Re-examining the role of teacher trade unions‟ in promoting welfare and sustained livelihood for their members: a case of teacher trade unions in Lusaka, Zambia.

Item

Title
en Re-examining the role of teacher trade unions‟ in promoting welfare and sustained livelihood for their members: a case of teacher trade unions in Lusaka, Zambia.
Description
en Journal Article
Creator
Simuyaba, Eunifridah
Date
2021-03-05T13:49:12Z
Date Available
2021-03-05T13:49:12Z
Date Issued
2020-12
Abstract
en : We investigated the role of teacher trade unions in
promoting teacher welfare and sustained livelihood for their
members in Lusaka District of Zambia. The objectives of the
study were to; explore how the teacher unions have helped in
promoting teacher welfare and sustained livelihood; and
determine measures that teacher unions can take to support the
teacher welfare and sustained livelihood. A descriptive study
design was employed on a target population that comprised four
(4) national teacher union officials targeting one (1) official from
each of the four national teacher trade union secretariats, 16
teachers, and 16 union leaders at school level of selected schools.
Purposive sampling method was used to sample national teacher
trade union officials and four school level union leaders from
selected primary and secondary schools in Lusaka District. Data
was collected through interviews; focus group discussion; and
documentary review were thematically analyzed and interpreted,
respectively. The study revealed that teacher trade unions were
instrumental in providing legal representation of members and
in collective bargaining, but their role did not effectively result in
motivational conditions of service for promoting enhanced
teacher welfare and sustained livelihood. The study
recommended that provision of non-traditional incentives such
as; education assistance; facilitation of land acquisition; funeral
support; financial benefits; health scheme; mortgage;
decentralization of functions would have positive impact on
teacher welfare and sustained livelihood. The study also
recommended that teacher trade unions needed to reposition
themselves by re-organizing themselves through employing more
innovation as opposed to following traditional approaches to
improving member benefits. Teacher trade unions further
needed to focus on knowledge empowerment for lower level
union leadership structures at school level in order to improve
representation of teachers, enhance workers’ education and to
diversify into sustainable business ventures that would enhance
the union funds, and develop pool fund to be used to empower
members.
Keyword: Teacher Unions, Role, Teacher welfare, Sustained
Livelihood.
Identifier
2454-6186
uri
http://dspace.unza.zm/handle/123456789/6962
Language
en en
Publisher
en International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science
Subject
en Teacher welfare--Zambia.
Type
en Article
Item sets
The University of Zambia Collections