CHAPTER FOUR

• The State of the Labour Movement Today and the Prospects for the Future
• TRADE UNION DENSITY AND AFFILIATION TO ZCTU
• ZCTU STRUCTURE:
• A. The 9th Quadrennial Congress
• B. The Relationship between the ZCTU and other Unions
• C. ZCTU-FES-FFTUZ Relationship
• D. The Leadership Crisis in the ZCTU

CHAPTER FOUR

The State of the Labour Movement Today and the Prospects for the Future

In fighting, division, internal conflicts and a weak alliance characterises the labour movement in Zambia today. It is beyond question that the labour movement itself to be used as a tool for politicians to the injury of a once strong trade union movement.

Following the Industrial and Labour Relations Act of 1993 more unions have emerged, some have split away from the mainstream unions while others have disaffiliated from ZCTU making the labour movement today more divided than ever in the history of the country. Thus there are today twenty-five unions in Zambia. Of these five had disaffiliated from the ZCTU in 1994 and one has rejoined. At least two unions have never been affiliated to the ZCTU although there are strong indications that they will apply for affiliation before the end of the year.

The five unions that had disaffiliated from the ZCTU are the Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ) and the National Union of Building, Engineering and General Workers (NUBEGW) the Zambia Union of Financial and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) the Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNTU) and the National Union of Commercial and Industrial Workers (NUCIW). These had grouped together to form the Federation of Free Trade Unions in Zambia (FFTUZ) which had not yet been registered at the time of publication of this monogram. It is interesting to note that NUCIW had rejoined the ZCTU and the Technical and Trades Lecturers Union has lodged an application to the ZCTU. The University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU), which has never affiliated to the ZCTU is also considering applying for affiliation to the ZCTU.

The table below gives the nature of trade union density in Zambia and the affiliation status to the ZCTU.

TRADE UNION DENSITY AND AFFILIATION TO ZCTU

	1986	1990	1994	1995	1997	Affi*
Mine Workers Union of Zambia	45867	58808	52058	48000	443000	Unaffi.
National Union of Commercial and Industrial Workers	28000	27000	26000	18000	16000	Affi.
National Union of Building Engineering and General Workers	35000	25000	14310	11000	10100	Unaffi.
Guards Union of Zambia	8000	13000	8000	10000	11000	Affi.
National Union of Communication Workers	5000	6319	6494	5547	4500	Affi.
National Union of Transport and Allied Workers	9000	7592	7896	5500	4500	Affi.
Zambia Local Authorities Workers Union	24000	24000	22626	22000	21300	Affi.
Zambia Electricity and Allied Workers Union	4200	6600	3600	4000	4000	Affi.
Zambia Union of Financial and Allied Workers	7100	11754	10116	7000	6000	Unaffi.
Airways and Allied Workers Union of Zambia	10234	8858	3010	2800	2100	Affi.
University and Allied Workers Union of Zambia	2748	2794	5075	5000	4000	Affi.
Zambia National Union of Health and Allied Workers	-	1219	5030	6000	4010	Affi.
Zambia Typographic Workers Union	1400	1509	2500	2000	2000	Affi.
Railway Workers Union of Zambia	10234	10000	8501	6000	4250	Affi.
National Union of Plantation and Agricultural Workers	10143	16674	18332	16000	17000	Affi.
Hotel and Catering Union of Zambia	8000	7000	6840	5000	4000	Affi.
Zambia National Union of Teachers	25000	36230	48000	52000	35000	Unaffi.
Civil Servants Union of Zambia	33000	28000	29001	29000	26000	Affi.
National Union of Public Service Workers	-	-	300	300	450	Affi.
Bankers Union of Zambia	-	-	-	1000	-	Affi.
Secondary School Teachers Union of Zambia	-	-	-	2600	1000	Affi.
Zambia Revenue Workers Union	-	-	-	2000	2000	Affi.
University of Zambia** Lecturers and Researchers Union	-	-	400	86	234	Unaffi.
Technical and Trades Lecturers Union	-	-	-	-	1000	Unaffi.
TOTAL

SOURCES: ZCTU STATISTICS AND ESTIMATES FOR 1997 ON PERSONAL RESEARCH.

* Affi. Indicates that the union is affiliated and unaff. Indicates unaffiliated or disaffiliation as the case may be.

** In 1994 the Management of the University of Zambia dismissed all lecturers and researchers for going on strike to press for the equal pay for equal work principle which they had initiated. Due to that intimidation the union density has not fully recovered as many lecturers and researchers believe that belonging to a union would facilitate their dismissals.

To underscore the degree of division and disunity within the labour movement one just has to look at the tug of war between the ZCTU and the FFTUZ and how this has affected the internal cohesion of some trade unions.

While opposed to the formation of another national centre in favour of a united federation, the ZCTU supported the breakaway of the Secondary School Teachers Union of Zambia (SESTUZ) and the Technical and Trades Lecturers Union (TTLU) from the ZNUT which cried foul play. SESTUZ had applied for affiliation to the ZCTU which was accepted and the TTLU has already lodged an application for affiliation to the ZCTU which is likely to be accepted. In a similar fashion, the Bankers Union of Zambia (BUZ) and the Zambia Revenue Workers Union (ZRWU) are splinter unions from ZUFIAW both of which have been accepted to affiliate to the ZCTU. Understandably, ZNTU and ZUFIAW who are in FFTUZ camp feel that ZCTU is working against the alliance by promoting splinter unions and on this basis feel that they cannot get back to the ZCTU which they have accused of not being in favour of a strong and united trade union movement.

On the other hand the ZCTU argues that as long as the four unions in the FFTU camp do not feel that it is necessary to form a strong alliance with the ZCTU it is not the responsibility of the ZCTU to prevent the splinter unions who would apply for affiliation to the ZCTU for better representation. Whatever the arguments may be from either camp this state of affairs has irreparably damaged the much needed unity of the labour movement and it is imperative that the parties seriously re-examine their role in the trade union movement.

As a result of this split the state has also taken advantage of the ensuing weakness. A decisive step has been taken by the state to ratify an ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to organise (FAPRO). By this International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention workers and employers organisation are, without distinction, guaranteed the right to form or belong to organisations and federations of their choice without prior authorisation. The Committee of Experts on the application of ILO conventions has on several occasions accepted that while the ratification of this convention by member states could affect trade union strength and unity, it is not prudent or advisable that trade union unity should be promoted by legislative or other administrative means.

It is the view of many labour experts in Africa that far from fostering organisational independence and democracy FAPRO indeed undermines the very basic principles of trade unionism whose success in the area of social justice must depend on unity. Where this instrument has been ratified, such as Zambia, the act of ratification has been a signal of government’s intention to divide and therefore weaken the labour movement. In developing states such as Zambia, where the roots of trade unionism and democracy are still growing, conventions such as FAPRO should not be tolerated or grafted on the facade of political democracy. When this is done, as has happened in Zambia, political pluralism becomes associated with industrial democracy and labour is transformed into an undefined nebulous factor to be abused and weakened by the politicians who stand to benefit from a divided trade union movement. This is precisely what has happened in Zambia: by ratifying convention 87 the labour movement has thereby been divided and weakened.

In realising the importance of a united and strong labour movement particularly in Zambia, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Zambia office, initiated dialogue between the ZCTU and FFTU in 1996 with a view to bringing them together. This initiative on trade union integration must be seen from a broader context of both inter as well as intra union cooperation and not merely from a narrow perspective of the relationship between the ZCTU and the other unions. Much as this was and indeed is important, it simply reflected a larger organisational problem at the top which required diagnosis and treatment.

This initiative on the part of FES revealed that there were ostensibly four major factors that led to the split in the labour movement in Zambia: These factors are:

1. The 9^th Quadrennial Congress held in 1994 at Livingstone;
2. The relationship between the ZCTU and other unions;
3. The perceived relationship between the FES, the ZCTU and the breakaway unions, and
4. The leadership crisis, within the ZCTU.

To put things in their proper perspective it is important that we briefly examine the organisational structure of the ZCTU.

The highest policy making body is the Quadrennial conference of the ZCTU. This is convened once every four years and all affiliated unions are invited with proportional representation according to the size of a union.

Next to the Quadrennial conference is the General Council which meets at least twice annually. Representation by unions is also proportional according to size.

Then there is the Executive Council which comprises all General Secretaries of National Unions affiliated to the ZCTU, all the members of the Executive board and two members of the Women’s Committee.

Then comes the Executive Board which comprise nine members as follows:

1. President of ZCTU
2. Vice President of ZCTU
3. Secretary General of ZCTU
4. Two Deputy Secretary Generals of ZCTU
5. Four Trustees of ZCTU.

All these are elected at the Quadrennial conference for a term of four years.

Then there is a secretariat whose head office is in Kitwe, on the copperbelt province. The Secretary General of ZCTU is a full time employee in charge of the secretariat.

At the bottom of this structure are various committees such as the Women’s committee. There is also union representation at district level. The membership is drawn from Civil Servants Union of Zambia (CSUZ), the National Union of Public Service Workers (NUPSW), the Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) and the Zambia United Local Authorities Workers Unions (ZULAWU). These unions are spread throughout the country and therefore not difficult to organise for representation at district committee level.

ZCTU STRUCTURE:

It is now proposed to consider the four reasons advanced that may have contributed to the weakness in the trade union movement in Zambia since 1994. It must be pointed out that these reasons were more speculative than real and the impact of convention 87 should not be lost sight of.

A. The 9^th Quadrennial Congress

Out of the four factors, the Quadrennial congress held in 1994 was a turning point for the course that the labour movement finds itself in today. Prior to the congress the President of the ZCTU had called for a meeting of the Executive Board who wanted or did not want to stand for their or other positions should state so. Accordingly, the members declared their positions as to retain their present status.

Things changed at the Quadrennial congress as members of the Executive board stood against each other. The President of the ZCTU, Fackson Shamenda was challenged by his deputy Francis Kunda (late) while the Secretary General Alec Chirwa was also challenged by his deputy Alikipo Banda. This created confusion and painted a picture of disintegration within the ranks of the Executive Board.

When election were held both the President and the Secretary General retained their seats defeating the contenders. It was at that point that who was also President of the all strong Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) announced that his union would disaffiliate from the ZCTU. This was followed by four other unions, namely the Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNTU), the Zambia Union of Financial and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW), the National Union of Building, Engineering and General Workers (NUBEGW) and the National Union of Commercial and Industrial Unions (NUCIW). This was a big blow to the financial as well as numerical strength of the ZCTU especially that MUZ and ZNUT alone accounted for eighty percent of the revenue of the ZCTU. Except for NUCIW which has rejoined ZCTU the rest remain disaffiliated although the indications are that they may also get back to the fold. This is a possibility wholly dependent on how both teams can tackle the problem of mistrust between them.

The question is what went wrong at the Quadrennial congress?

According to the splinter group constituting the Federation of Free Trade Unions in Zambia (FFTUZ) rampant malpractices and lack of seriousness characterised the manner in which business was conducted at the congress. The FFTUZ alleged that the situation was so chaotic and undemocratic that they felt the ZCTU leadership had betrayed the cause by being bought and used by politicians. Some of the incidents alleged to have brought dissatisfaction were enumerated, such as:

1. the presence of political parties at the congress invited by and supporting the ZCTU leadership. The presence of national Party cadres was specifically identified;
2. failure on the part of the ZCTU leadership to fairly transact business for which the congress was constitutionally mandated to do such as consideration of the Financial Report and the mapping out of the course of action for the next four years.
3. allegations of vote buying and rigging especially that the vote count margins were almost the same for the contestants
4. tribal practices
5. expensive and lavish life style of the ZCTU leadership as an indication of alleged vote buying and rigging.

None of these allegation could be substantiated in terms of influencing the outcome of the elections. In any case, it is difficult to justify these allegations especially that those that stood against each other were members of the Executive Board who had the opportunity to correct any shortcomings at that level: or by utilising other structures such as Executive Committee, or the General Council. The allegations were only made after they lost elections-an indication that reasons may have been personal rather than rooted convictions of principles.

B. The Relationship between the ZCTU and other Unions

It is also felt by the breakaway unions that the ZCTU has embarked on a vicious campaign of destabilisation of those unions that have disaffiliated from the ZCTU to accept to affiliate unions that have split from those that have disaffiliated from the ZCTU.

Examples that have been given are the affiliation of the Secondary School Teachers Union of Zambia (SESTUZ), the Bankers Union of Zambia (BUZ) and the Zambia Revenue Workers Union (ZRWU) which are splinter unions from the mainstream and disaffiliated Zambia National Teachers Union (ZNTU) and the Zambia Union of Financial and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) respectively. They claim that this conduct on the part of the ZCTU is a reflection of insincerity and double standards whereby the ZCTU is against other unions splitting from it while at the same time encouraging intra rivalry and splinter unions emerging.

C. ZCTU-FES-FFTUZ Relationship

Related to the problem of ZCTU’s alleged fanning of discontent in these unions that have disaffiliated from the ZCTU was the issue of the relationship between the FES and the ZCTU. It was felt by the disaffiliated unions that the ZCTU was able to sustain its destabilisation activities because of the support it allegedly got from the FES. The splinter unions were of the view that FES should be impartial in its dealings with ZCTU and FFTUZ.

The reaction of FES was and had remained to be that it is neither the policy nor the practice of FES to fund any trade union for purposes of destabilising the labour movement anywhere in the world. In fact the policy of FES world wide is to promote and foster trade union unity and solidarity in order to achieve democracy through social justice. The reason why the FES now only deals with the ZCTU is simply because ZCTU is the only recognized National Centre and the policy of FES worldwide is to deal only with the national centres. FES is of the view that given the programmes such as the Structural Adjustment Programme, privatisation and the public service reform programme, it is crucial that the labour movement concentrate their efforts on constructive dialogue for the same of unity and strength.

D. The Leadership Crisis in the ZCTU

The disaffiliated unions also feel that there is a serious leadership crisis in the ZCTU which the government has taken advantage of. They allege that the current leadership of the ZCTU is more involved in politics and much less effort is directed towards addressing the interests of the workers. In their view the current leadership of the ZCTU need to be changed.

These factors may not be exhausted but do represent the core areas of conflict in the Zambia’s labour movement. It is also important to note that all of these factors have continued to influence the course of the trade union movement and the unity and strength of the labour movement will largely depend on how these issues are addressed and handled.