"Insulting the Bosses won't Help": Trade Unions, Nationalism and the Workplace in Ghana, 1950-1980
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/1984-9222.2016v8n16p95Abstract
http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1984-9222.2016v8n16p95
Struggles over control over the workplace do not only involve labour and management, as they are frequently influenced by broader political issues and direct state intervention. This paper explores the complex interaction between workers, organised labour, management, politics and government for Ghana during the colonial and postcolonial decolonisation years between 1948 and 1987, taking Unilever-subsidiary UAC as a case study. It traces how from the 1950s until the early 1980s, state control of labour relations reduced the negotiating space for trade unions and company management in Ghana. This system was dismantled after 1982, first by a revolutionary government which encouraged direct worker participation at the expense of organised labour, then by neo-liberal free market reforms. The latter reforms restored 'managements' right to 'manage'. However, after decades of limited opportunities to negotiate, existing corporate management did not have the experience or skills to provide effective leadership, while the position of organised labour had been undermined.
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