Exploring the Impact of Collective Bargaining Agreements on Employee Job Satisfaction in Uganda’s Public Sector: A Focus on wage provisions, working conditions and dispute resolution mechanisms
Downloads
This study investigates the relationship between collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and employee job satisfaction within Uganda’s public sector. The specific objectives were to establish the relationship between remuneration and organizational performance in Mbale City Council, to determine the relationship between working environment and organizational performance in Mbale City Council and to analyze the correlation between promotion and organizational performance in Mbale City Council. Using a cross-sectional survey of 300 public sector employees, the research employed Pearson correlation analysis to examine these relationships. Results reveal that fair wage agreements (r = .382**), favorable working conditions (r = .690**), and effective dispute resolution mechanisms (r = .359**) significantly influence job satisfaction at a p-value < 0.01. The study concludes that well-structured CBAs are critical in fostering a motivated workforce, reducing turnover, and improving public service efficiency. It recommends enhancing CBA enforcement to ensure long-term employee satisfaction and organizational stability in Uganda’s public sector.
Adams, J. S. (1963). Toward an understanding of inequity. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(5), 422–436.
Anton, J. I. (2021). The role of wage negotiations in enhancing job satisfaction among public servants in Canada and the United States. Journal of Public Sector Management, 45(3), 112–130.
Atwongyeire, D., & Ochieng, J. (2021). Collective bargaining and employee engagement in Uganda’s public sector. African Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(4), 45–60.
Babalola, S. S., & Ishola, A. A. (2017). Perception of collective bargaining and satisfaction with collective bargaining on employees’ job performance. Corporate Ownership and Control, 14(2), 297–302.
Bezuidenhout, A., & Tshoaedi, M. (2022). The effectiveness of collective bargaining in improving job satisfaction among South African public sector workers. Labor Studies Journal, 47(1), 89–105.
Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. Wiley.
De Cristofaro, V., Pellegrini, V., Salvati, M., Leone, L., & Giacomantonio, M. (2023). Employment, collective action, and satisfaction: The moderating role of acceptance of inequality. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 23 (2), 474–494. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12356.
DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–160.
Eckhard, V., & Bertossa, D. (2022). Collective bargaining and digitalization: A global survey of union use of collective bargaining to increase worker control over digitalization. New England Journal of Public Policy, 34(1), 1–22.
Gumbrell-McCormick, R., & Hyman, R. (2019). Democracy in trade unions, democracy through trade unions? Economic and Industrial Democracy, 40(1), 91-110. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X18780327.
Herzberg, F. (1959). The motivation to work. Wiley.
Igbokwe, C. I. (2024). Collective bargaining as a catalyst to industrial harmony in Nigeria’s public service: South East public service in perspective. Journal of Policy and Development Studies (JPDS), 15(2), 283-301.
https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jpds.v15i2.19.
ILO (2015). Collective Bargainibg: A Policy Guide. International Training Centre of the ILO, Turin – Italy.
International Labour Organization (ILO). (2022). Global wage report 2022: The impact of COVID-19 and inflation on wages and purchasing power. ILO Publications.
Johnson, R. E., & Green, T. R. (2021). Collective bargaining and employee well-being: A longitudinal study. *Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 26 (4), 289–303.
https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000158.
Kahyarara, G. (2021). Labor negotiations and employee well-being in East Africa. African Development Review, 33(4), 567–580.
Kakuru, D. (2021). Challenges of collective bargaining implementation in Uganda’s public sector. Uganda Journal of Social Sciences, 12(1), 34–49.
Katusiime, J., & Kamugisha, R. (2020). Power asymmetries in Uganda’s public sector collective bargaining. Journal of African Labor Studies, 15(3), 78–94.
Lee, K., & Kim, H. (2022). The role of collective bargaining in enhancing employee job satisfaction: Evidence from South Korea. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 60 (2), 213–230. https://doi.org/10.1177/10384111221089156.
Lwebuga, C.D. (2023). A Paper on Collective Bargaining Agreements in Uganda: The Process and Relevance (July 28, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4524047 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4524047 .
Muhwezi, M., & Mugabe, R. (2023). Strikes and labor unrest in Uganda’s public sector: A case study of university lecturers. East African Journal of Social Sciences, 8(2), 112–128.
Nabachwa, F., & Tumwine, S. (2023). Employee trust in collective bargaining agreements: Evidence from Uganda’s public sector. African Journal of Management, 11(1), 45–62.
Odhong’, A., & Omolo, J. (2020). The influence of collective bargaining agreements on job satisfaction among Kenyan public sector employees. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 14(3), 401–417.
Patel, S., & Kumar, A. (2022). Collective bargaining and its impact on employee job satisfaction: A case study of the Indian IT industry. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 33 (5), 1024–1043. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2021.1946782.
Roy Chowdhury, A., & Jomon, M. G. (2020). Influence of collective bargaining on employee relations & organizational commitment. Journal of Industrial Relations, 62 (3), 375–392. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022185620913522.
Shepherd, W. J., Ployhart, R. E., & Kautz, J. (2020). The neglected role of collective customer perceptions in shaping collective employee satisfaction, service climate, voluntary turnover, and involuntary turnover: A cautionary note. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105 (11), 1327–1337. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000480.
Smith, J. A., & Brown, L. M. (2021). The impact of collective bargaining on employee job satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Labor Research, 42 (1), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12122-021-09281-3.
Thompson, J. P., & Smith, A. B. (2022). The effects of collective bargaining on employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Journal of Business Ethics, 160 (3), 567–583. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04876-2.
Tijdens, K., Besamusca, J., Ceccon, D., Cetrulo, A., van Klaveren, M., Medas, G., & Szüdi, G. (2022). Comparing the content of collective agreements across the European Union: Is Europe-wide data collection feasible? E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies, 11(2), 1–25.
United Nations (UN). (2015). Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8
Ushie, G. B., & Ekpenyong, V. O. (2019). Collective bargaining as an instrument of conflict management and workers’ productivity in manufacturing companies in Cross River State, Nigeria. Journal of Contemporary Research, 16(1), 21–40.
Williams, C., & Brown, D. (2023). Collective bargaining and employee job satisfaction: A comparative study of public and private sector employees. Public Personnel Management, 52 (1), 75–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/00910260221093123.
Zhang, Y., & Li, X. (2023). The impact of collective bargaining on employee job satisfaction in China: A mixed-methods approach. Journal of Chinese Human Resource Management, 14 (1), 45–62. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHRM-01-2022-0010.
Zvobgo, T.J. (2019). Collective bargaining and collective agreements in Africa. Turin School of Development Working Paper No. 11. International Training Centre of the ILO, Turin, Italy.