ABSTRACT
Sandwiched uneasily between the two larger domains of the East and West, the industrial relations (IR) problems and challenges of Africa have not been adequately addressed in the mainstream literature (Kamoche et al. 2004). In many cases the state still plays a dominant role in driving industrial and economic development through institutional, state-directed industrial relations systems, investing in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), soliciting foreign aid, and public works programmes seeking to improve employment creation. When most African countries were gaining independence, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, these measures proved critical as colonial administrations of the time had failed to establish a broad-based and thriving private sector. This chapter provides a comparative analysis of historical roots, contemporary developments and trends in industrial relations, focusing on the main actors in selected countries and includes a section on the public sector. The latter is considered particularly significant given the strong role it has played in industrial relations in Africa. Africa has over fifty nations. It is therefore impossible to include them all. Those included are the subject of varying degrees of analysis; some cited as examples and others treated in more detail. Countries included range from those in subSaharan Africa like Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe; North Africa, such as Tunisia; East Africa, such as Kenya and Tanzania – as well as West African countries like Nigeria and Ghana. The available literature on IR in Africa tends to focus on certain countries considerably more than others, for example Kenya and South Africa.
