Abstract
Workers, individually, are too weak and not capable of having their demands met at their
workplaces hence the need for a union to take advantage of the power that comes with unity and
collectivism. This being the case, one recognizes as many would, the need of an effective
collective bargaining unit. Namibia Public Workers Union (NAPWU) is one of the largest trade
unions which recruits its members from the, public service and parastatals. Its effectiveness in
representing its members is of major importance in order to avoid labor unrest which may lead to
poor service delivery to the public.
Therefore this paper explores the effectiveness of NAPWU as a collective bargaining unit for its
members who are employed at Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). A mixed methods
approach is used in the study where interviews and questionnaires are employed to obtain data
from the respondents. Respondents were grouped as follows; employees at NBC who are
members of NAPWU, NBC management and a shop steward. From these groups was then the
data drawn.
The major findings reveal that the majority of NAPWU members believe that their union has
little or no influence at all when it comes to the working conditions of its members. They feel not
secured, as management could act as the deem right and encounters no resistance from the union
and the widely held opinion by NAPWU members at NBC was that there is poor accountability
of the union to its members to the extent that some members felt that their union was conniving
with the management against them. Though the above mentioned problems exist, NAPWU
through its shop stewards assisted its members in the area of legal aid by supporting them in
cases of conflicts among employees, or other individual problems faced with their immediate
supervisors.
The outcome of the research indicates that NAPWU should adopt “Servicing”, as well as
“Organizing” models of union representation and to let these two complement each other. This
will prevent a “them” and “us” relationship between the union and its members, which currently
is prevailing there and affecting the collectivism approach.
T.CHIDZAMBWA, R (2021). An Exploratory Study Of The Effectiveness Of The Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) As A Collective Bargaining Unit For Workers In The Civil Service: A Case Study Of The Namibian Broadcasti. Afribary. Retrieved from https://afribary.com/works/an-exploratory-study-of-the-effectiveness-of-the-namibia-public-workers-union-napwu-as-a-collective-bargaining-unit-for-workers-in-the-civil-service-a-case-study-of-the-namibian-broadcasting-
T.CHIDZAMBWA, REDEMPTION "An Exploratory Study Of The Effectiveness Of The Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) As A Collective Bargaining Unit For Workers In The Civil Service: A Case Study Of The Namibian Broadcasti" Afribary. Afribary, 27 Apr. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/an-exploratory-study-of-the-effectiveness-of-the-namibia-public-workers-union-napwu-as-a-collective-bargaining-unit-for-workers-in-the-civil-service-a-case-study-of-the-namibian-broadcasting-. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.
T.CHIDZAMBWA, REDEMPTION . "An Exploratory Study Of The Effectiveness Of The Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) As A Collective Bargaining Unit For Workers In The Civil Service: A Case Study Of The Namibian Broadcasti". Afribary, Afribary, 27 Apr. 2021. Web. 25 Dec. 2024. < https://afribary.com/works/an-exploratory-study-of-the-effectiveness-of-the-namibia-public-workers-union-napwu-as-a-collective-bargaining-unit-for-workers-in-the-civil-service-a-case-study-of-the-namibian-broadcasting- >.
T.CHIDZAMBWA, REDEMPTION . "An Exploratory Study Of The Effectiveness Of The Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) As A Collective Bargaining Unit For Workers In The Civil Service: A Case Study Of The Namibian Broadcasti" Afribary (2021). Accessed December 25, 2024. https://afribary.com/works/an-exploratory-study-of-the-effectiveness-of-the-namibia-public-workers-union-napwu-as-a-collective-bargaining-unit-for-workers-in-the-civil-service-a-case-study-of-the-namibian-broadcasting-