MIDLANDS STATE

UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Research Topic

The role of Trade Unions in increasing Productivity and Perfomance. A

case of NUST
NAME:

NYASHA MANGOMBE

REG NO

R143437P

SUPERVISOR:

MR BHEBHE

M.O.E

CONVENTIONAL

LEVEL:

2.2

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Definition of terms
According to Prof Web (2003), a trade union is a continuous association of wage earners for the
purpose of maintaining and improving the conditions of employment. Unions Act
(Cap.233),defines a trade union as an association or combination, whether temporary or
permanent, of more than six persons, the principal objects of which are under its constitution the
regulation of the relations between employees and employers.

Productivity is a relationship between outputs and inputs. It rises when an increase in output
occurs with a less than proportionate increase in inputs, or when the same output is produced
with fewer inputs (ILO, 2005a, p. 5).

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List of Abbreviations or Acronyms

CBA(s)

Collective Bargaining Agreement(s)

EAZ

Economics Association Of Zimbabwe

HRM

Human Resource Management

ILO

International Labor Organization

R&D

Research and Development

TU(s)

Trade Union(s)

WIRS

Workplace Industrial Relations Survey

ZCIEA

Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations

ZCTU

Zambia Congress of Trade Union

ZCTU

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions

ZFTU

Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions

ZTWU

Zimbabwe Textile Workers Union

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Introduction
Trade unions are organizations that represent people at work. Their purpose is to protect and
improve people's pay and conditions of employment. They also campaign for laws and policies
which will benefit working people. Trade unions exist because an individual worker has very
little power to influence decisions that are made about his or her job. By joining together with
other workers, there is more chance of having a voice and influence. However, throughout last
twenty years there has been much debate over the impact of trade unions on productivity.

Two schools of thought have characterized the analysis of trade unions and productivity.
Some economists and those who support deregulated free markets traditionally, view unions as
an impediment to the workings of the free markets and therefore maximizing the use of labour
and, in turn, productivity. In other words, unions are seen as impending managerial prerogative.
In early 1980s, an alternate school of thought (the Harvard School) reconsidered the role of
unions at the work place and found that unions could enhance productivity most notably through
providing a voice which workers could air their grievances rather than simply quitting the firm.
Thus, according to Sloan and Wooden (1990), since the late 1970s, the question of whether trade
unions enhance or detract from productivity at the work place has become very controversial.

This foundation chapter provides a broad review of trade unions activities on productivity and
performance in organizations. It gives a background and context of the case studies undertaken;
identifies some specific services and benefits, how they are designed and administered, their
financing mechanisms and the challenges that the unions face in providing these services and
benefits. In addition, the chapter evaluates the impacts of trade unions activities on productivity
and performance in organizations.

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Background of Study

Alternatively and frequently, unions are viewed as an impediment to productivity. The features
of the neo-classical approach to trade unions and productivity are: Unions force wages to be
lifted too high; Firms respond by shedding labor in unionized work places and substituting
capital for labour;Displaced labor is either: employed in non-union firms, but for lower wages in
less productive labor - intensive activities remains unemployed. To this end, the overall impact
will be declining output, with the impact dependent upon the magnitude of labor shedding. The
more responsive are employers and consumers to relative price effects, the larger will be the
predicted fall in output. Reduced levels of investments in unionized firms. Reduced managerial
discretion and the promotion of adversarial labor relations. The traditional craft/occupation
distinctions between unions are seen as mitigating against and hindering the development of
work-place efficiency. The structure of work place unionism was seen as having little, if any,
relevance to the needs of enterprises, firms or the industries in which they operated.

Frenkel and Peetzy (1990) say that unions may be viewed as an enhancement to productivity.
The Harvard School emphasizes the following characteristics of unionized work places: Unions,
by providing an effective collective voice in the work place, enable more satisfactory work
arrangements to be developed for the benefit of employees and employers:the public good
nature of work place issues means that action by individuals will benefit the majority yet most
individuals are inclined to be free riders so that action has to be taken collectively rather
relying on an individual;individual workers will be reluctant to act on their own for fear of
management reprisals; without a collective voice, individual workers will opt to quit the work
place rather than endure unsatisfactory working conditions.

Unions force management into adopting the most productive techniques. Union presence may
sharpen the incentive of employers to adopt best practices, because other routes to profitability
(low wages, sweating) are made more difficult. Conversely, where collective organization is
absent, employers may postpone investment and Endeavour to maximize profits by working with
existing productive resources more intensively. Short-term gains are thus secured at the
expense of dynamic efficiency (Freeman and Medoff, 1994) and (Nolan and Marginsom, 1990).
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The debate on these two approaches to unions on productivity has largely developed into a series
of statistical analysis of case studies of union and non-union firms, with, in effect, a head count
being performed of the number of work places, which conform to each schools position. This
has resulted in unions being viewed relatively positive in the Harvard Literature (1980), whilst
the statistical tests have been used to justify a negative interpretation of the role of unions in
Zimbabwe. Alexander and Green (1992) are critical of both schools and make the point that,
although not a trivial contribution, its methodology of distinguishing between union and nonunion labor with a production function approach does not adequately explain or capture the
mechanisms by which labor relations impact on the productivity of a work-place. Alexander and
Green (1992) make important point that it is too simplistic to look at union presence when
assessing unions and productivity. The nature of union/management interaction and factors
which impact upon the industrial relations environment at the work place will also impact upon
productivity and efficiency. It is neither here nor there that trade unions either impede or enhance
productivity.

Moving on, Unions Act (Cap.233),defines a trade union as an association or combination,

whether temporary or permanent, of more than six persons, the principal objects of which are
under its constitution the regulation of the relations between employees and employers. A trade
unions leadership bargains with the employer on behalf of its members on terms and conditions
of employment. This may include negotiation of wages, work rules, complaint procedures, rules
governing hiring, firing and promotion of workers, benefits, workplace safety and policies. The
agreements negotiated by the union leaders are binding on the entire membership and the
employer and, in some cases, on other non-member workers (Thomas and Daryl, 2012).

Most studies on the impact of trade unions on employee job performance compare performance
(say productivity) among otherwise similar firms or workplaces that differ according to the
influence of trade union activity to management. An ingenious alternative approach compares
productivity according to the governance of the firm (Hsu, M.K 2003). For example, The
plywood mills in Washington State in the USA are of three types: classical text book (nonmanagement), traditional management, and cooperative mills owned and managed by the
workers. When total factor productivity was compared between cooperative and unionised
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employee management in mills, productivity was 14% higher in the unionized employees
performance (wood, 1997). It is suggested that the higher productivity in cooperative mills
reflected greater industriousness and lower levels of supervision than in management mills. This
seems consistent with the findings of Johnson (1997) that workplaces with high performance
work practices like voice and self-managed teams had higher productivity than the more
traditional management workplaces like the management of plywood mills.

For a Trade union to realize its goals, it has to work in harmony with other unions and strive to
foster good relations with the Universities Councils, who are the employers of its members. The
Union appreciates the fact that the employer is like a goose that lays golden eggs and, therefore,
needs to be treated well for more egg yields. The Government of Kenya is the main financier of
public universities. A substantial percentage of the financing represents staff remuneration. The
Employee union will always be up in arms against any aspect of under-financing as this would
compromise the quality of service and, consequently, lowered employee morale and associated
unrests. Worldwide, teachers (and lecturers) trade unions have continued to demand that the
professional voices of their members be heard, and that their experiences and expertise be valued
and appropriately rewarded (Worlds of Education, 2007).

Industrial unrests or strikes can arise where employees and employers have failed to
satisfactorily agree on their concerns; industrial actions have often been called by representative
trade unions. Industrial actions, therefore, represent the climax of unresolved conflicts between
employers and employees. The Trade Union organizes for protection and promotion of interests
of their members in particular and workers in general. It generally pursues the broad purpose of
steady employment, which is something the employer by himself may not be able to guarantee to
the workers. Achievement of this aspiration may, therefore, involve workers in political action,
through their unions, for maintenance of full employment.

Unions have played a prominent role in the enactment of a broad range of labor laws and
regulations covering areas as diverse as overtime pay, minimum wage, the treatment of workers,
health and retirement coverage, civil rights, unemployment insurance and workers
compensation, and leave for care of new-borns and sick family members. Common to all of these
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rules is a desire to provide protections for workers, either by regulating the behavior of
employers or by giving workers access to certain benefits in times of need (Davis, 1986;
Amberg, 1998; Weil, 2003). Over the years, these rules have become mainstays global
workplace experience, constituting expressions of cherished public values (Freeman and Medoff
1984;Gottesman 1991).

A significant negative relationship exists between job tenure and career commitment of the
respondents (Popoola and Oluwole, 2007). This was corroborated by Meyer and Irving (1994)
who found a significant negative relationship between job tenure and career commitment of the
respondents. The findings imply that the less experienced the workers are, the stronger the career
commitment in their present jobs. If employees do not trust management over job security, then
they are unlikely to commit themselves to achieving organizational goals (Stuart and Lucio,
2001). In the absence of security, workers will fear that they may innovate themselves out of a
job(ILO, 2004). Conversely, the more a trade union addresses job security issues, the more trust
is built up between management and employees, and the more likely employees are willing to
adopt new ways of working (Ashton and Sung, 2002). As employees are trained to undertake
new tasks and/ or as their skill levels increase, so do their job security become greater as their
value to the organization increases (Ashton and Sung, 2002; Healey 2003; Stiles and
Kulvisaechana, 2003).

Unions try to obtain a higher wage for their members than would be offered in the absence of the
union which, other things equal, results in workers taking a greater share of profits at the expense
of the firm. This monopoly face of unions might lead to deteriorating management employee
relations where it leads to management adopting anti-union strategies, intensifying conflict,
while the union mobilization needed for the union to have monopoly power may lead to antimanagement views on the part of the workforce (Gallie et al., 1998; Kelly, 1998). Pay bargaining
may have similar effects in the public sector where wage demands must be satisfied, along with
competing claims for resources, from fixed budgets set by university management and vice
chancellors. On the other hand, union voice can lead to improved employment terms and
conditions of work and job security through effective communication between management and
employees and the resolution of employee grievances (Freeman &Medoff, 1984). In theory, then,
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union effects on employee terms and conditions and job security depend on the weight unions
attach to their monopoly and voice roles. Indeed, this is the starting point for some who maintain
the future of unions may lie in them placing greater emphasis on their voice role (Rubinstein,
2001;Wachter, 2003). However, the relationship between union activity and employment
relations is mediated by a range of factors making union effects more contingent on institutional
arrangements within and beyond the workplace.

Bargaining arrangements mediate the relationship between unions and perceptions of

employment relations for various reasons. Fernie and Metcalf (1995: 401) argue that the
benefits from having a union representing the bulk of the labor force in a workplace flow from
greater voice and representativeness and less fragmentation of workplace employee relations.
Gains may come through avoidance of inter-union rivalry in the bargaining process that can
result in leapfrogging claims, while single unionism has the added benefit of avoiding
competitive militancy between unions (Dobson, 1997). Analyzing employer perceptions of
employment relations in the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (WIRS) 1990, Fernie et al.
(1994: 17) found multi-unionism contributes to inferior relations between management and
labor. Whether fragmented bargaining arrangements engender poorer employee perceptions of
employment relations depends, in part, on whether workers are complementary or close
substitutes for one another. If workers are close substitutes, employers could use fragmented
bargaining arrangements to divide and rule them (Horn &Wolinsky,1988). If they are highly
complementary this eventuality does not arise and separate unions or bargaining arrangements
may promote better relations by providing voice arrangements for different groups of workers.

According to Hyman (1975), more radical aims of trade unionism include the reconstruction of
the social order, the abolition of the dominating role of profit, the establishment of workers
control, the humanization of work and the elimination of inequalities in standards of living and
conditions of life. The worker is represented by the shop steward at the organizational level
through to the national officials. The shop steward is an employee who is accepted by
management and the union as the lay representative of the union and its members, with the
responsibility to act on their behalf in matters of industrial relations at the organization level
(Hyman, 1975;Salamon, 1992).
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Krueger and Mas, 2002 observes that it is widely argued that current trends of globalization
and post-Fordism exert a destructive effect on trade unions across the world. According to the
most extreme versions of this viewpoint, post-Fordismtransforms TUs into out-dated
institutions. The term post-Fordism is generally used to refer to developments like: the
organizational and technological changes that have taken place in industry; the influence of
current international competition; changes in the labor market; the emergence of new forms of
personnel management; the replacement of public property by private property; an increasing
number of small companies (particularly in the services sector); and the perceived spread of a
new individualistic ideology. All these factors are seen as tending to reduce trade union
membership and influence.
Seago (2004) found an even larger positive relationship between unions in s survey of 73
independent studies on unions and productivity revealed evidence that points to a positive and
statistically significant association between unions and productivity in the American
manufacturing and education sectors, of around 10 and 7%, respectively (Doucouliagos and
Laroche, 2003). According to Michael and Seago (2004) heart attack recovery rates are higher in
hospitals where nurses are unionized than in nonunion hospitals. Nurse unions improve care of
patients by raising staff-to-patient ratios, limiting excessive overtime, and improving nurse
training.
It has also been difficult for academics here in Zimbabwe to organize ourselves into a pressure
group because up to 1990, the political atmosphere could not allow for the formation of, say, a
union to take care of the affairs of academic staff. Consequently, there was only the University of
Zimbabwe Allied Workers Union representing the interests of non-professional workers up to
1991. The academic and senior administrative and professional staff of ZFTU could only belong
to an association called Zimbabwe Congress Of Trade Unions (ZCTU), whose major function
has been the running of a canteen and bar for its members. Individual academic staff can also
belong to professional associations within and outside the university. Although these associations
can comment on public policy matters within their competence, they are basically concerned
with professional matters. The government is, therefore, at liberty to listen to them or not.
Certain prominent or vocal members of some active associations like the Economics Association
of Zimbabwe (EAZ) have in the past been silenced by offering them high ranking public
positions (Mukwena, 2000).
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Three prominent unions are recognized within the universities here in Zimbabwe. These are the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Zimbabwe Federation Of Trade Union (ZFTU)
and Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA). The major objective of
these unions is to protect the welfare of their members. On the ZCTU, for instance, Iyayi (2002)
says the union is a trade union, which like other TUs, is a "combination of workers or employers,
whether temporary or permanent, the purpose of which is to regulate the terms and conditions of
the employment of workers". Specifically, Iyayi (2002) outlined the principles that guided the
ZCTU as a union as follows: integrity, transparency and accountability, professionalism,
objectivity and hard work, courage, sacrifice and total commitment; internal democracy,
teamwork and group solidarity; as well as patriotism, anti-imperialism and working class
solidarity. In carrying out these principles, the ZCTU has been at loggerheads with both the
government and university authorities. At the level of government, the union has always based
its agitation on three major issues. These include funding of the system, autonomy of the
universities, and conditions of service.

Unions achieve a wage differential over non-union workers, firms respond by increasing the
capital intensity of production and employing better quality labor, both of which raise labor
productivity. However, this route to higher productivity needs careful interpretation. It should
come as no surprise that unions raise wages because this has always been one of the main goals
of unions and a major reason that workers seek collective bargaining. How much union raise
wages, for whom, and the consequences of unionization for workers, firms and the economy
have been studied by economists and other researchers for over a century (for example., Alfred
Marshall). Pierce (1999) used the new Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of employers and the
National Compensation Survey to study wage determination and found a union wage premium of
17.4% in 1997.
Trade unions can enhance employee terms and conditions of service through monitoring and
collective voice, factors that raise employee welfare. Collective voice is in most cases
demonstrated through CBAs between the employer and the employee (represented by the trade
union). Pencavel (1977) emphasized the important role played by unions in monitoring work.
Pencavel (1977) arguments are related to, and anticipate the voice and agency arguments: the
trade union may be interpreted as the employees auditor of management, checking that the
11 | P a g e

employer is fulfilling his part of the labor contract. Or when the union is given a role of
overseeing terms and conditions of service and in disseminating wage payments to workers, its
officials become the monitors of the employees. The degree to which these monitoring activities
achieve a close association between productivity and rewards will determine the efficiency of the
organization.
In addition to the above point, The collective voice provided by a union may improve efficiency
within an organization. First, a collective voice is an information source on preferences of
workers that should result in an effective mix of wages and personnel policies. For example,
there is the standard public good that is , non-rival consumption argument for a collective voice
to achieve the right level of provision of health and safety; without such a voice it was
underprovided.
The collective voice may improve morale, motivation and cooperation. For instance, firm
specific skills learned on the job require cooperation, and this may be forthcoming if unions
lessen rivalry among individuals. Likewise, unions may provide greater security against arbitrary
decisions on matters like dismissal or redundancy. Consequently, teamwork may be enhanced. A
collective voice may provide a mechanism to improve the employment contract, encouraging or
discouraging, for example, performance related pay or a less rigid workweek. These collective
voice arguments are the centre piece of the Harvard School approach to the possibility that
unions may raise productivity. A works council or some other form of consultative arrangement
might do just as well. The consequences that flow from such collective voice will, in turn, also
tend to raise labor productivity.
Trade unions may improve communications, leading directly to better plant layout or improved
working practices a gain in efficiency. Primarily, unions provide information to workers about
benefit expectations, rules and procedures, and dispel stigmas that might be attached to receiving
a social benefit (Budd and McHall, 1997). Unions can also negotiate in their contracts layoff
recall procedures based on seniority and protection against firing for other than a just cause, as
well as help workers build files in the case of a disputed claim (Budd and McHall, 1997).
Additionally, the union-wage differential reduces the likelihood that unemployed workers were
ineligible for benefits because their pay is too low (Wenger, 2001).
Unions have played a prominent role in the enactment of a broad range of labor laws and
regulations covering areas as diverse as overtime pay, minimum wage, the treatment of
12 | P a g e

immigrant workers, health and retirement coverage, civil rights, unemployment insurance and
workers compensation, and leave for care of new borns and sick family members. Common to
all of these rules is a desire to provide protections for workers, either by regulating the behavior
of employers or by giving workers access to certain benefits in times of need (Davis, 1986;
Amberg, 1998; Weil,2003). Over the years, these rules have become mainstays of the American
workplace experience, constituting expressions of cherished public values (Freeman and Medoff
1984; Gottesman 1991).
A significant negative relationship exists between job tenure and career commitment of the
respondents (Popoola and Oluwole, 2007). This was corroborated by Meyer and Irving (1994)
who found a significant negative relationship between job tenure and career commitment of the
respondents. The findings imply that the less experienced the workers are, the stronger the career
commitment in their present jobs. If employees do not trust management over job security, then
they are unlikely to commit themselves to achieving organizational goals (Stuart and Lucio,
2001). In the absence of security, workers will fear that they may innovate themselves out of a
job (ILO, 2004). Conversely, the more a trade union addresses job security issues, the more trust
is built up between management and employees, and the more likely employees are willing to
adopt new ways of working (Ashton and Sung, 2002). As employees are trained to undertake
new tasks and/ or as their skill levels increase, so do their job security become greater as their
value to the organization increases (Ashton and Sung, 2002; Healey 2003; Stiles and
Kulvisaechana, 2003).
Unions are the principal means for workers to organize and protect their rights on the job.
Unions give workers a voice with employers and provide a means to gain a measure of security
and dignity on the job. Most unions maintain a paid professional staff to manage their activities.
Unions pursue strategies and activities that serve the interests of their members. These include
representing members and negotiating with employers, recruiting new members and engaging in
political action when necessary to support policies that improve working conditions for all
workers (Mitchell, 1988).
Trade Unions is essentially pluralistic in outlook, it covers not only the relations between
employer and employee, but also the relations between employers and unions and between them.
TU theory, practice and institutions traditionally focus more on the collective aspect of relations.
This is evident from the central place occupied by labor law, freedom of association, collective
13 | P a g e

bargaining, the right to strike It was the study of Freeman and Medoff that first created the
concept of the two faces of unionism. The first face, put forward primarily by neo-classical
economists is that of the Monopoly face. Monopoly face: This side of trade unions assumes that
most unions have the power to raise wages above competitive levels. This is argued has harmful
economic effects. Freeman and Medoff(1984) break down the definition of these faces into three
sections. The first section is on economic efficiency. In this, according to the monopoly face,
unions work rules can decrease productivity. The next section is on the distribution of income.
Monopoly face in here can increases income inequality by raising the wages of highly skilled
workers and also they create horizontal inequities by creating differentials among comparable
workers. Finally on the social nature of the organization, union's monopoly face breeds corrupt
and non-democratic elements, and discriminate in rationing positions.

The monopoly view of trade unions and productivity is that they achieve a wage gain at the
expense of other parties, be it the consumers who receive higher prices if the cost is passed onto
them, or non-union workers who receive lower wages. The voice or institutional responses show
that unions in fact raise productivity on average. However as Medoff notes, "the relationship is
far from immutable and has notable exceptions." Freeman and Medoff (1984) High productivity
"appears to run hand in hand with good industrial relations and to be spurred by competition in
the product market", Freeman and Medoff (1984) while lower productivity under unionism exist
under the opposite circumstances. Although unions may cause wages to increase, this is offset by
improved labor productivity and thus profitability or employment need not be affected.
Alison Booth outlines two organizational theories of this view. The first is that with unionization,
and its higher labor costs, the management is shocked' into operating the firm more efficiently.
However it must be remembered that this theory assumes that the firm was not efficient prior to
unionization. The second theory is that unionization improves morale and co-operation and
comes with positive changes in procedural arrangements. It also makes an assumption; that the
firm operates in a world of imperfect information or uncertainty, and that employment
relationships are frequently long-term. It points out that negotiation costs are more often lower
with unions than with individuals. Also, individual arrangements may not be incentivecompatible', in that unions can hold for example, the threat of withdrawing all labor.

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Interestingly, a lot of the studies by these authors point to a lower job satisfaction among
unionized workers. Hirsch explains this as being a reliance on the voice structure where workers
become

more

conscious

of

job

problems

and

thus

more

willing

to

complain.

On the other side the monopoly face argues that unionization reduces morale and motivation and
obstructs the efficient organization of capital and labor, since it constrains the choice set of
management. It does this by enforcing restrictive practices, such as over manning rules. Also it is
argued, unions adopt an adversarial rather than a co-operative approach to industrial relations
therefore lowering morale and thus productivity.

Regarding the distribution of income unions standard rate policies reduce inequality among
organized workers in a given industry or firm. For example they can raise the wages of bluecollar workers in relation to white-collar workers. Quantitatively, the "inequality-reducing
effects of unionism outweigh the inequality-increasing effects..." The collective voice also
defends unions on the political stage. It emphasis that unions are democratically elected
organizations that represent the will of its members, especially those who are disadvantaged and
of lower income levels.
Unions can influence industrial relations and personnel management for good or ill. The union
impact on things like apprenticeship methods, promotion policies, work organization, wage
levels and payments systems and grievance procedures will feed through into productivity. It is
impossible to determine a priori whether such a union effect will raise or lower the level of labor
productivity. Indeed, it is likely that productivity-enhancing union effects and productivitydetracting effects occur simultaneously, so the net effect must be a matter of careful empirical
investigation. In what follows, we set out the channels by which unions might lower or raise
productivity and we emphasize the limitations of and caveats to the studies reviewed
.
First, unions may be associated with restrictive work practices. Second, industrial action may
have an adverse impact. Third, union firms may invest less than non-union firms. Fourth, if
unions are associated with an adversarial style of industrial relations the consequent low trust and
lack of cooperation between the parties may lower productivity. Restrictive work practices surely
lower labor productivity. Pencavel (1977) suggests that such practices result from union
malfeasance. Increased security from disagreeable management decisions is more possible for
15 | P a g e

union than for non-union labor. Such security may be formalized through work rules (job
regulation)and unions may operate in a conventional cartel-like fashion by restricting output.
Unions would raise productivity only under very strict circumstances: if industrial relations are
good, with management and unions working together to produce a bigger pie as well as
fighting over the size of the slices, productivity is likely to be higher under unionism. If
industrial relations are poor, with management and labor ignoring common goals to battle one
another, productivity is likely to be lower under unionism. Any such productivity-reducing
effects of union presence may be compounded if multi-unionism is present in the organization.

16 | P a g e

Problem Statement
According to Morrel et al (2001) trade unions account for improved job satisfaction making for
less manning amounts of the total working force, reducing the absence from work when one is
supposed to be in the work place. Tonui (2007) observed that the higher rate of absenteeism is
because of the low rate of job satisfaction and it is manifested mostly in non-unionized
employees. Booth et al. (2003) also suggested that the payoff to such training is greater for trade
union workers than non-motivated. For motivated men, the post training wage was 21% higher
than the pre-training wage, but the corresponding increase for non-trade union was only 4%.

Notwithstanding the positives that trade unions bring with them, there is a steep decline in
number of trade unions and few members are interested in joining the few that remain. On the
other hand, many unionized employees have had stiff penalties meted on them including having
their services terminated while some have stagnated on same positions for a long time. This
study focuses on employees of NUST to try to unearth what could be the underlying reason for
this trend. The unions also champions for improved remuneration and promotions. Unions
improve employment terms of service and job security through effective communication
between management and employees and the resolution of employee grievances (Freeman &
Medoff, 1984).
In a nut shell, Union presence can influence the level of labor productivity for good or ill, so
unionization can also be associated with differentiated changes in labor productivity. If any of
the productivity-enhancing channels discussed above, like voice, are strengthened or if restrictive
practices and the like which are harmful to labor productivity are weakened, union presence will
be associated with improved performance relative to the non-union sector.

17 | P a g e

Research Objectives
Main Objective
To assess the impact of trade unions activities on workers performance and productivity in
organizations.
Specific Objectives
1. To establish perceived influence of trade unions on terms and conditions of
Service of employees.
2. To determine perceived influence of trade unions on employees job Security.
3. To determine the processes by which unions influence productivity at the workplace level.
4.To explore Zimbabwean unions, working practices and labor productivity
5.To examine the Links between unionization and various employee involvement work/practices
6. To ascertain that unionism may serve as an agent permitting employees to participate in
shaping their work environment without productivity suffering.
7.To examine the relationship between works councils, unions and labor productivity.
8. To examine the net effect of unionization on productivity

Justification of Study
The study is significant to policy makers as it will provide insight information on the perceived
influence of the Trade Unions in championing for continued improvement of terms and
conditions of service for employees. Additionally, the findings will enable Trade unions on
employees terms and conditions of service for reasonable Collective Bargaining Agreements
(CBAs). The findings will also strengthen the relationship between the employer and employee
during Collective Bargaining Agreements negotiations.

18 | P a g e

Conceptual Framework.
If unions raise the level of wages without similarly increasing productivity the resources
underpinning the higher pay level have to come from somewhere. Such union wage gains might
come from lower wages for non-union workers; or from consumers via higher product prices; or
from the owners of capital via lower profits. As Hirsh and Addison (1986) point out each of
these routes is circumscribed by competition. Large wage differentials between similar union and
non-union workers tend to be partially eroded by selective hiring, threat effects raising wages in
the non-union sector and cost advantages enjoyed by non-union firms. Cost increases cannot
easily be passed through to consumers in the form of higher prices unless a union has organized
an entire industry or local market where exclusion of foreign and non-union competition is
possible. And in many sectors competition in the product market will limit surplus profits as a
source of wage gains. Therefore any union gains from potential firm profits turn largely on the
existence of above-normal profits resulting from market power, government regulation, returns
from fixed capital and firm-specific advantages like location and R&D returns. These channels
will be briefly considered in turn.

Links between the product market and labor market are the key to the market power channel. In
the short run if the firm has some monopoly power in the product market, unions may be able to
raise wages and capture a share of the economic profits associated with market power. Such a
firm with market power will try to pass some of the wage push onto consumers but not all of it
can be passed on in this way. In the simplest case, when the firm remains on its demand curve,
the union jacks up wages and the monopolist cuts back on employment and simultaneously raise
prices to consumers. This is not a simple reallocation of income from the firm to the union; this
is a case where part of the union wage gains come out of monopoly profits, but a part is paid for
by the vulnerable consumer, with possible consequences for future jobs and investment. There is
an alternative, but special and probably atypical case where the union maximizes rents and
negotiates efficient contracts . In such circumstances the income redistribution is benign a
simple transfer from capital to labor and has no long run consequences for investment and
employment. The simple notion that there is a fixed level of profit some of which the unions may
capture without any subsequent consequences is not correct except in this special case. Normally
the monopoly firm will try to defend its profit and take corrective action by getting consumers to
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pay more. The end result is lower profits for the firm, but not as low as if it did not raise its
prices.

The bulk of studies examining links between unionization and financial performance refer to just
four countries and these will be considered in turn. Prior reviews of the literature [for the US]
have presented this relationship as an open and shut case: unions reduce financial performance. .
. . Empirical studies that have found a significant negative relationship between unions and
financial performance have used a variety of financial outcome measures, including price-cost
margin, net revenues per unit of capital, Tobins q and stock market value (Batt and Welbourne
2002). For example, Addison and Hirschs (1989) review of 16 studies that used various
methodologies and measures of profitability found a consistent large negative relationship
between unions and financial performance. This association was confirmed by Bronars et al.
(1994) using data from the 1970s and 1980s for some 300 firms. They concluded that there is
fairly strong and significant evidence that the total effect of higher union coverage is to reduce
profitability. They argue that this effect does not come via unions directly sharing rents but
rather occurs indirectly through any union impact on impact on investment behavior and growth.
Kleiner (2001) updated the Addison and Hirsch review and similarly concluded unions are still
associated with lower profits.

The link between union recognition and shareholder wealth was analyzed by Ruback and
Zimmerman (1984) who found a 1.4 percent reduction in NYSE-listed firms stock prices on the
day a petition to hold a union election is held (and a 2.4 percent for petitions which, ex post, are
successful) and a further 1.4 percent fall on the day of a successful election, for a cumulative
total loss of 3.3 percent. Kuhn (1998) points out that, given the share of wages in costs and the
average fraction of each firms employees involved in new unionization bids, this loss is
surprisingly consistent with a 15 percent wage increase among newly unionized workers which
is the norm for new recognitions.

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Research Methodology

Research Design
This study adopted a survey research design because of the nature of institutions under study
where they hold information with high degree of confidentiality. This design is appropriate in
gathering information from a cross section of respondents. Further the survey approach assisted
in data collection and data analysis. This design is appropriate for profiling, defining,
segmentation, estimating, predicting, and examining associative relationships.
The triangulation of qualitative and quantitative approaches in this was considered so as to
ensure that the limitations of one approach will be covered by the strength of another. This
approach used questionnaires, interviews, and secondary data analysis and field observations.
This study design is basically a cross sectional study. A cross sectional study is a descriptive
study in which a population or a subset is selected and from these individuals, data are collected
to help answer research questions of interest (James, 1994). This research is called cross
sectional because the information about evaluation of the impact of trade unions impact on
productivity and performance in organizations was gathered represented what was going on at a
particular point on time. The advantage of this design is that it does require follow-up and is
therefore less costly and quicker than other designs. Another important point to note is that the
data obtained often representative of a population rather than a smaller sub-population. A
retrospective record of past events was reviewed which showed leading, lagging and
performance indicators.

Target Population
According to Drunker (2000), population is defined as the collection of elements or subjects that
possess the information sought by researcher and about which inference are to be made in this
case, the researcher was concerned with evaluation of the impact of trade unions activities on
performance and productivity of academic and non-academic staff in NUST under ZCTU, ZFTU
& ZTWU 809 employees who are in different departments. Mugenda & Mugenda (2003) define
population as a complete set of individuals, cases or objects with some common observable
characteristics.
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Sources of Data
The researcher used self-administered questionnaire as research tool to collect data from the
respondents. This approach is consistent with a phenomenological approach and it is the most
appropriate for this research because it enabled the researcher to collect as more data as possible.
Primary data was collected.

The questionnaire comprised of both closed and open ended questions which were drawn in
accordance with the set objectives of the study. They were used as a tool to collect data as they
are appropriate to collect a lot of information over a short period of time. The study used primary
data which was obtained through self-administered questionnaires with closed and open-ended
questions . As much as possible, a 5-point likert scale was used to collect the data. The
questionnaire was divided into three sections. Section one was concerned with the general
information about respondents. Section two contained questions on the terms of service and
section three contained questions on job security. The questionnaire was administered
through drop and pick.

Research Instruments
i.Questionnaires
Farrant (1980) defined a questionnaire as an instrument that serves to measure specific aspects of
researchers objectives. This is supported by Gwimbi and Dirwai (2003:69) that the purpose of a
questionnaire is to collect accurate and appropriate information from respondents. The
questionnaire is designed to include both quantitative and qualitative data because of the nature
of the project. The questionnaire included both open-ended and closed ended question so as to
get further details of and greater depth, which goes beyond just description from closed ended
questions. The questionnaire was designed in such a way that the questions were clear and
unambiguous, short, avoided unnecessary jargon and specialist language.

The questionnaire

was structured in such a way that it was easy and quick to answer. Most of the questions only
required a tick in the appropriate box. The questionnaires targeted the bigger sized sample of
organizations. A total of 172 questionnaires were distributed. The researcher chose to administer
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the questionnaires to a sample of 25% of the organizations. Stratified sampling will be used in
organizations which have more than 10 workers.
The researcher used purposive sampling whereby he gave questionnaires to respondents whom
he found at the premises each time he visited their work stations. The researcher requested for all
the number of workers from each department and used purposive sampling to administer the
questionnaire to workers whom the researcher found at the site. Workers were stratified
according to operating sub-sections in the university for example lecturers, Boilermakers, Fitters,
Electricians, Artisan Assistants, Civil Technicians, Riggers and Artisan Assistants. This ensured
representation of all workers within NUST. Since all the respondents were within the University,
the researcher collected all responds to the questionnaires within a week. . The questionnaire had
sub headings which corresponded with the objectives of the study.

Advantage of Questionnaire
A questionnaire is easy to administer (can be mailed or hand-delivered) and it can be
administered in a relaxed atmosphere.

Respondents were given ample time to respond to

questions at their convenience and in this way meaningful and well thought information was
solicited. Ensuring the validity of the data gathered.
Disadvantages of Questionnaire
The questionnaire does not have direct control over the respondents and some subjects may fail
to complete thus leading to a low response rate. Furthermore, the researcher will not be available
to answer to queries and this may lead to poor quality responses, thus reducing sample size and
introducing bias
Semi Structured Interviews
Structured interactive interviews were used as a way collecting data. Harper, (1991), defined
interviews as a method of collecting data asking personally for the required information. Data
collecting techniques of interviewing involved oral questioning of respondents. Interviews were
undertaken with all the key informants within NUST operations. The researcher made
appointments over the phone with all the key informants to no when the researcher could come
and interview them.

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To reduce bias and give room to the interviewee to do much of the majority of the talking, the
researcher used open ended questions. This enabled respondents to freely talk what is in their
minds concerning the impact of trade union activities on productivity and performance.
Interviews helped the researcher to get reliable and accurate information on the system
requirements and gaps that exist. The interviewer probed on answers which were not clear. It
allowed the interviewer to observe as well as listen and permits more complex questions to be
asked than in other types of data collection.
Secondary Data
Data was acquired through secondary sources that include company records, safety statistics,
alcohol tests, road behavior checks, peer to peer observations, planned job observations and
visible felt leadership observations. These documents enabled the researcher to identify the
companys lagging and leading indicators. Furthermore, secondary data provides a good
background, as it is existing literature around the topic. This is supported by Hakim (1982) who
argued that in answering research questions or meeting their objectives few researchers
considered the possibility of re-analyzing data that have already been collected for other purpose.
Secondary data also facilitated appropriate scoping of the later stages of the site investigation. It
also reduced wastage on inappropriate intrusive ground investigations.
Ethical Consideration
To collect the data, the researchers got permission from the management of NUST and
appointments were made with them as regards to when the questionnaires were to be brought to
them and collected for analysis. Appointments were again made with regards to the key formants
as to when they were ready for the interviews to be undertaken. The questionnaires contained
introductory statements so as to make the respondents aware of the objectives of the study. The
introductory statement to respondents disclosed the aim of the research and conveyed its
importance; assured confidentiality and encouraged reply. The researcher distributed and
collected the questionnaires.
Permission to conduct this study in the selected area was granted by Midlands State University
and Senior Mine Management. The contractors who were interviewed were given an
explanation of what the research is about and what role they were playing in the research if they
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agreed to participate. The fact that i administered the questionnaire face to face with the
respondent made it easier for the contractors to trust the intentions of the research. Therefore
verbal informed consent was obtained from the respondents before administering of a
questionnaire. Respondents were also informed that their participation in the research is entirely
voluntary and their responses are purely for academic purposes. No names of contractor
companies and names of interviewees would be published to allow free flow of information and
also confidentiality. Codes numbers will be used instead of names to protect participants rights
to confidentiality.

Limitations
Bias. Bias is defined as any tendency which prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question.
In research, bias occurs when systematic error is introduced into sampling or testing by selecting
or encouraging one outcome or answer over others. Bias can occur at any phase of research,
including study design or data collection, as well as in the process of data analysis and
publication. Another school of thought argued that bias occurs when subjects, researchers or
methodologies are influenced by external factors that alter the results of the study. Controlling
these sources of bias is paramount to producing useful and authoritative results for a research. In
order to control bias i remained neutral and had no motivation for achieving one result over
another so that the outcome would be real and unbiased.
A work of this nature is not easy to accomplish for its wide scope and for the expense it would
involve such as financial problems, time constraint, material cost, apathy on the part of
respondent and bureaucratic procedure involved in releasing data in the organization of my case
study. The research would have been more expensive and capital intensive if it were to cover all
the public sectors corporation in the country, thus the research area is limited to

Lack of resources. These resources come in different ways for example time, stationary, pens
and boards. Stationary is needed to take down the information that you are getting-so without it,
the research will not become a success. I managed to ask for these resources to the department.

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Delimitation
The study uses the case of NUST because of lake of time, resources and money to go to NUST to
conduct research. Also the study uses most of qualitative research techniques because they are
simple-no most of the calculations are involved.
Data Analysis and Presentation
Demographic characteristics of respondents.
A total of 89 employees from NUST were interviewed. Results show that most respondents were
male (61%). Female employees accounted for on 39% (Figure 1). Most of those interviewed
were married with a significant number being single. Very few were either widowed or separated
(Figure 2). The age structure of respondents was normally distributed as illustrated in Figure 3.
Most of the interviewed staff were age between 46 - 55 years followed by those ranging from 36
45 years old. The numbers were low on either side of the distribution (very few young / old
respondents).

Figure 1: Gender composition of interviewed employees from NUST

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Figure 2: Marital status of interviewed employees from NUST

The sampled population represented a spectrum of tertiary level educational qualification (Figure
4). Most of the respondents had either Undergraduate (22%) or Masters Degrees (18%). A few
(115) had a Doctoral degree while only 2% had not attained tertiary education. The bulk of those
interviewed had worked for between 4 6 years (34%) or for more than 6 years (27%). A good
number (19%) had work experience of less than a year. Only 16% of the respondents had worked
between 1 3 years (Figure 5). The respondents belonged to three trade unions namely ZCTU,
ZFTU and ZTWU. Thirty percent of the respondents belonged to ZCTU while the latter two
unions shared the rest equally at 35% (Figure 6). The interviewed staff had union membership
for periods ranging from 1 -6 years as depicted in Figure 7.
Figure 4: Education level of interviewed employees from NUST

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Figure 5: Duration in employment of interviewed employees from NUST

Figure 6: Relative Union membership of interviewed employees from NUST

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Figure 7: Duration of membership in unions of interviewed employees from NUST

The study established that unions contribute greatly to improved job security at NUST. On a
scale of 1 to 5, all the studied aspects relating to employee job security scored above average.
Four out of the 6 aspects had a score greater than. This is an acknowledgement of the critical role
unions play in safeguarding job security of its members. Data collected showed that safeguarding
the right of employees to fair hearing during appeals after unfair dismissal was the most
important role (getting over 88% approval of respondents). Even when the labor union and
management of an organization settle on terms for employment, disputes still can occur. Union
members may have disagreements with their supervisors over various issues, or the management
team may claim that union members are not performing as agreed. For situations like these, labor
unions devise grievance mechanisms to resolve the dispute. In addition to providing members
with conflict resolution training, these mechanisms often include arbitration and mediation
(Shapiro, 1978; Mitchell, 1988; Kearney and Carnevale, 2001).

Respondent also agreed that unions help in persuading management to change terms of service of
employees from contract to permanent and pensionable terms, ensuring that staffs are confirmed
immediately after the probation period and requesting management to renew contracts of those
employees who are on contract. Unions are the principal means for workers to organize and
protect their rights on the job. Unions give workers a voice with employers and provide a means
to gain a measure of security and dignity on the job. Most unions maintain a paid professional
staff to manage their activities. Unions pursue strategies and activities that serve the interests of
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their members. These include representing members and negotiating with employers, recruiting
new members and engaging in political action when necessary to support policies that improve
working conditions for all workers (Mitchell, 1988).

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