When unions weaken, workers still struggle

Workers’ unions were not formed for prestige, politics or ceremonial speeches. They were created because workers were poor, exploited, overworked and largely voiceless.

Across the world, labour movements emerged in factories, mines, farms, rail yards and docks where employees worked long hours for low pay, often in dangerous conditions with no pensions, no leave, no injury protection and no bargaining power.

The early purpose of unions was to show workers that, alone, they were weak, but together they had power.

Through organisation, strikes and collective bargaining, unions fought for what many employees today take for granted – the eight-hour working day, overtime pay, safer workplaces, annual leave, maternity protection, compensation for injuries and the right to negotiate wages.

The philosophical foundation of organised labour was laid by Karl Marx, a German, who, in 1848, urged workers to unite.

"Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains,” Marx wrote in The Communist Manifesto.

He argued that workers could only overcome exploitation through collective action.

Spotlight on Namibia

In Namibia, organised labour was tied to the broader struggle against colonialism, racial discrimination and economic exclusion.

Mineworkers, railway workers, fishermen, municipal staff, domestic workers and farm labourers were among those who used collective organisation to demand dignity.

Many of the country’s respected labour leaders spoke not only about wages but also about justice.

One of Namibia's founding labour figures, Moses Garoëb, linked to the organised worker movement before independence, would argue that political freedom would mean little if workers remained poor and powerless.

The late Andimba Toivo ya Toivo would speak in the 1970s and 1980s of dignity, equality and the rights of ordinary people, values closely aligned with labour justice and worker empowerment.

Workers' rights and freedom

Elsewhere in Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa rose through the ranks of the National Union of Mineworkers in the 1980s and early 1990s, arguing that workers must have a real voice in the workplace, fair wages and safer mines.

Jay Naidoo, a former leader in the Congress of South African Trade Unions, said during the anti-apartheid labour movement of the late 1980s that democracy without workers’ rights would be incomplete.

In the United Kingdom, Ernest Bevin said during the 1940s that the trade union movement allowed ordinary workers to “stand upright and look the world in the face", referring to dignity and self-respect through collective power.

In the United States, Samuel Gompers, founder of the American Federation of Labour, said in the early 20th century that labour wanted “more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals”.

This was a reflection on the broader social ambitions of unions beyond wages alone.

Cesar Chavez, who organised US farmworkers in the 1960s and 1970s, said the fight is never about grapes or lettuce.

"It is always about people,” he said, stressing that labour disputes are ultimately about human dignity.

In Europe, Lech Wałęsa, leader of Solidarity in Poland in the 1980s, said: “There is no freedom without solidarity.” This linked worker unity to political and economic freedom.

Bureaucracy and politics

Over time, however, many unions changed.

After independence, some labour organisations moved from resistance structures into institutions. They gained offices, subscriptions, recognition agreements and seats in policy forums.

In theory, this should have strengthened workers. In practice, many members now feel that unions have become bureaucratic, politically entangled, or distant from shop-floor struggles.

Instead of constant workplace organising, some unions became known more for congresses, leadership contests and public statements rather than working on behalf of the ordinary worker.

At the same time, the world of work also changed. Employers increasingly rely on contract labour, outsourcing, temporary appointments, labour brokers, automation, performance-linked restructuring, and casual employment models, which often fragment workforces and make traditional organising more difficult.

The result is a paradox: workers may need unions more than ever, yet many feel less represented than before.

Union… who?

Across Namibia today, workers continue to face wages eroded by inflation, rising transport and food costs, delayed promotions, job insecurity, pension anxiety, housing pressure, disciplinary disputes, and youth unemployment, all of which place downward pressure on earnings.

Many employees now turn to social media, labour commissioners, courts or informal protests before they turn to unions.

That does not mean unions are irrelevant. It means many workers are asking whether unions still operate with the urgency that created them.

May Day, therefore, should not be about marches and speeches alone. It should be a moment of self-examination.

Namibia once produced trade unionists who were household names. Today, many workers would struggle to name a labour leader representing their daily concerns.

Workers may ask who speaks for them now, whether subscriptions are producing real protection, whether leaders are visible only on May Day, whether unions are organising new sectors and younger workers, and whether wage deals are keeping pace with the real cost of living.

The labour movement’s historic victories remain significant. Without unions, many rights would not exist.

Yet history also shows that unions are strongest when they remain close to workers, maintain an independent voice, and focus on everyday bread-and-butter issues.