Trade Unions and Workplace Democracy in Africa

Can democracy only survive if it is participatory? Is participatory democracy a prerequisite for sustainable development? Are trade unions the most appropriate body through which such aims can be implemented? These critical questions are tackled in Gérard Kester's book, Trade Unions and Workplace Democracy in Africa, which applies an unparalleled depth of research to these issues as they impact African nations, including: Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Rigorously structured, it sets the background of the research and the underlying theory, before presenting the learning experiences within different countries and the the broad implications of the research findings for policy making on democratic participation.

Gérard Kester was formerly Associate Professor of Labour Studies at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands.

Preface and Acknowledgements PART 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Post-independence Labour Relations in Africa 2 The Development of Workplace Democracy 3 A Theory of the Dynamics of Workplace Democracy 4 Studying Democratic Participation in Africa PART 2 LEARNING EXPERIENCES 5 Conditions of Work and Employment 6 The Trade Union Condition 7 The Struggle for Workplace Democracy in Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Ghana and South Africa 18 Statutory Workplace Democracy in Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe 9 Managerial Prerogatives Versus Participation Prerogatives 10 The Gender of Trade Union Democratic Participation in Ghana PART 3 POLICY CONCLUSIONS 11 Towards More Meaningful and Effective Workplace Democracy 12 Building a Trade Union Agenda Trade Unions and Workplace Democracy in Africa 13 Trade Unions and Workplace Democracy in a Globalising Economy