FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG – A majority working in the shadows Figure 8.5 Interest in individual trade union membership 0% 5% 10% Côte d’Ivoire 9.9% Kenya 7.8% Senegal 7.6% 6-country average 6.4% Ethiopia 6.3% Zambia Benin 4.7% 4.2% 8.2% 15% 20% 16.0% 14.2% 18.2% 25% 23.0% 20.4% 30% 27.1% Interest in membership of those who have heard of TUs Interest in membership of all informal labour Note: For Kenya and Benin, respondents who answered the knowledge question with option B:»I have heard about trade unions but do not know what they are doing« were not presented with the membership question. Some of them might also be interested in joining trade un­ions, so the figures for Kenya and Benin are on the low side and should be adjusted upward. In a four-country average, 17.7 per cent declared an interest in membership even among those who had just heard of trade unions, but did not know more. If this rate is used for adjustment, the interest in membership would increase in Kenya to 14.7 per cent of total informal labour and in Benin to 10.0 per cent. not others, but is supposed to perform a government proper task, namely, to assist all. 7 8.3.3 Interest in trade union membership When trade unions reflect on strategies to expand their organizational base to the informal workforce, they may either want to recruit individuals or look for affiliation from established groups. For this reason, respondents were asked to disclose their interest twice: first, whether they were in­terested in joining trade unions as individual members; sec­ondly, whether they would be in favour of their own group affiliating to a trade union. The first question was directed at all those who had heard of trade unions, while the second was raised only to those who are members of a group. Individual membership Interest in individual membership is shown in Figure 8.5. On a six-country average, 18.2 per cent of those who have heard of trade unions reported an interest in joining one as mem­ber. The differences between the countries are pronounced. In Ethiopia, the interest level reaches 27.1 per cent, while in Benin, it is only 8.2 per cent. 7 The argument holds true for those in the other countries who doubt the independence of trade unions. If trade unions are perceived as state-controlled it is easy to identify them as organizations who care primarily for formal-sector groups. In many countries trade ­unions do receive some government budget support to finance some of their infrastructural expenditures. Such support may not auto­matically infringe on the autonomy of trade unions. In Benin, despite such government support, trade unions have mobilized times and again against anti-democratic tendencies, despite receiving an annual ­subsidy. There are various ways to read these figures. Interest in membership is more than twice as high(6.4 per cent) as the level of personal experience with trade union affairs, which only 2.9 per cent of respondents reported having(see Figure 8.1). Obviously, membership interest is not based on familiarity with unions alone but derives from the hope that membership will come with a personal benefit. If, however, interest in membership is related to the informal labour force as a whole, the 6.4 per cent interest appears low. There are fluctuations between the countries, but in no case does interest go above 10 per cent. Affiliation of groups There appears to be a high interest among the members of established groups in being affiliated to trade unions as a collective. On a six-country average, a third of all respondents (33.6 per cent) are in favour of such an idea(Figure 8.6). Ethiopia and Kenya lead the field, with over 40 per cent, while Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire follow from the end(28.4 and 24.2 per cent). The declared interest in group affiliation appears to be slightly lower than the declared interest in individual membership. This, however, stems from the fact that only about half of in­formal labour holds membership of a group(see Chapter 7). A cross tabulation would show that respondents in favour of individual membership are usually in favour of group affil­iation as well and that only a small group speak out against group affiliation, but opt for individual membership. 74