An Investigation Into Some of The Challenges Facing Trade Unions In Kenya: - A Case Study of Bakery, Confectionery, Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union in Nairobi.

Abstract

This study addressed some of the challenges facing the Trade unions in Kenya. The case study was The Bakery Confectionery and Allied workers Union. Collective Bargaining has been and continues to be part and parcel of industrial peace and harmony. The history of Collective Bargaining in Kenya can be traced back to the Labour Movement in the 1900s when the European settlers introduced wage labour. Prominent leaders among them the late Tom Mboya and Achieng Onieko spearheaded the movement to fight for workers rights. Though the broad objective of Collective Bargaining is well-intended, industrial peace and harmony has been elusive as industrial actions are met with hostility, retrenchment of workers has also become an everyday practice; workers are paid poorly and work in poor conditions even though they are unionized. On the contrary, the Union leaders are having a good time with most of them rising to high political positions. The study therefore sought to understand some of the challenges facing Trade Unions in the advent of new management styles, advanced technology, the emergence of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) scourge, compounded with globalization. A methodology was mapped out to carryout this study. The Bakers, Confectionery, Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union were purposively sampled. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data and secondary sources i.e. Journals, Records from the Industrial Court and relevant Acts were used. Data analysis was done qualitatively. The findings indicated that the challenges facing Trade Unions included, mismanagement of the Unions, financial crunches, lack of knowledge in procedures in trade unions, encroachment of the civil society in this area among others. The study recommends as a way forward that policy and institutional framework to address the crisis in trade unionism be looked into. Recommendations to the unions suggested training and change management as a priority; a further study was felt necessary to enrich the study in future.