Effects Of Employment Intermediaries On Trade Unions In Kenya: A Case Of Maasai Mara University

Abstract

Employment intermediaries, and contract companies, are commonly believed to undermine the power of labor unions, by fracturing the collectivism that characterizes unions. However, the article examines the effects of intermediary employment on trade unions operations, strength and growth in Kenya. These may also serve as a barrier in the workplace – protecting the regular workers from fluctuations in labor demand. The analyses are based on staff unions of public universities in Kenya using descriptive statistics. The major findings reported were: Negative relationship between unionization and the use of employment intermediaries for staffing reasons, highly unionized establishments tend to have the lowest use of intermediaries and contractors for reasons that may replace regular workers, suggesting that unions are able to influence how employers use employment intermediaries, The enforcement of the implementation of the labour laws will be weakened with the use of intermediaries and contractors unlike in case of strong unionization, weak employer employee relationship and control in the case of intermediaries and contractors, low growth of institutions and planning in terms of human resource and research. The findings are discussed in relation to the regulated labor market in Kenya.