Development of Collective Bargaining in Former British and French African Countries

Before collective bargaining can take place certain conditions must be fulfilled. In a society where the number of persons employed is very small and where those who are employed for wages work on farms, in domestic households and for petty trades, there is little opportunity for collective bargaining to take place. Under these conditions the contracts of employment will be settled by convention and by individual negotiation. This situation changes as the size of the employed labour force becomes substantial and relatively large numbers of workers are employed by public authorities and private enterprises in a wide range of production and service activities. When economic development has reached this point the labour force will be structured in clearly identifiable categories of employment. At the same time the units of employment are likely to include many that have grown to a size that destroys the personal relationship between employer and worker that is a characteristic feature of the small-scale enterprise. When this position has been reached uniform conditions of employment that conform to the structure of the labour force that has emerged will, for a number of reasons, have to be established. In the first place it is administratively more convenient for management if they establish standards of wages and working conditions that are common to whole categories of employees rather than to individuals, since this enables them to pursue a more efficient hiring policy, to control and predict labour costs and to minimize personnel conflicts over wages.