CORPORATE DUO-UNION MEMBERSHIP WRANGLES

By Namakando Nalikando Sinyama

Having been off mail for a wee while i reckoned i ought to sift through all the old mail in me inbox in case some subject matter catches my fancy. I stumbled across the mail below which i must say i found utterly shocking. The gentleman’s unenviable chimera-like shape shifting from a well established collective espirit de corps focussed on internal mass industrial liberation to a lonely corner spot of ZRAWU hegemony. This is very dangerous for any individual who genuinely aspires to be a leader of anything let alone a group of very intelligent human beings. I say this with full cognizance of the fact that i have no right whatsoever to constitute myself judge of his conduct. Only this type of sudden personality and principle change is to say the least worryingly sickening. It actually makes one want to be careful who you say what to lest they shape shift on you! But then in retrospect, I thought it may have been bizarrely plausible albeit remotely that by some freakish fluke of nature my brother and tribal cousin Franklin Chiingo may have grown a ‘brain’ over night! His radical Machiavellian (Niccolo Machiavelli 1469-1527, Italian Statesman from his book The Prince) repositioning in his personal quest to command and taste some semblance of power and authoritarian officialdom is deeply immoral. We may be naively thinking this battle will be easily won. The reality on the ground is however that this situation is bound to play out for a longer time than we care to admit. When push comes to shove however, something will definitely have to give. The real forces at play in this matter and which have major stakes are these;

1. Government, on one hand is quietly aware of what is happening and their interests are always multi-faceted in nature. For one thing, they would want uninterrupted ZRA operations as the ideal situation. One needs not say too much here for obvious reasons!

2. The ZRA management who may currently feel an internal union would and has been quite malleable and thus manageable, may be rather reluctant to change this internal power equilibrium. I would not be very off if i assert that the workforce is currently very weakened and generally disillusioned by the status quo as it persists. Technically, after having resigned from ZRAWU en masse as we did, in actuality we are still merely expressing a wish, even though holding ZUFIAW membership cards proving our having joined this new union (ZUFIAW). The fact that to date they are yet to sign a recognition agreement with ZRA Management means that in as far as the collective bargaining process is concerned we have no legal representation. Whether you believe it or not, in reality, this has left us very unionless! We have allowed this industrial Mexican standoff of sorts to play out for far too long and it is having a very damaging effect on the workforce. This is not a good position to be in at all. Before long, employee dissatisfaction will set in and eventually it would lead to employee de-motivation consequently low productivity will be the result.

3. The ZUFIAW rank and file office holders, whether or not they have done and are doing enough to apply the necessary skills to ensure that they sign the recognition agreement with ZRA management is something open to conjecture. Do they for instance seem as though they have left the ball and effectively the battle in our hands alone now? Granted, that it is a collective fight but what is it that we need to do or we have not done already so that we quickly do it again or do more of it? One thing is for sure, there is NO collective WILL lacking among US employees within ZRA to leave ZRAWU and join a union of their choice.

The ZRA employees being the ones feeling the results of this delay have to bear the brunt of all ZRAWU machinations coupled with their downright administrative mediocrity of union matters.
You will notice i have meticulously left out ZRAWU as a force because in my mind they are not a factor anymore, we may even be expending our energy in the wrong direction when we target them and constantly reply to their effort of frustrating us. They are currently throwing a number of whammies and boomerangs in our direction here and there but what we need to realize is that by resigning the way we have done has effectively negated them from the equation. They are like a drowning man who out of sheer desperation is bound to even clutch onto a floating piece of straw to save their sorry self!

If we critically look at all the key players above, we will realize and i hope they do too that they stand to gain from a quick and speedy resolution of the situation we are faced with. Most importantly we must realize, we can and must use them(KEY PLAYERS) to our advantage so as to achieve our goal.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is industrial guerrilla ‘war-fare’ pure and simple i cannot think of it any other way and do not be mistaken the stakes are quite high so are the challenges we must overcome. The 3rd Law of military logistics says, “When cornered by enemy forces, use anything and everything at your disposal.”

What I will tell you people with a great degree of certitude is that our productive effectiveness has been and will be sapped even further if this Unionless status quo of ours in this corporate entity persists unresolved any longer than it has. This will not be good for any serious stakeholder. We are very professional workers who are willing to again apply ourselves even more, without needless undue distractions from our core purpose of employment this only once the matter of a suitable external ZUFIAW union representation is amicably secured and finalized.

Lukundo wrote (I would like you to send a photo of yourself, before we meet in person.
I want to put a face to the author.)

My Response: Would you blame me if I got uncomfortable of the prospect of being in your presence? Sorry about the hold up in replying. I do not intend to seem overly melodramatic or anything but I actually sought clearance before I could send these particular pictures. As it was put to me by The Establishment it had something to do with decorum. I will try hard to forestall any more questions from your curious self. (How is the following for a preemptive strike?) Albeit unsolicited for piece of trivia, if at all you have also wondered about what the last statement on my e-mail means, that is, “ Mwana Tau Ki Tau” It happens to be a rendering of the official signature of a dignified son of the Nation of Barotseland His Royal Highness Akashambatwa Mbikusita Lewanika. Literally translated means, “A Lion-cub is actually a Lion”. For a detailed explanation of the derivation of the expression, it is nothing that cannot be exhausted over a few bottles of a known ‘curse’ of most Barotses (Brownies)!! Although I must confess, in a kinky kind of way, I find it quite unsettling to have to paste my image for public consumption in this manner at the request of a bloke. By the way, Kangwa was right our paths have indeed crossed and for more than once. After much considerable thought and rather reluctantly, kindly find attached hereto my humble self as you requested Lukundo!

Breathe easy mein freund!



Namakando Nalikando Sinyama - “ Mwana Tau Ki Tau”
Barotse Patriot

Barotseland,

Central Africa

“I tell you a truth, liberty is the best of all things, my son, never live under a slavish bond.” – Sir William Wallace’s Uncle