The influence of trust on the member-union relationship in the public sector of Botswana

Abstract

It is the desire of every employer to have an effective employment relationship with their employees. On the one hand some employees have fallen victim to some of the decisions of the employer while on the other hand some employers have considered themselves exploited by the demands of the employee. For quite a long time, both parties have sought means of improving this relationship. One of the interventions has been the introduction of other third parties for example the union, whose responsibility as an employee representative body is to ensure that the interests of the employee in an employment relationship are well articulated and implemented. As many employees across the globe continued to join unions, studies of this relationship have established that the relationship between the two results in a psychological contract. The general objective of the study was to investigate the moderating effects of trust between the psychological contract and union commitment in a member-union relationship in the public sector of Botswana. Specific objectives of this study were to determine the union and member obligations in a member-union psychological contract and determine the state of the psychological contract. A cross sectional approach was used. An availability sample of 375 from various occupational groups from three government departments was used. The SPSS programme was used to analyse the results and Pearson’s correlation matrix was used to test the hypotheses. The results confirmed that there is a significant relationship between union obligations and the state of the psychological contract. When members perceive that the union has fulfilled its obligations, it will lead to a fulfilled state of the psychological contract. The relationship between member obligations and the state of the psychological contract was, however, non-significant. The results also confirmed that there is a significant relationship between the state of the psychological contract, trust in a union and union commitment. The results of the study will assist union members to become more aware of the obligations of the union and their obligations as members towards the union. The study will also assist unions to gain a better understanding of the relationship between themselves and their members. It will add value to the overall labour relationship management as an effective relationship between the two contributes to an effective employment relationship. Recommendations for future research have been made.