Industrial Relations in a Developing Society:

The Case of Colonial, Independent One-party and Multiparty Malawi

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As Schaffer (1969:184) observes, developing societies are characterized by a peculiar combination of factors such as ‘extensive needs, low capacities and severe obstacles’ and these factors make industrial relations more complex and controversial. Apart from these factors, there are already known contradictions in the needs and expectations of the major actors in industrial relations-employers, employees and the state. The state wants economic development through public and private sector investment and higher worker productivity. It performs several functions- an employer, economic manager, arbiter in trade disputes and provider of a legal framework for industrial relations. It is also concerned with the welfare and standards of living of the majority of the citizens who constitute the largest proportion of voters. While employers in the private sector are keen to produce goods or offer services at a more competitive price and are anxious to maximize profits through higher productivity and lower costs, employees are keen to enjoy a living wage, better conditions of employment including participation in decision-making processes related to their wages and conditions of employment. However, high wages, fringe benefits among other ‘goodies’ are a cost that reduces the profits of the employer. The need of the employers for more investment which in turn creates additional employment for jobseekers pleases the state which is not only anxious to get corporate as well as pay as you earn tax, but also wants to ensure improved standards of living of the majority poor. The needs by different actors create tensions, dilemmas and hence conflict in industrial relations. Attempts at managing this inherent conflict at the workplace and in the wider society generally, is the major preoccupation of industrial relations. One of the central points in the book is that the state is the most powerful actor that determines the terrain of industrial relations in any country. In a developing country the influence of the state is even stronger given its central position it occupies in economic development and its anxiety to maintain political stability. Additionally, the influence of the international donor community on the behaviour of the state in developing societies which in turn has a bearing on industrial relations is acknowledged.
Employment relations issues need to be understood by employers (employers’ associations, human resource managers, general managers and chief executives, industrial relations managers, company presidents and Board chairpersons), employees (in the broadest sense of the word from the rank and file to top management, union leaders and members) and government officials (dealing with employment issues in ministries and government departments, labour ministry officials, ministers and their advisors and all involved in third party roles to employment disputes).This book will benefit not only the above groups but also students at universities or training institutions as well as lecturers in the field. It is a product of the author’s reflection of his experience of the extent of helplessness experienced by many actors in employment relations when Malawi was thrown into an industrial relations ‘tsunami’ in the early 1990s when the country witnessed unprecedented strike activity in the midst of political change. My research on Joint consultative committees and the presentation of the same at the labour law reform workshop in June 1995 at Nkopola Lodge in Mangochi was the beginning of my interest in industrial relations. Following on this interest, I introduced Industrial Relations as a course for the BA HRM students in the department of Political and Administrative Studies at Chancellor College, University of Malawi. Assignments done by my students deepened my interest further. This culminated into a three year research which was in fulfillment for the award of a doctoral degree in industrial relations at Keele University in England. This book represents tangible evidence of interest in the subject. Special care has been taken to clarify key concepts and roles of actors and some theoretical frameworks for understanding industrial relations processes. The role of the state and its transformation in Africa over the past decades and its impact on industrial relations in Africa in general and Malawi in particular, has been examined. An attempt to demonstrate worker militancy in reaction to poor conditions of employment during the colonial, independent one party and multiparty Malawi has also been shown. This book demonstrates the value of a multidisciplinary approach to unravel complex forces within the political economy of a developing society. The use of industrial relations theory, public administration, law, economics, history, research methods and political science has provided deep insights into the peculiarity of industrial relations of a developing society over a period of seventy years. This covers the colonial, the independent one party and the multiparty periods. While it may not be too comprehensive to cover every aspect of the subject matter, the book does claim to be a product of extensive research. Apart from extensive interviews with key actors and analysts of industrial relation in Malawi and review of the literature on the subject, the book has relied on extensive review of documents, official statistics, newspapers and questionnaire responses to generate data. I have deliberately avoided many citations inside the text in order to make it more reader friendly. It should be mentioned that although the case studies and most materials in this book are selectively Malawi and Africa in scope, the relevance of the content goes beyond the African continent.