Role of Trade Union’s Bargaining Power in Compensation-Labour Productivity gap during Collective Bargaining Negotiations: Evidence from Selected organization in Kericho County Kenya

This paper examines the role of trade unions' bargaining power in the compensation-labour productivity gap during collective bargaining negotiations by establishing its role in consideration of Labour productivity as a key parameter during collective bargaining negotiations. This research used an exploratory research design because it allows for the discovery of new insights or ideas on the relationship between Labour productivity, trade union’s bargaining power and the compensation-labour productivity gap. The target population was 158 respondents who consisted of trade union officials, employer associations, top management and Ministry of Labour officials. A sample of 42 was selected using stratified purposive sampling so as to select respondents who take part in collective bargaining negotiations. Questionnaires that were tested for reliability and validity were used to collect data. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. This research established the sources of trade unions' bargaining strength with the main ones being membership base, labour legislation and financial strength. In addition, it established that the Trade union's bargaining power does not play a significant role in the consideration of Labour productivity as one of the key parameters during collective bargaining negotiations (r= -0.115; p>0.05) and β= -0.56; p>0.05; this is because although labour productivity is one of the parameters that is found in the Kenyan Wage guidelines, it is not the only parameter that is considered during collective bargaining. Hence this study concludes that trade unions’ bargaining power, has neither hindered nor facilitated consideration of labour productivity during compensation negotiations, nor has it contributed to the Compensation–Labour Productivity pay gap in the selected organizations in Kenya. This study recommends that there is a need for further study on other factors that could be contributing to the productivity-pay gap in Kenya