‘Breaking the Wire’: The Evolution of Employee Voice in Namibia

Abstract

The paper explores the historical evolution of employee voice in Namibia from an employment relations (ER) perspective and in the context of institutional factors such as labour legislation, trade union strategies, company policies and governmental regulations. The first part of the paper provides a brief outline of ER conceptions of voice that are manifest in the recent resurgence of interest in the topic. The next part traces the historical evolution of labour regulation and employee voice in Namibia. It is shown that, in the absence of collective voice and statutory protections, informal voice and occupational solidarity were the primary means of defence available to black workers against oppressive conditions. In the final part, an outline of some key features of employee voice in contemporary Namibia is provided. The analysis shows that systems of employee voice are fundamentally a manifestation of the balance of powers at a particular time and place. It is therefore crucial to link voice preferences and behaviours in the workplace to specific preconditions and to highlight the limiting factors that serve to constrain choice.

Citation

Klerck, G. (2016), "‘Breaking the Wire’: The Evolution of Employee Voice in Namibia", Employee Voice in Emerging Economies (Advances in Industrial & Labor Relations, Vol. 23), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 193-223. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0742-618620160000023007