the History of Trade Unionism 8>?@C9 by !idney and

Beatrice ebb, the predominant historical view is that a trade union :is a continuousassociation of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the

conditions of their employment: A modern definition by the Australian Bureau of

!tatistics states that a trade union is :an organisation consisting predominantly of

employees, the principal activities of which include the negotiation of rates of pay

and conditions of employment for its members:

2..2 E3%o1ee

An employee contributes labor and e=pertise to an endeavor of an employer and is

usually hired to perform specific duties which are packaged into a 6ob In most

modern economies, the term :employee: refers to a specific defined relationship

between an individual and a corporation, which differs from those of customeror

client

(ther types of employment are arrangements such as indenturingwhich is now

highly unusual in developed nations but still happens elsewhere

P-o$%e '#'een'

*here are two such points" firstly, the part to be played by, and the problems

confronting, the trade unions during the reconstruction period of the national

economy, coupled with the organi7ation of production on a $ommunist basis, and

secondly, the question of self; activity of the masses *his question is linked with

that of bureaucracy in the 4arty

Both questions in turn *he period of

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And such it is *he whole controversy boils down to one basic question " ho shall

build the $ommunist economy, and how shall it be builtE *his is, moreover" the

essence of my research this is its heart *his question is 6ust as important as the

question of sei7ure of political power by the proletariat (nly the Bubnoff group of

so;called political centralists is so nearsighted as to under; estimate its importance

and to say :*he question concerning trade unions at the present moment has no

importance whatsoever, and presents no theoretical difficulties:

It is, however, quite natural that the question seriously agitates the 4arty *he

question is really in what direction shall we turn the wheel of history2 shall we turn it

back or move it forwardE It is also natural that there is not a !ingle $ommunist in

the 4arty who would remain non;committal during the discussion of this question

As a result, we have si= different groups If we begin, however, carefully to analyse

all the theses of these most minutely divergent groups, we find that on the basic

question ; who shall build the $ommunist economy and organist production on a

new basis ; there are only two points of view (ne is that which is e=pressed and

formulated in the statement of principles of the orkers< (pposition *he other is

the viewpoint that unites all the rest of the groups differing only in shades, but

identical in substance hat does the statement of the orkers< (pposition stand

for, and how does the latter understand the part that is to be played by the trade

unions, or, to be more e=act, the industrial unions, at the present momentE *hus the

interest to research on the roles of trade unions in influencing employee1s welfare

!.4 O$5e'6e o& 'e S'*+1

!.4.! Gene-#% O$5e'6e

Analy7ing the roles of trade unions in influencing employees welfare

!.4.2 S3e& o$5e'6e

Analy7ing the roles of trade unions in influencing employees welfare

Analy7ing the problems faced by trade unions

Analy7ing the solutions that can be structured to the problems

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Analy7ing the types of trade unions

!." Ree#- 7*e'on

hat are the roles of trade unions in influencing employee1s welfareE

hat are the problems faced by trade unionsE

/ow can the trade unions eradicate the problems 8or what is the solution to the

problems faces9E

hat are the types of trade unions in e=istenceE

!.8 So3e

*he study will be carried out at kinyara sugar works limited masindi as its one of the

great companies in +ganda on which are working hand with hand with trade union

and it constitute of many employees thus the trade union fighting for their rights in

line with wage payment, health and other welfare concerning the employees

!.9 I3o-'#ne o& 'e S'*+1

ith the accomplishment of the research succefully there will be provision of a

research report on which will act as a library to different formalities of groups or

individuals who are interested in the line of the topic

*here will be analysis of the problems faced by the trade unions alongside the

solutions thus an advantage to the unions in the country

*he research is part of a module of the students degree accomplishment grant at the

university

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CHAPTER II

LITERATURE RE/IEW

2. In'-o+*'on

*his chapter will consist of what different authors have written about the question at

hand and other issues in line with the study topic

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2.! one3' +e&n'on

2.!.! T-#+e *non

A trade union 8British nglish9, labour union 8$anadian nglish9 or labor union

8American nglish9 is an organi7ation of workers who have banded together to

achieve common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade, achieving

higher pay, increasing the number of employees an employer hires, and better

working conditions *he trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the

employer on behalf of union members 8rank and file members9 and negotiates

labour contracts 8collective bargaining9 with employers *he most common

purpose of these associations or unions is :maintaining or improving the conditions

of their employment: ebb, !idney2 ebb, Beatrice 8>@G9 /istory of *rade+nionism 'ongmans and $o 'ondon ch I

2.!.2 E3%o1ee :e%-e

mployee welfare means Hthe efforts to make life worth living for workmen

According to *odd Hemployee welfare means anything done for the comfort and

improvement, intellectual or social, of the employees over and above the wages

paid which is not a necessity of the industry

2.2 E3%o1ee :e%-e #n+ o%%e'6e $#-g#nng

$onditions in order to protect employment !ince workers were afraid of 6ob cuts, it

was also difficult for e=isting organi7ations to keep their members and for newly

created units to recruit activists As a result, a vicious circle of trade union weakness

and employee fear was sustained over many years following the systemic

transformation

*he situation changed only in the second half of the GGGs, when labour shortages

resulting from the growing demand for qualified workforce and high emigration rates

to the 5old1 + member states boosted the bargaining position of 4olish labour

Accordingly, e=posed sectors such as the electronic or the automotive industry

witnessed a tide of wage increase demands, voiced by unions and backed up by

the workforces tired of the belt;tightening policies pursued by the management

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$ollective disputes and strikes became commonplace 8.eardi, GGJ9, as the

overwhelming ma6ority of workers would cast their votes in favour of protest actions

during strike balloting In certain cases, unions made particularly bold wage

increase claims" in GGJ, for instance, the local !olidarnosc unit at &.%(pel

demanded the pay hike of >GGG 4') 8appro= G euro9 for each worker,

representing LGM of basic pay At FIA*, on the other hand, !olidarnosc sought to

level wages at the two 4olish units with that at FIA*1s Italian plants All in all, even if

initial unions1 proposals were re6ected, pay increases often e=ceeded ;>M

A protest wave of GGJ also motivated automotive unions to coordinate their actions

at the sectoral level In (ctober GGJ, plant;level !olidarnosc activists from !ilesia,

the biggest automotive cluster in 4oland, signed an agreement to e=change

information on collective bargaining at their factories and coordinate protests across

the region *hey also urged employers to engage in constructive social ialogue at

the sectoral level In the absence of legally binding provisions regulating sectoral;

level bargaining, however, the unionists1 call met no reaction on the side of the

management 8ironline, GGJ9

In contrast with wage issues, non;wage items such as work organisation, health and

safety were considerably less interesting for workers ithout the constituency

support, in turn, it was difficult for the unions to push thought the employee;friendly

solutions during the enterprise;level collective negotiations *he deputy chair of

enterprise;level !olidarnosc unit at &.%(pel presents this rank;and;file mobili7ation

problem as follows"

H*he company is aware that there are certain topics for which I can win the

workforce And pay is such a controversial topic As a matter of fact, people don1t

give a damn about health and safety issues # the employer knows it and neglectsthe issue N5bimba sobie1O But he is serious when it comes to money as he knows

that the people will move Nie mobiliseO 8Interview (4', GG@9

Due to weak rank;and;file support, company;level unions could not actively shape

the bargaining agenda relating to non;wage issues As a result, non;wage topics

would often be decided unilaterally by the management and designed in the first

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place to cut e=penditures and boost productivity, at the e=pense of working

conditions and workers1 personal welfare orking time is the most prominent

e=ample of a domain that featured abuses by the management Although labour

code defines the ma=imum working time and the minimum overtime work premia,

many employers either stuck to the absolute minimum standards or violated

legislative provisions, knowing that penalties were low enough !ome companies

attempted to prolong working time reference periods or, like bus producer .A), to

introduce working time accounts ; an arrangement increasing working time fle=ibility

typical for the &erman industrial relations system but illegal in 4oland 8Interview

.A), GG@9

Another interesting phenomenon, which became common inter alia at the 4olish

branch of FIA*, was the e=tension of overtime work options !ince the basic wage

was relatively low, many employees used the opportunity to earn e=tra money

through overtime work At the same time, trade unions had a hard time mobili7ing

the workers1 support for regular pay rise negotiations 8Interview FIA*, GG@9

-egarding health and safety and working environment issues, labour organisations

intervened not only in reaction to workplace accidents, but also tried to improve the

working environment on a daily basis +nion demands in this regard included, the

creation of a new canteen and a parking lot, the construction of additional changing

rooms or the improvement of heating systems As in the case of working time,

however, final decisions regarding working environment re organisations were taken

by the management

'ast, but not least, unions often appealed to the employer to minimi7e outsourcing

practices and the use of temporary workers *he plant;level !olidarnosc at

Polkswagen 4o7nan, for instance, staged an anti;outsourcing campaign in the fall ofGGJ, while their counterparts from &.%(pel in &liwice made use of their

crossborder links with the company1s uropean orks $ouncil 8also known as

uropean mployee Forum, F9 to preclude the takeover of cockpit and door

production by e=ternal companies In the same vein, plant;level .etalowcy unionists

at the 4o7nan .A) plant tried to convince the management that the use of

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temporary workers might adversely impact the quality of bus production, which

required high levels of technical qualification and manual precision *he company

accepted the unionists1 claims in a period of labour shortage, but hired temporary

workers once again in GG?, when the labour market situation improved 8Interview

.A), GG@9

2.4 '13e o& '-#+e *non

$raft unions;this union represents workers with a particular skill

Industrial unions;this union represents all workers in one industry with

different skills

&eneral unions;this union represents workers with different skills

hite collar unions;this union represents special skills like engineer or

something

2." Con%*on

In a nutshell, combinations of participation and welfare measures 8such as equal

opportunities and family;friendly policies9 appear to enhance both organi7ational

performance and the quality of working life 4olicy support should focus on union

recognition and activity within a human rights framework, since this can positively

influence employees< behavior towards organi7ational goals and employer behavior

toward their employees

(ne visible approach that combines participation with welfare is trade union

presence and recognition *here is strong evidence that union recognition improves

the scope and scale of welfare policies Q such as family;friendly employment Q

within organi7ations, though not necessarily their operation at workplace level given

the findings from the literature review, policy;makers should be especially

concerned about the policy implications for participation in terms of potentially

e=cluded groups *his is especially the case since small firms 8which are particularly

affected by the current lack of policy co;ordination9 employ a disproportionately high

population of both women and ethnic minorities Ignorance of these differences

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within the workforce could lead to participation schemes that undermine equality of

opportunity within the workplace

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

4. In'-o+*'on

*his part presents details of the research plan information about how data is to be

collected, the study population, sample unit and design, data collection instruments,

and data analysis and data presentation techniques

4.! S'*+1 A-e#

*he study will be carried out at Kinyara !ugar works ltd, .asindi, this case study

was chosen because 8Kinyara !ugar orks ltd9 is among the greatest production

company consisting of many employees and working in hand with trade union

4.2 S'*+1 Degn

*he study is a cross sectional descriptive and purposive2 basically both qualitative

and quantitative methods will be used It will e=amine the roles of the trade unions in

influencing the employees welfare in the company, the problems the trade unions

face alongside solutions that can be come up with

4.4 Po3*%#'on S'*+1

*he study population consisted of the employees in the organisation at large who

are at the company1s pay roll and some of the trade unions working with the

company 8Kinyara !ugar orks ltd9

4." S#3%e Se%e'on #n+ S;e

*he sample will be around G; >GG employees under the pay roll of the company

*hey should be full time employees of the organisation and have relation with the

trade union concern of their welfare

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4.8 D#'# Co%%e'on

Both primary and secondary data will be collected -esearch instruments will be

developed for each category of data as indicated below2

4.9 Ree#- Me'o+

1) Interview

2) Ruestionnaires

!) In'e-6e:

Interviews will be made to the study group of the researcher Interview schedules will

be arranged to e=tract information relating to the roles of the trade unions in

influencing employees welfare, problem the trade unions face and their solutions in

the company

2) 7*e'onn#-e

*his will be employed in collecting information from the key informants to the study

Ruestionnaires will be distributed to the key informants who are believed to be literate,

*he questionnaires will includ both open and closed questions to allow the

respondents to freely e=press views at the same time so as to make quick answering

on the straightforward questions

4.< D#'# An#%1 Me'o+

Rualitative analysis will be used throughout the research though some aspects

needed a quantitative analysis data analysis Analysis of data will be based on the

variables of the study such as age, education, income levels etc

4.

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4.

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REFERENCES=

ebb, !idney2 ebb, Beatrice 8>@G9 History of Trade Unionism 'ongmans and $o

'ondon ch I

-erum )ovarum" ncyclical of 4ope 'eo III on $apital and 'abor: 'ibreria ditrice

Paticana -etrieved 3uly J, G>>

Kautsky, Karl 8April >@G>9 :*rades +nions and !ocialism: International Socialist

Review!8>G9 -etrieved 3uly J, G>>

4oole, ., >@?S Industrial -elations" (rigins and 4atterns of )ational Diversity 'ondon

+K" -outledge

*rade +nion $ensus:Australian Bureau of Statistics -etrieved 3uly J, G>>

3ohnson, !, GGC An empirical e=amination of union density in si= countries" $anada,

cuador, .e=ico, )icaragua, the +nited !tates and Pene7uela ashington, D$, +!A"

Inter;American Development Bank, -esearch )etwork orking 4aper T-;C?J, p,

available at" http"%%wwwiadborg%res%publications%pubfiles%pub-;C?Jpdf

3ohnson, !, GGC An empirical e=amination of union density in si= countries" $anada,

cuador, .e=ico, )icaragua, the +nited !tates and Pene7uela ashington, D$, +!A"

Inter;American Development Bank, -esearch )etwork orking 4aper T-;C?J,

available at"

.A) 8GG@9 $hair of the .etalowcy unit at .A) Bus in 4o7nan, interviewed by

theauthor on >@ August GG@

.artn, A and & -oss 8eds9 8>@@@9 *he Brave )ew orld of uropean 'abor

uropean

*rade +nions at the .illennium (=ford" Berghahn

.eardi, & 8GGJ9 H.ore Poice After .ore =itE +nstable Industrial -elations in

$entral astern urope, Industrial -elations 3ournal LS8S9" GL;L