ABSTRACT
Successful mobilisation of collective support requires the industrial relations actors involved to 'play out' the appropriate drama. There are a variety of reasons why the trade union movements and other collective solidarity organisations and groups in the developing world should be given a greater prominence in research on work. Trade unionism and collective action thus has remained a key feature of developing world industrial relations. The ethnographic inquiry at the lock companies has highlighted the interplay between structure and consciousness where the person is both a creator and object of their situation. The ethnographic account has thus provided a useful insight into the way in which the employment relationship can be managed from the union activist/representative's point of view. The trade union convenor at LockCo noted that, 'a lot of my role and interaction is theatre', suggesting how the terms of engagement between management and union can be seen as a drama.
