An Assessment on the role of trade unions at ASKU private limited company in safeguarding employees interest

Abstract

Safe working environment and smooth employee- employer relationship are very essential factors afecting the efectiveness and eficiency of a particular organization. One of the means devised to establish such a relationship is the formation and efective functioning of Trade Unions. The case in point is ASKU Private Limited Company engaged in the production of Aqua Addis purified water having 475 employees. In this paper, an attempt is made to assess the role that the trade union of ASKU PLC is currently playing in safeguarding the rights and interests of the employees of the said company. The research adopts a descriptive approach and Questionnaire and interviews were used as methods of data collection and the finding of the study showed that the employees are not happy with what the management is currently doing and strongly believe that it is not responsive, it doesn’t have a system of developing their career, it doesn ’t have a system of benefits or neither it allows or have the practice of workers participation in the management decision making process. They don ’t have also a confidence in the trade union that the trade union in most, if not all, of the activities, did very few things, and doesn ’t have the power/capacity to influence managerial decisions. For such problems, it is recommended that the management should be able to allow the union to participate in every activity that involves the employees interest and the trade union should be able develop a positive attitude towards the management and the regional government ofice should be active in contacting with and supervising the overall situation of the company and the union very closely.