This essay will explain the iron law of oligarchy and see if trade union officials in Zambia exhibit oligarchic tendencies. It will start by defining some terms and then give a detailed account of the behaviour of trade union officials in Zambia in relation to the iron law of oligarchy and finally ends with a conlusion. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the term oligarchy as a small group of people having contol of a country or an organisation such as a political party, a trade union and so on. anos!i et al. "#$$%, p. #&'( states that an oligarchy result when a small coalition exercises power under complete institutionalisation. )ccording to *orgatta and +ontgomery, the iron law of oligarchy was obert +ichels-conclusion regarding the necessity neces sity of elite rule in modern societies societi es "ol. "ol. /, p,. #'0/(. In essence, the iron law of oligarchy postulates that any complex organisation self1generate its own elite that has disproportional influence on the decisions made in the organisation. )ccording to +ichels such an elite is autonomous from the ran! and file members and is little affected by by elections "232%, p. /'4( 5ole defines trade unions as associations of wor!ers in one or more proefessions carried on mainly for the purpose of protecting and advancing the members-collective action, the economic and social status in connection with their daily wor! "5ited in 6inha #$$3, p. '&(. +onappa sees the primary role of trade unions as to protect the wor!ers and to chanelise their efforts into more rational directions so that the viability of the organisation can be enhanced "#$$&, p. %2(. In Zambia there are currently #% trade unions according to the 5ommonwealth of 7ations with the two ma8or groupings being the Zambian 5ongress of Trade 9nions "Z5T9( and the :ederation of :ree Trade 9nion in Zambia. The officials managing the day to day da y operations of these trade unions constitute a small group of people or elite in comparison with the entire followership of that union. This arrangement, according to +ichels, constitute an iron law of oligarchy because all organisations including those committed to democratic ideals and practices will inevitably succumb to the rule by an elite few or oligarchy "232%, p. /'0(. )ccording to the iron law of oligarchy there is always a small number of persons in an organisation who actually ma!e decisions despite authority seemingly being vested in in the body of the membership. Thus Thus the iron law of oligarcy stands in star! opposition opposition to pluralism and suggests that participatory democracy is a utopian idea and that democracy is always limited to very narrow strata of existing oligarchy.
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+ichels argues by stating that the structural pattern of trade union organi;ation is essentiall y bureaucratic, rigid and non1democratic. )ccording to him, formal organi;ations, such as trade unions or political parties, li!e all forms of formal organi;ations are sub8ect to an
ho says organi;ation says oligarchy.? There is also a tendency of some trade union officials in Zambia to be at the helm of the union longer than would be necessar y. During the end of tenure of office, those who have plans to challenge the incumbent may not find it easy to be co1opted because the existing union officials !eep on recontesting the elections. *orgatta and +ontgomery "ol. /, p. #'0/( attributes the prolonged stay in power to some union officials having resources available to them and these resources give them numerous advantages in maintaining their power over the unorganised ran! and file or ordinary members of a group. The oligarchic tendencies of the officials in Zambian trade unions can be traced to a numder reasons. +ichels "232%( has identified a number of reasons for the tendency towards oligarchic control. These factors include@ a(. the fact that general participation in trade union affairs by the vast ma8ority of the people is practically impossibleA b(. the need for an efficient and expert decision ma!ing structure or systemA c(. the natural human desire or avarice for power.
During campaigns enroute to trade union elections, some would be officials usually ma!e numerous promises to the electorates such as trade unions reforms, wor!ers- better coditions of service i.e. accomodation and transport allowances, and even how approachable they will be to their members, which is never usually the case. Once elected into office these promises are rarely fulfilled as the these union officials become relaxed especially with the passage of time. This been reinforced by *orgatta and +ontgomery "Ibid. p. #'00( who have observed that over time the leaders who have been co1opted into the trade union develop similar intererst and intra1elite attachments that reflect their elevated positions and they end up separating themselves from the members they are suppose to represent. Trade union officials in Zambia have always been finding ways to increase their overall membership. One would say the larger the union body the more the leaders will be detached 2
from their members. )s +ichels "232%, p. /''( observed, as the organi;ation becomes larger, the smaller the controlling elite becomes. )lso, recruitment into the leadership structure of trade unions as formal organi;ations is drawn from the ran! of those with experience and expertise in union matters, for example, members campaigning for positions usually put emphasis on their past experience in union matters. One ma8or issue or challenge for trade unions in Zambia is their structural rigidity and lac! of internal democracy. This has led to trade unions splitting resulting in the formation of new unions. :or instance, the Zambia 5ongress of Trade 9nions existed as a sole mother body to which all the unions where affiliated to. This meant that one official was the overall head of these sub unions. In their paper, 7yirenda and 6hi!we "#$$/, p. 24( contends that before 2332 the Zambia 5ongress of Trade 9nions en8oyed the monopoly of being the sole trade union federation with the legal framewor! prescribing it to exist as such. The lac! of internal democracy in Zambian trade unions has been witnessed by the creation of more unions in the recent past. 7yirenda and 6hi!we "#$$/, p. 24( states that Zambia had 23 trade unions before the ratification of IBO 5onvention 4& and the subseCuent amendment of the Zambian Industrial elations and Babour 9nions )ct of 233& which gave birth to other trade unions. These splinter trade unions later formed a federation !nown as the :ederation of :ree Trade 9nions of Zambia "::T9Z(. )ccording to 7yirenda and 6hi!we " Ibid.( the formation of this federation was as a result of the differences among the trade union officials after the Cuadrennial congress. 7yirenda and 6hi!we further add that brea!away unions from Z5T9 have 8oined the ::T9Z due to among other things dissatisfaction with the services provided by the original unions, political interference and selfishness among trade union officials. In Zambia, there are now currently #% trade unions according to the 5ommonwealth of 7ations. +onappa "#$$&, p. %2( argues that the existence of a large number of unions has led to the diffusion of union power at the top and therefore damages political leverage of trade union officials and this is an act of oligarchy. The existence of a large number of unions has also led to inefficient efforts to change or introduce new legislation so as to improve the welfare of wor!ers, which could have been possible if there was one cohesive body "Ibid.(. :or example, there are a number of trade unions representing wor!ers in the teaching profession in Zambia each with its own leaders. Thus it is difficult for these different unions to unite over a common cause of demands of their members as their different ideologies ma!e 3
it impossible to ta!e a united stance with each union-s officials see!ing to gain more leverage from a bargaining process. This attitude of the union officials is thus seen to be oligarchic. The selection of trade union leadership in Zambia may sometimes present a facade of democratic process but in reality, those elected are usually the products of the present leaders and or ex1leaders of the unions. The immediate conseCuence of lac! of democracy is the development of inter1personal or inter1group conflicts within the unions. 6ome of the decisions ta!en by the elitist leaders do not usually reflect ma8ority opinions, especially those of the ordinary ran! and file. The obvious reason is that the leadership of most of the unions had become aristocratic and oligarchic. )s +ichels "232%, p. /'%( observed, large1scale organisations no matter how democratic its official ideology is, reCuires a division of labour between expert officials and ran! and file members. This inexorably leads to oligarchic control by small elite. The foregoing has been echoed by 5. >right +ills who contends that the structure of any trade union organi;ation is no doubt democratic as the officers of the unions are elected. owever, according to 5. >right +ills, leadership succession is usually governed by grooming and a period of tutelage "+ills, 23%'(. :urthermore, the unions are not immune from the effects of moderni;ation on the larger society where rationali;ation of thought is increasingly gaining ground. >eber "230&(, states that with the moderni;ation of society, leadership has become increasingly professionali;ed and this has led to power being concentrated in bureaucracies. )ccording to this thesis of +ax >eber, the stability of bureaucratic organi;ations is also bedevilled by intransigent and unanswerable elite of power holders. >eber has further observed that trade unions as bureaucratic organi;ations are affected by this structural malaise. 6ome trade unions membership in Zambia may constitute people with minimal education i.e. general wor!ers. Officials in these unions, usually with some decent level of education, may stay longer in power due to lac! of challengers among the ran! and file members. The rigid structure of power and its tendency towards oligarchic control of trade unions often leads to alienation, mass apathy and acCuiescence among the ran! and file members. This according to +ills "23%'( ma!es it easy for the masses to be easily manipulated and exploited by the ruling elites who rule in their own interest. The estrangement that occurs leaves the masses of wor!ers sullenly ignorant, powerless and moulded by mass culture dictated by the 4
ruling oligarchy. >eber "230&( in a similar vein argues that the concentration of power in the hands of a bureaucratic elite puts enormous amount of human, material and intellectual resources under its firm and rigid control. This leads to the entrenchment of power in the hands of the elite at the top of the hierarchical ladder of control. Elections in Zambian trade unions are usually held in accordance with democratic norms of political parties in general elections, but succession is usually determined by the fact that new leaders of trade unions are drawn from those that have in the union for a relatively longer period. These opinion shapers are usually made up of former leaders of the unions who have become referential, respected and consulted either as patrons or ex1officio members of the unions. 5onseCuently, their views or opinion may be regarded or seen as sacrosanct and highly respected. ordon "23&2, p. 2%&( asserts that the iron law of oligarchy is 8ust a new name for the central elitist principle that trade union is infact leadership by a few. *ecause trade union officials in Zambia constitute a minority compared with the members, they are deemed an oligarchy. ordon has further stated =) system is oligarchic if policies are determined by a small group of leaders and there is no mechanism which ensures that these policies correspond in any way with the wishes of the members.? ) case in time is where the union members suggest to their officials that they should negotiate for a minimum of thirty percent and the union officials only only manage twelve percent. This is usually done without the consulting the ran! and file members of the union. Trade 9nion officials in Zambia sometimes will beseech their members to go bac! to wor! despite having ta!en longer than necessary in their negotiations with respective employers. The wor!ers may not be happpy but union officials usually defy their anger and nevertheless remain in power as was the case with the nurses at the 9nversity Teaching ospital. +ichels "232%, p. 2%4( gives an example of the miners of the uhr basin in 23$% who were enraged with their leaders when they had ta!en it upon themselves to declare the great miners- stri!e over. In this case, +ichels further conteds that in times of stri!e, the trade union members are often sul!y but they never rebel for they do not have the ability to punish the treachery of the the union officials "Ibid.( 6ometimes wor!ers have lost their 8obs due to what employers have described as illegal stri!e. Trade union officials have failed to have these wor!ers reinstated despite them ma!ing financial contributions on a monthly basis. :or example, about two years ago, nurses at the 5
9niversity Teaching ospital and other government hospitals went on stri!e. The government ordered them to return to wor! despite their demands not having been met. Due to non compliance to the government-s directive the nurses were fired. Fart of a story carried out in the Zambia Daily 7ation 7ewspaper dated /$ th 7ovember #$2/ read as follows@ =)ll stri!ing nurses and midwifes at the 9niversity Teaching ospital "9T(, the country-s largest referral hospital have been dismissed with immediate effect for participating in what government is calling a wild1cat stri!e.? The trade union officials at 5ivil 6ervants and )llied >or!ers 9nion of Zambia "56)>9Z(, the union which the nurses are affiliated to, failed to have them reinstated but the union officials remained in office despite that development. The iron law of oligarcy among Zambian trade union officials is also exhibited by the multiplicity of the unions. +onappa "#$$&, p. %2( has observed that multiple trade unions leads to union officials sCuabbling among themselves for dominance thus depriving their members of the wages they are expected to receive after negotiations. This observation has been echoed by critics of trade union democracy "Bipset 23'2, p. '( who agues that union democracy is one of the causes of irresponsible bargaining demands and unnecessary stri!es. :urthermore, those union leaders who face the possibility of desposition in a succeeding election see! to 8ustify their incumbency by a show of extreme militancy in advocating ma8or improvements in the management of union affairs. )ccording to Bipset "23'2, p. 2#( most union officials have risen from the ran!s of industrial wor!ers to prestigious positions allowing them to en8oy many middle class comforts, the full time union functionary is powerfully motivated to maintain himself in office. During union elections, a defeat usually means having to return to a relatively low1status, low1paying occupation. In this case, Bipset sees many union officials, Zambia inclusive, as being led by self1interest to circumvent efforts at greater membership control and democratic rights in order to remain in office "Ibid.(. Trade unions have a tendency, as obert +ichels cautioned, of becoming highly bureaucratised resulting in ran! and file union members inevitably being controlled by a tiny minority in process thwarting democratic aspirations within the union structures "*urgmann and *urgmann 2334, p. '/(. This view is aslo echoed by Duverger "23'/( who ac!nowledged that all systems of governannce are necessarily oligarchic in the sense that it is virtually impossible for everyone to eCually participate in decision ma!ing.
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In conclusion it has been seen that trade union officials in Zambia exhibit the iron law of oligarchy. 9sually, internal democracy is practiced in these unions but a common trend is that same individuals are returned into office over and over on the premise that they have experience in union affairs. 6ome trade union officials have made office bearing li!e full1time employment. Thus, despite these organi;ations having been formed to fight for greater internal democracy and improved welfare of their employees, they turn into oligarchies with power concentrated in the hands of a few individuals. The multiplicity of unions within one profession, for example teaching, implies that they are usually internal wrangles within these unions. One would be tempted to conclude that these union internal wrangles among officials are due to various benefits accrued to them by virtue of their positions. )lso, trade union officials in Zambia have a challenge on how to consult their members to come up with a collective agreement.
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REFERENCES *orgatta, E.:. G +ontgomery, .., Encyclopedia of Sociology, #nd Ed., ol. /, +acmillan, 7ew Hor!
*urgmann, +. G *urgmann, . "2334( Green Bans, Red Union Environmental Activism and the New Soth !ales Bilders "a#orers$ Federation, 9niversity of 6outh >ales
Fress, 6ydney Duverger, +. "23%0( Folitical Farties, Their Organisation and )ctivity in the +odern 6tate, +ethuen Fublishing, Bondon ordon, ., "23&2( Ro#ert %ichels and the Stdy of &olitical &arties, *ritish ournal of Folitical 6cience, ol. 2@#, 5ambridge 9niversity Fress, 5ambridge anos!i, T. et al. "#$$%( 'he (an#oo) of &olitical Sociology* States, Civil Societies and Glo#alisation, 5ambridge 9niversity Fress, 5ambridge
Bipset, 6.+., "23'2( 'he "aw and 'rade Union +emocracy irginia Baw eview, ol. 0&@2, irginia +arx, . "23&4(. Capital- ol. I. Fenguin, armondsworth +covern, F. "#$$3( The .ong "ipset on the /ron "aw of 0ligarchy* A 'aste of 'hings to Come, Bondon 6chool of Economics G Folitical 6cience, Bondon +ichels, . "232%( &olitical &arties* A Sociological Stdy of 'he 0ligarchical 'endencies of %odern +emocracy
7yirenda, E.. G 6hi!we, ). "#$$/( 'rade Union Contry Report1Report, :riedrich Ebert 6tiftung, Busa!a 6inha, F..7. "#$$3( /ndstrial Relations, 'rade Unions and "a#or "egislation, 0th Edition >eber, +. "230&( 'he 'heory of Social and Economic 0rgani2ations, Oxford 9niversity Fress, 7ew Hor! >right, +.5. "23%'( 'he &ower Elite, Oxford 9niversity Fress, 7ew Hor!
Zambia Daily 7ation 7ewspaper, Fursuing ustice and ECuity with Integrity "/$ th 7ovember #$2/( [email protected];ambiaJcivilKsocietyJtradeKunionsJ "#$2%(
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