Trade Unions operate to three dimensions namely: Trade Unions and members; Trade Unions and Management; Trade Unions and State.
The recognition of a trade union by management and state is usually premised on the support and loyalty that a union enjoys from its members. From this perspective, the strength and image of a union in the eyes of management or state are gauged from the solid base of a union. This makes it imperative for a union to have in place, internal structures that allow for active involvement of its members in the formulation, planning and implementation of its policies.
One disturbing problem in the organisation of Trade Unions is the low participation of their members in the activities of the unions. Participation of members in union activities usually requires two main resources; time and effort. Some of the activities require relatively short duration of time such as attending a meeting or standing for an election or voting.
There are some that demand considerable time; for example, becoming a member of a committee or an elected officer of a union. Some of the activities require relatively less effort, like voting in an election or attending seminar or a workshop. However activities such as holding an elected office requires considerable effort.
A large number of members beyond payment of dues do not take part in any other union activities and they end up becoming ignorant of union programmes and policies.
The only activity that many members participate in is strikes. Even in this, many do not know and understand the reasons for the strikes and their consequences either on them, the union, employer and the state at large. Such ignorant members pose actual and potential threats to trades union organisation and administration.
First, their apathy and lack of participation paves way for a few activists to take control and direction of trade unions. It also promotes development of iron-law of oligarchy in the management and administration of trade unions, a situation that engenders anti-democratic practices in trade union, a situation that engenders anti-democratic practices in trade unions and monopolization of knowledge and its dissemination by union officials. The recent demonstrations and strikes by some teachers over the single spine pay may appropriately be attributed to a low participation of such teachers in the activities of their unions.
In the case of Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), there are various structures starting from a school level, which has a position of a school representative who is a link between the staff in a school with the local branch. There is a local branch with its own structures that link up with the district level. The local has clearly delineated functions. At the district level, there are structures with a full-time staff who has a responsibility to organise and mobilise members of the union in the district. The district level links up with the regional branch which also has full-time staff with assigned responsibilities.
From the local level through to the regional level there are elected officers who hold office for a term of years renewal for only one other term. The regional level also links up with the national level of the union. The national level has elected officers and full-time appointed officials. Such structures provide opportunities for as many teachers to participate in the activities of GNAT, but sadly many teachers don’t care about the activities of GNAT.
Formulation of policies is through bottom-up approach in the sense that, resolutions for policies are generated from the local conferences through district and regional conferences to the national delegates conferences. In between conferences at every level, there are other bodies charged with the responsibility for governing the affairs of the union. Distribution and allocation of union revenue is determined by constitutional provisions and each level’s accounts are annually audited.
There are other networks within the organization intended to afford as many members as possible the opportunities to participate in the activities of GNAT. Some of these are school representatives programmes, study circle, professional associates, GNAT-LAS and the youth policy. With this array of structured network of activities, it can be said that there exist adequate opportunities for members to participate in the activities of GNAT.
Improvement in remuneration and terms of conditions of teachers is not a gift or charity from the top, rather it’s as a result of a struggle from below by members. It takes the combined efforts of the rank-and-file and leadership of a trade union to extract gains from employers and not only the effort of leadership. It is myopic for anybody to think that it is easy to get governments to grant demands of public sector employees.
Under the current international political economy imposed on all nations, international community expects and requires all nations to adopt market-oriented development model that requires “national economies should open to trade; domestic prices should conform to international market prices; fiscal and monetary policy should be prudently directed to the maintenance of price and balance-of-payment stability; private property rights should be clear and inviolable; state-owned productive enterprises should be privatized.
Also, private decision-making guided by undistorted prices should dictate national patterns of specialization, resource allocation and factor returns with minimal government regulation or sectoral policy; the residual government budget should be directed to targeted education programme and social policy”. This model of economic development strategy imposed on developing countries such as Ghana is a threat to trade unions in their efforts to seek improvement in the lot of their members.
Trade unions in developing countries have to understand this political economy and put pressures on their governments to break from this iron-fist mould. The international globalization which involves an unequal exchange between core countries and semi-peripheral and peripheral countries has deepened the gap between the rich nations and poor nations and between the rich and privileged and the poor and underprivileged in both rich and poor nations. From this perspective, the task ahead of trade unions is gigantic and requires understanding, formulation of grievances and organization of struggles to bring a revolutionary change instead of seeking amelioration through collective bargaining.
Members of trade unions ought to get actively involved in their trade unions and work with their leaders to bring about a collective right of their members and unions. The unions should not only insist on their pound of flesh but ought equally to justify their demands for better, improved salaries and terms of service by improved work ethics, better performance and positive attitudes towards work.
Just as many people admit that teachers salaries and terms of service are not the best, many people in the same vein, rightly believe that our teachers, especially those at the basic level of our education system are not doing their best at all. There must be a concerted effort by all teachers to change this actual or imagined perception for us to win the support and sympathy of the public. It is the view of some section of the public that the falling standards of education in the pre-tertiary level is partly because over the years, GNAT has over-protected its members to such an extent that it has lost sight over its responsibility to control them.
There is always a reciprocity between rights and duties and therefore a trade union cannot continue to have power for its members without having power over them. Unions must educate their members to understand that employment relations are contractual and that in every contract parties assume obligations.
These obligations and their corresponding rights ought to be obeyed and respected. Besides, there are laws, customs and practices that regulate employment relations that need to be respected. For instance, Labour Act 2003, Act 651 requires that when workers intend to embark on strikes they have to give notice to the National Labour Commission at least within seven days prior to the intended strike. Strikes should occur only after negations have reached a deadlock. Trade unions and their members must adhere to the rules of labour relations.
The human resources managers must adopt proper employee relations policy that will prevent or minimize industrial disputes. Public sector management must employ competent human resources managers to manage employee relations to promote industri9al harmony. Trade unions have to encourage their members to actively get involved in their affairs. Unions must be seen as a common heritage for members, therefore, members should share in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of their unions and share in the benefits that accrue to the unions.
The recognition of a trade union by management and state is usually premised on the support and loyalty that a union enjoys from its members. From this perspective, the strength and image of a union in the eyes of management or state are gauged from the solid base of a union. This makes it imperative for a union to have in place, internal structures that allow for active involvement of its members in the formulation, planning and implementation of its policies.
One disturbing problem in the organisation of Trade Unions is the low participation of their members in the activities of the unions. Participation of members in union activities usually requires two main resources; time and effort. Some of the activities require relatively short duration of time such as attending a meeting or standing for an election or voting.
There are some that demand considerable time; for example, becoming a member of a committee or an elected officer of a union. Some of the activities require relatively less effort, like voting in an election or attending seminar or a workshop. However activities such as holding an elected office requires considerable effort.
A large number of members beyond payment of dues do not take part in any other union activities and they end up becoming ignorant of union programmes and policies.
The only activity that many members participate in is strikes. Even in this, many do not know and understand the reasons for the strikes and their consequences either on them, the union, employer and the state at large. Such ignorant members pose actual and potential threats to trades union organisation and administration.
First, their apathy and lack of participation paves way for a few activists to take control and direction of trade unions. It also promotes development of iron-law of oligarchy in the management and administration of trade unions, a situation that engenders anti-democratic practices in trade union, a situation that engenders anti-democratic practices in trade unions and monopolization of knowledge and its dissemination by union officials. The recent demonstrations and strikes by some teachers over the single spine pay may appropriately be attributed to a low participation of such teachers in the activities of their unions.
In the case of Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), there are various structures starting from a school level, which has a position of a school representative who is a link between the staff in a school with the local branch. There is a local branch with its own structures that link up with the district level. The local has clearly delineated functions. At the district level, there are structures with a full-time staff who has a responsibility to organise and mobilise members of the union in the district. The district level links up with the regional branch which also has full-time staff with assigned responsibilities.
From the local level through to the regional level there are elected officers who hold office for a term of years renewal for only one other term. The regional level also links up with the national level of the union. The national level has elected officers and full-time appointed officials. Such structures provide opportunities for as many teachers to participate in the activities of GNAT, but sadly many teachers don’t care about the activities of GNAT.
Formulation of policies is through bottom-up approach in the sense that, resolutions for policies are generated from the local conferences through district and regional conferences to the national delegates conferences. In between conferences at every level, there are other bodies charged with the responsibility for governing the affairs of the union. Distribution and allocation of union revenue is determined by constitutional provisions and each level’s accounts are annually audited.
There are other networks within the organization intended to afford as many members as possible the opportunities to participate in the activities of GNAT. Some of these are school representatives programmes, study circle, professional associates, GNAT-LAS and the youth policy. With this array of structured network of activities, it can be said that there exist adequate opportunities for members to participate in the activities of GNAT.
Improvement in remuneration and terms of conditions of teachers is not a gift or charity from the top, rather it’s as a result of a struggle from below by members. It takes the combined efforts of the rank-and-file and leadership of a trade union to extract gains from employers and not only the effort of leadership. It is myopic for anybody to think that it is easy to get governments to grant demands of public sector employees.
Under the current international political economy imposed on all nations, international community expects and requires all nations to adopt market-oriented development model that requires “national economies should open to trade; domestic prices should conform to international market prices; fiscal and monetary policy should be prudently directed to the maintenance of price and balance-of-payment stability; private property rights should be clear and inviolable; state-owned productive enterprises should be privatized.
Also, private decision-making guided by undistorted prices should dictate national patterns of specialization, resource allocation and factor returns with minimal government regulation or sectoral policy; the residual government budget should be directed to targeted education programme and social policy”. This model of economic development strategy imposed on developing countries such as Ghana is a threat to trade unions in their efforts to seek improvement in the lot of their members.
Trade unions in developing countries have to understand this political economy and put pressures on their governments to break from this iron-fist mould. The international globalization which involves an unequal exchange between core countries and semi-peripheral and peripheral countries has deepened the gap between the rich nations and poor nations and between the rich and privileged and the poor and underprivileged in both rich and poor nations. From this perspective, the task ahead of trade unions is gigantic and requires understanding, formulation of grievances and organization of struggles to bring a revolutionary change instead of seeking amelioration through collective bargaining.
Members of trade unions ought to get actively involved in their trade unions and work with their leaders to bring about a collective right of their members and unions. The unions should not only insist on their pound of flesh but ought equally to justify their demands for better, improved salaries and terms of service by improved work ethics, better performance and positive attitudes towards work.
Just as many people admit that teachers salaries and terms of service are not the best, many people in the same vein, rightly believe that our teachers, especially those at the basic level of our education system are not doing their best at all. There must be a concerted effort by all teachers to change this actual or imagined perception for us to win the support and sympathy of the public. It is the view of some section of the public that the falling standards of education in the pre-tertiary level is partly because over the years, GNAT has over-protected its members to such an extent that it has lost sight over its responsibility to control them.
There is always a reciprocity between rights and duties and therefore a trade union cannot continue to have power for its members without having power over them. Unions must educate their members to understand that employment relations are contractual and that in every contract parties assume obligations.
These obligations and their corresponding rights ought to be obeyed and respected. Besides, there are laws, customs and practices that regulate employment relations that need to be respected. For instance, Labour Act 2003, Act 651 requires that when workers intend to embark on strikes they have to give notice to the National Labour Commission at least within seven days prior to the intended strike. Strikes should occur only after negations have reached a deadlock. Trade unions and their members must adhere to the rules of labour relations.
The human resources managers must adopt proper employee relations policy that will prevent or minimize industrial disputes. Public sector management must employ competent human resources managers to manage employee relations to promote industri9al harmony. Trade unions have to encourage their members to actively get involved in their affairs. Unions must be seen as a common heritage for members, therefore, members should share in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of their unions and share in the benefits that accrue to the unions.
