Role of Trade Unions in Industrial Relations

The trade unions have a crucial role to play in maintaining smoothindustrial relations. It is true that the unions have to protect and safeguard the interests of the workers through collective bargaining.

ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS IN MAINTAINING INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Role of Trade Unions in Industrial Relations

Responsibilities of Trade Unions in maintaining industrial relations

But at the same time, they have equal responsibility to see that the organizations do not suffer on account of their direct actions such as strikes, even for trivial reasons.
· They must be able to understand and appreciate the problems of management and must adopt a policy of ‘give and take’ while bargaining with the management.
· Trade unions must understand that both management and workers depend on each other and any sort of problem on either side will do harm to both sides. Besides public are also affected, particularly when the institutions involved are public utility organizations.

Trade union relationship vis-à-vis management is conditioned by accepting the fact that management presents an indissoluble partnership amongst interest, power and responsibility in the societal context.

ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS IN MAINTAINING INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Role of Trade Unions in Industrial Relations

Appreciation of Workers expectations

Trade Union relationship vis-à-vis workers implied that it should appreciate workers’ aspirations and expectations that trade union is essentially a protective, friendly society, meant primarily to manage and handle their economic, social and cultural problems.

Collective Bargaining process in Industrial Relations

This is a mutual ‘give and take’ transactional relationship between representatives of two institutions that is workers on one side and the employing organization on the other to the mutual benefit of both. In the unionized organization, the collective bargaining process can be thought of as a complex flow of events that occur in the determination of wages and fringe benefits and other working conditions. Union bargaining is used in a broad sense to include those in professional organizations that bargain with employees over variety of matters that are the most important aspect of the collective bargaining process.

The collective bargaining process In Industrial Relations
The collective bargaining process In Industrial Relations

PURPOSE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

  1. To reduceIndustrial conflictas it providesunderstandingof each other;
  2. It facilitates flow ofcommerce and operations;
  3. It increasesproductivityandmotivation;
  4. It increasesresponsibilityandloyaltyof workers.

ASPECTS OF THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS

These include formation of unions;

  • Pre-negotiations’ strategies and facts on ages, working hours and conditions of service.
  • The Collective Bargaining process itself;
  • Process administering of the agreement.

TYPES OF BARGAINING RELATIONSHIPS

Selekman’s Categories of bargaining Relationships

Counter Aggression (Confrontational)

This type is characterized by union aggressively trying to extend its voice in the company’s operations, with management trying hard to keep unions in check.

Conflict Relationship(more confrontation)

This is characterized by employers who acceptunionand attempt to get rid of the union at every opportunity.

Power Relationship

This type of bargaining is characterized by both parties attempting to gain any possible advantage from the situation depending on the economic conditions.

Deal Relationship

This relationship feature secret relationship and understanding been union leader and top management with minimum involvement of rank and file workers.

Collusion Relationship

This has much less desirable constraints than the deal bargaining relationship and it involves manoeuvers to gain or maintain mutual advantage over the public or competitors by controlling the market price or raw materials e.g. Kitwe Council and Market levies.

Accommodation Relationship

This type is characterized bytoleranceandcompromiseon the part of both parties but not forgetting the respective rights of their constituencies.

Mutual Relationship

This relationship between the workers and employing organization is characterized by mutual concern over matters above and beyond ages, hours and working conditions such as matters of efficiency and technological change. Both accommodation and mutual relationship are characterized by an avoidance of extreme display of power.

TYPES OF BARGAINING

The AuthorsWalton & McKenzieargued that there are 4 types of bargaining:

  1. Distributive bargainingrefers to the situation in which the goals of the two parties are in conflict and which is assumed that the total values to be bargained are fixed so that someone’s gain is another’s loss.
  2. Integrative bargainingrefers to situations in which goals are not perceived as conflicting but in which there is a problem of concern to all parties e.g. production, safety and quality.
  3. Attitudinal structuring bargainingwhich is part of either distributive or integrative bargaining. It refers to the activities in and surrounding negotiations that serve to change attitude of relations.
  4. Intra-organizational bargainrefers to activities that take place within the union or within company management, to bring the expected principles into alignment with those of chief negotiators. In short, there is a good deal of bargaining that goes on within unions and company management about the position to be taken by the chief negotiators of the two sides in actual collective bargaining sessions.

DISTRIBUTIVE BARGAINING

  1. Pre-negotiation proposals from members of union and present proposals to management.
  2. Management goes through the proposals rejecting some and accepting others. Management also offers a list of their demands – counter proposals.
  3. Initial discussion takes place;
  4. Management presents agreements;
  5. Parties proceed to hard bargaining starting with the non-economic demands with provision, management concedes to certain items provided the union drops certain others or provided union agrees to certain management desired contract changes.
  6. Negotiating the costs – items, monetary wages and fringe benefits in particular tedious with the company’s starting from the position that the wage structure is already satisfactory and that the union is asking a high increase. Both sides face the problem the other to move in the direction of the demand and trying to make the opponent reach the final position without itself giving away its final position.
  7. The procedure continues until the company has revealed the maximum amount it will grant including both wages and fringe benefits, and the union has essentially revealed the minimum it will accept if the difference is small the two parties can split into two and sign the agreement. If the difference is big and no compromise is in sight the following may take place:
  8. a) a dispute will be raised
  9. b)you must agree to have a reconciliatory
  10. c)if this is not possible, the union must seek a strike authorization by way of secret vote from the general membership.
  11. If the union resolves to go on a strike, the contest becomes one of economic pressure and willing to make a sacrifice. One or both parties may by this time advertise its position and supporting arguments.
  12. When agreement is finally reached, usually after concurrence by the union members both parties may switch from belligerent to a more shaking hands, joking and making statements about the contract being fair and just to employees and stakeholders.

INTEGRATIVE BARGAINING

This type is far less prevalent than distributive. The integrative bargaining requires a change in attitude on both sides, i.e. management and union from an offensive-defensive position to genuine interest in and concern for joint exploration of problems, fact gathering and problem solving. It becomes a way of life for the two parties.

Examples may be seen through:

a.Quality of work life (QWL)

Quality of work life is a systematic effort to create work situations that enhance employees’ motivation and commitment, the factors that contribute to high levels of organizational performance. QWL results (benefits) are increased output, quality products and worker participation. These improve affecting the organization.

For QWL to succeed, the work place must be more democratic. Committees are set up with representatives from both the workers and management to determine what work has to be done. This is called worker participation. The QWL programs support highly democratic treatment of employees at all levels and encourage their participation in decision-making

The process of changing the way jobs are done by rest maturing to make them more interesting to workers. This is done in two ways:-

i).Job enlargement (increasing the jobs). Employees have more responsibilities and use broader skills as well as perform a wide variety of different tasks at the same level.

ii).Job enrichment (vertical). This design of jobs increases addition of fast employees levels responsibility and control.

iii).Quality circles.These are small groups of volunteers usually around ten (10) who meet regularly to identify and solve problems related to the quality of work they perform and the conditions under which people do their jobs. Organizations may have so many quality circles dealing with specific areas. These groups are trained in problem solving.

Issues discussed and solved include:-

  1. Reduction of vandalism or scrap or waste.
  2. How to create safer working environment, developing employee skills, improving morale and leadership.
  3. How to improve product quality.

Quality circles are good and effective at bringing short-term improvements in quality of work life but less effective in creating more permanent changes.

Once the short-term problems are solved quality circles are disbanded. Quality circles have been an innovation of the Japanese industry.

Benefits of Quality Circles

1) Increased job satisfaction, organization commitment, and hence reduces turnover among workforce.

2) Increased productivity as a result of reduction in cost and avoid defects.

3) Increased organizational effectiveness e.g. profitability and goal attainment.

4) Opportunities are provided to develop problem-solving abilities and increase job skills.

5) Co-operative attitude and a spirit of teamwork exist between management and employees.

The collective bargaining process In Industrial Relations
The collective bargaining process In Industrial Relations

The requirement of successful QWL is both management and labour must co-operate in designing the program. None of the two should take the advantage of the other. Once agreed by all concerned, programmes must be implemented. It is the responsibility of all employees from the highest-ranking management officer to the lowest level of employee to follow.

The origin of Theatre for Development

The origin of Theatre for Development can be traced back in the late 1970s as a social movement that disseminated information on issues of development at the grassroots level in the developing world. It was an offshoot of thetravelling theatre movement but nurtured by the adult education movement.

Chikwakwa travelling theatre in Zambia and the Laedza Batanani theatre in Botswana Zambia are considered precursors of theatre for development, Through international workshops that brought together proponents of the movement, use of TFD spread to Tanzania, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Cameroons and was linked to other regions of the world. The International Council for Adult Education which housed it as a project promoted its international growth. Ross Kidd who worked for the Council and many other colleagues were instrumental for its global linkages.

Evolution and origin of Theatre for Development
The origin of Theatre for Development and its evolution

The Actual origin of Theatre for Development

Over the years, TFD has been incorporated into extension work of NGOs, development agencies, international donors and ministries of agriculture, health, and community development and embraces participatory learning approaches (PLAs) that have been popularised by Robert Chambers and is buttressed by the Freirian theory of conscientization which has inspired other participatory approaches to human development that include: participatory research (PR) and visualization in participatory programmes (VIPP) and PLA.

In more recent times,TFD has successfully been used topromote girls’ education in Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi (Mwansa & Bergman, 2003). One project considered most democratic in application and appropriation is Tuseme project of Tanzania. The Tuseme groups assiduously follow an intensive workshop approach which has resulted into change of attitude towards sending girls to school

The use of theatre to fight the spread ofHIV/AIDS is quite extensive inEastern and Southern Africa where FIN and AIDs threatens to decimate whole populations. For example, in Uganda, a country considered to bea modelof success, the government and a non-governmental organization the Aids Support Organization (TASO) used TFD as a tool for behaviour change. established seven theatre companies made up of people 25 people living with AIDS per group which gave hope to the affected and infected as they saw people infected perform and talk about their lives. The general effect in Uganda was reduction of the rate of infection from 30% in 1994 to 6% in 2004.

In Zambia, TFD against AIDs was first used at the University of Zambia under the project Artists against AIDs which was sponsored by SIDA and lasted four years. The project took theatre to communities. Between 2003 and 2004 the Zambian Defence Units used TFD to break down stigma. Through its two theatre companies reached 6,000 soldiers and their families in 42 camps and bases.

The Concept of Theatre for Development (TfD)

Theatre for Development refers to the theatre for community animation theatre for integrated development, theatre for the marginalised, theatre for rural development and simply popular theatre. It is a form of theatre that combines research, entertainment and education.

The Concept of Theatre for Development (TfD)
The Concept of Theatre for Development (TfD)

In 1977, popular theatre workers organized a Latin American Conference on Popular Theatre, which was attended by 32 groups from 11 Countries. The conference defined as follows:

Popular Theatre is that theatre which both with and from the people participates and is integrated in search for equality of classes within the Latin American reality in which art is relegated to a secondary position and the people to non-participation due to the prevailing system which is interested in maintain that situation.

The popular theatre for Development in Botswana

Popular Theatre’ is the term for a variety of different kinds of performance which are used as a method of adult education. The media used for these performances in Botswana have been drama, puppetry, songs and dances. It is called‘popular theatre’because it deliberately aims to appeal to everybody, not just the educated elite. Performances usually take place in the open air and use the language of the area. Audience participation in singing and dancing is encouraged and after the performance the audience is invited to discuss the issues raised and consider action to solve problems.

The term was coined in Botswana in 1976 because it was felt that ‘folk media’ was not accurate, as drama and puppetry were not indigenous performing arts. The term has now come to cover a very wide range of activities. from a family welfare educator doing a simple puppet show for mothers at a clinic to a weeklong community festival. The common denominator of these activities is that they use entertainment for education. They bring fun, excitement and a release of creativity in an effort to engage people in more active and participation in community affairs.

Bappa and Ertherton, both of the proponents of the popular theatre movement defined Popular theatre as follows:

“The activity indicates, first of all, liveperformance.It is specifically to do with adramaThis means dramatizations of stories: events which are characterized. and acted through using dialogue. It is also to do with theatre, and by this we mean the sense of a consciously anticipated performance before an audience; a presentation of a fiction, in a specific form, employing those conventions of theatre familiar to that particular audience”.

“Secondly, popular theatre indicates a direct and continual involvement with those most oppressed in the Third World societies — peasants and proletarians. It is important to note that this is not merely a statement regarding the composition of the audiences, or indeed even a statement concerning peasants both audiences and actors. It does not mean this: but in addition it means the way the content of the drama is structured.

The integration of content and structure right at the beginning of a particular project is central to the process of popular theatre, for what is being presented is not just ‘oppression’ but a specific experience of oppression. Through the process of the drama there is a precise exploration of that experience (the concrete solution) as well as of ‘oppression’ (a theoretical abstraction).

When the popular theatre activist says the work is by, for, and about the peasants (or proletarians) in his or her society, this is what he or she means. The work, therefore, is not a superficial protest drama. A great deal of rhetorical posturing about revolution is turned away.

The third element in popular theatre concerns the traditional performing arts: the oral tradition which also contains a sense of history. Peasants are sentimental beings, capable of careful representations and fine expressions of their social being which has determined their consciousness.

They are aware that the immediate agents of their oppression are within their midst: headmen, kulaks, specialists in agriculture implementing gigantic agribusiness schemes; and for the same proletarian, during his or her city sojourn, the oppressors are the traders, debt-collectors, slum landlords. the lower ranks of the police force, and even their own trade-unionist leaders” (Salihu Bappa & Michael Etherton (1982).Popular Theatre Voice of the Oppressed)

In examining the nature and types of theatre on the continent of Africa, Mwansa defined popular theatre as follows:

Popular theatre in Africa, judged by what it is doing and not necessarily by what it professes to do. is pre-occupied with three issues: a search for an alternative performance culture, community education, and political action. All these focuses constitute a form of theatre that is popular in as far as it reflects issues which people can identify themselves with. Thus we can consider popular theatre in Africa as consisting of popular theatre whose focus is the art, popular theatre as an educational process and popular theatre as political action.(Dickson Mwansa.(1992).Critique of Popular ‘Theatre in Africa: Definitions, Focuses and Lessons)

Lambert tried to differentiate popular and defined one type of popular theatre thus:

Conscientizationtheatre, like Freire’s literacy teaching process, aims to liberate from oppression and to redistribute power into the hands of the oppressed. Power cannot be given; however, it must be taken. Consientization aims to facilitate this process, and in popular theatre, the “spectator” becomes an active agent who by extension, is the forerunner of social action in daily life. The play or drama-without-spectators is no longer a spectacle, but a dramatic means to explore reality and then act upon it in life”.(Source:Lambert, Pru.Popular Theatre: One road toSelf-Determined Development Action).

Boal (1979) urged theatre artists to transfer the skills to the people so that they could use them for themselves when he wrote:

I believe that all the truly revolutionary theatrical groups should transfer to the people the means of production in the theatre, so that the people themselves may utilize them. The theatre is a weapon, and it is the people who should wield it. (Boal, 1979:122).

At an international workshop organized by the Nigeria Popular theatre alliance held at three Villages of Onyuwei, Asankari and Otobi in the Akpa District of Benue state organized for Nigerian participants and attended by eight participants from Britain, Cameroon, Ghana, Jamaica, U.S.A, Tanzania and Zambia defined TFD as:

  1. A practice which is about for and increasingly by the ordinary people in both urban and rural Africa
  2. A practice of empowerment and liberation
  3. A theatre practice which has roots in the ideas of the German Brecht and two Brazilians ix ale trere and Augusto Beal. A distinct body of African characteristics have however established themselves in the practice across the continent with great mosifications to the ideas of Frele and Beal. (Abah, 1989):

Even with such multiplicity of terms, Nogueina (2002) has noted that the classification of practices in is very similar. Two key elements in the definitions are theatre’ and “development”. While development could mean different things. It seems to many practitioners it just means participation in discussions. As Abah has argued, theatre for development should go beyond conscietization. It must lead to action.

Freire’s ideas were central to adult educators as indicated by Kidd (1980) when he says:

This new tradition builds on a long history of people’s songs, drama, dance, drumming and puppetry being used in resistance against colonial and other forms of oppression. It also relates to fresh emphasis and given by Freire and others to development of a critical consciousness as a key component to the struggle.

The linkage of TFD to Brecht comes from theatre practitioners and academicians to whom Brecht was the pioneer in creating theatre that responded effectively to the needs and aspirations of workers particularly in Germany and Russia. Boat experimented with theatre as an educational medium in the context of a literacy programme ALFIN which was implemented in Peru between 1972 and 1974 and operated within the Freirian frame work (Kidd, 1980).

Again, while a well-made play seemed to be of less importance to adult educators to theatre artists, crudely done works were like an insult to the people because ordinary people have also done good things in their manifestation of art. In real situation of TFD the question presenting refined work does not seem to arise arid what matters most is the message. Like Freire’s generative words and themes, dramatization of topics and issues familiar to target groups easily attracts attention and provokes thought.

Theory of Conscientization

TFD is rooted in the theory of conscientization attributed to the Brazilian Adult Educator, Paulo Freire who worked with the poor people in North-Eastern Brazil in the province called Recife. Most of his thinking arose from that relationship with the poor. You will need to read Pedagogy of the Oppresseda small hut complex book that carries his ideas.

Freire felt that the poor were poor because they had no voice and had absorbed what he called culture of silence. His critique of education divided education into Banking Education and Problem posing Education. In the former, the teacher was the subject of knowledge and the learner the object of knowledge. He saw the teacher as an oppressor and the learner as the oppressed.

Oppression and Conscientization

Thus in a learning situation, the teacher who is assumed to be all-knowing would fill knowledge into the learner who is treated like an empty vessel. In problem posing education, the role of a teacher and that of a learner are interchangeable because the learning situation is guided by action and reflection in which dialogue is central to the learning process. The interrelationship between action and reflection is what Freire called the Praxis of Education and it is this interaction which brings about Transformation. He says:

Functionally, oppression is domesticating. To no longer be prey to its force. one must emerge by the means of praxis: reflection and action upon the world and transform it

Transformation passes through different levels. The first and lowest level is the transitive level. At this level people are preoccupied with elementary needs, are characterised by near absence of history, are immersed into one dimensional oppressive present in which they ascribe suffering to themselves and to supernatural forces . The second level is semi transitive or magical consciousness. At this level, individuals are characterised by self-depreciation because they have internalised negative values of the dominant culture, are emotionally dependent because they are susceptible to manipulation by power elites and populist interests.

Consciousness

As they start experiencing reality as a problem, the oppressed begin to apply pressure to the dominant groups in society. The final and highest levet of consciousness is critical consciousness. This level is attained through depth interpretation of problems, gain in confidence to hold discussions, receptiveness and refusal to shirk responsibility. A person who has reached this stage is able to scrutinize his or her own thought and see causal and circumstantial correlations as well as denounce dehumanising structures.

Theory of Conscientization
Theory of Conscientization

Freire applied his knowledge and skills in the field of literacy. He did not begin from writing primers for the learners but began with identifying generative themes and generative words. Both themes (topics) and words evoked strong emotional reactions. Through discussion of such themes and words the level of consciousness of the poor increased.

The Conscientization Theory is necessary because it can be used to explain things or map out an activity. Without theory, one is bound to get lost. Theory alone without action leads to nowhere. Freire’s ideas have had an influence on many approaches to development that are variously called Participatory Research (PR), Visualization in Participatory Programmes (VIPP), Education for Transformation (EFT), Rapid Rural Appraisal or Participatory Learning Approaches (PLA) and Transformative Learning. Some of these forms of learning are extensions while others anti reactions to Freirian way of explaining and doing things.

The Origin of Chikwakwa Theatre

The Chikwakwa Theatre came into being in the 1960s gave rise to new theatre groups. The leaders of Chikwakwa Theatre were with a strong feeling and conviction that western theatre in the Zambian society was divided along racial lines and that there would not emerge anything of value If Western theatre remained unchallenged.

The origins of Chikwakwa Theatre can be traced to the creation of the University of Zambia Dramatic Society (UNZADRAMS) at the University of Zambia. Formed in 1969, UNZADRAMS was primarily an association for students and lecturers at the university. Though conceived by students and lecturers of the English Drama course in the University, UNZADRAMS had among its members,students who were not part of the drama course. UNZADRAMS had no national following as such but concentrated on production of plays which had a local appeal as stated by Hudwell Mwachalimba the first chairperson for UNZADRAMS:

UNZADRAMS has as its guiding philosophy a deliberate program to the promotion of theatre arts among Zambians. This we are doing by presenting such plays and sketches in which Zambian audiences can recognise their own ethos – the basis of theatrical appreciation. Emphasis is therefore being placed on locally written plays or those adapted to local situations.

The Origin of Chikwakwa Theatre
The Origin of Chikwakwa Theatre

Most of the productions of UNZADRAMS were done for a university audience. Due to lack of a university theatre, the students and lecturers, in 1969 set out to construct an open air theatre in the Chamba valley some seven kilometres from the university campus. The construction of the open air theatre was done through work parties the name Chikwakwameaning slasher symbolises ‘the way grass that formed the enclosure, was cut for construction of the theatre.

It also denotes the sense of co-operation and self-help that characterized the process of construction. Chikwakwa theatre became a hive of a good number of productions that included Kasoma’sThe Long Arms of the Law(1966), Fear ofthe Unknown, Houseboy (1969), Che Guevara (1970), Prodigal SonandKazembe and the Portuguese(1971).

Michael Ertherton (1971), a lecturer at UNZA, who has been credited with being the brain-child of the Chikwakwa Theatre, in 1971 articulated his concept of a travelling theatre which became the guiding philosophy for the Chikwakwa Travelling Theatre:

In Zambia, the leaders of the people have sought to sweep away the white establishment culture; one hopes that they have the insight to carry their cultural revolution through to the masses. For our part we in the university looked up to the clear skies and the rich manifestation of songs and felt that it was too great a heritage to lose to the technocrats and black bourgeoisie and we set about developing theatre on this basis.

Chikwakwa Theatre therefore is more than an open air theatre building in the bush near Lusaka: It is a commitment to the development of theatre in Zambia from exiting cultural roots as they are manifested in the performing arts and in ritual. The traditional performing arts were for all the people and Chikwakwa Theatre must be concerned with the concept of popular theatre.

The theatre cannot develop solely for the better placed in society, In the intervening years between 1966 and 1971 Chikwakwa Theatre and its forunner UNZADRAMS participated in the TAZ festival but the members realised that it was not feasible to get any award or win recognition in a theatre association that was dominated by an enclave group which was bent on preservation of its own notion of cultural superiority.

The tensions that had characterised KDS in 1963 concerning affiliation to TAZ, loomed high in 1971 when UNZADRAMS entered for the TAZ festival a playFools Marry(by Kabwe Kasoma). A serious confrontation, with the British adjudicator ensued because the adjudicator failed to understand the cultural content of the play. UNZADRAMS broke away from TAZ and Chikwakwa Theatre became the external wing of UNZADRAMS that promoted theatre outside the University through provincial tours and training workshops and manifestation of new works written by students and the lecturers at the university.

The origin of popular theatre in Botswana

Popular theatre began in Botswana in 1974 with a programme that was called ‘Laedza Batanani’. The idea came from Ross Kidd, an expatriate adult educator working for the University in the northern part of the country (the Bokalaka). The origins are described by him in the first publication on popular theatre in Botswana.

The Popular theatre in Botswana - Laedza Batanani
The Popular theatre in Botswana

Laedza Batanani developed out of a concern to deal with the problems in the Bokalaka of limited community effort, low participation in public meetings, and apathy or indifference to government extension programmes. There was a desire to make a fresh attempt to involve people in their own development, to substitute self-reliance, participation. and co-operative action for over-dependence on government and excessive individualism.

Goals of the Popular Theatre

The twin goals of participation and self-reliance called for a way of bringing people together to discuss their problems, agree on changes that need to be made and then take collective action. This goal of people meeting and working together is summarised in the slogan ‘Laedza Batanani’: ‘The sun is already up.

It’s time to come and work together. A forum for this sort of activity has traditionally been provided by the `kgotla‘. What was a way of breaking through the indifference towards kgotla meetings, helping to revive this forum as a major focus for community decision making and action? It was felt that traditional methods used by extension workers were inappropriate for this task.

Popular theatre in Botswana
Popular theatre in Botswana

Extension workers are more concerned with providing services (e.g. health care, dehorning cattle) and information than with motivating people for active participation in their development. Their messages are often based on external prescriptions rather than a local assessment of local needs and demands. Their messages and workers seldom coordinated- each officer works in isolation preaching the narrow message of his own department.

Participation in the Theatre

Few participate in their programme. For example, the agricultural and health clientele are largely restricted to Master and Pupil Farmers and those who attend the clinic. Faced with these problems, Ross Kidd decided to experiment with an adult education method that would use theatre and small group discussion method that would develop a joint inter-agency approach to extension work. The idea of using folk media came from a UNESCO/IPPF conference in 1972 which had advocated the use of folk media in family planning communication programmes.

Popular theatre arose as an attempt to overcome specific problems in Botswana that were making adult education development policies ineffective. The thinking behind the experiment was shaped by the ideas on education and development that were current in the mid-1970s, particularly those expressed in the writings of Friere and Nyerere Some of the intellectual origins of popular theatre are therefore the same as those ofparticipatory research.

For this reason, there are significant parallels between participatory research and popular theatre. However, popular theatre is not a research approach. It has evolved in the search for a more effective adult education method and therefore lies within the broad tradition for adult education, which is a different historical tradition to that of social research.

Qualitative research in Theatre for Development

Qualitative research has many branches. The reason for the so many branches that make up qualitative research is that researchers have different ways of capturing the complexity of human behaviour and depth of perception of phenomena. There are also reasons which are conditioned by the theory of knowledge that the researchers have that seem to centre on the level of involvement of the researched. In QR there are procedures that aim at involving the researched completely. This view point informs such branches as action research and participatory research.

Types of Qualitative research (QR)
Types of Qualitative research (QR)

Action research

Thisbasically evolves from the researched – they have a need to carry out research to solve an immediate problem. The role of the researcher is to enable them to realise this goal. The researcher is part of the group and his/her role is to facilitate the process by asking some questions which make the people themselves do most of the things.

Rapid Rural assessment

Thisis a way of investigating a problem in the shortest possible time. It is conducted by an interdisciplinary team employing mainly interviews. It is a survey technique that employs human instruments instead of questionnaires. RA arose out of the frustration with some social science methods that are too lengthy though rigorous or too brief and lacking in accuracy. The emphasis is on cost effectiveness especially at the beginning of a research project.

Participatory Research

Participatory research combines research, education and action. The role of the researcher in this case is first to become the focal point that enables the participants to translate the unarticulated problems into needs, to provide education in such areas as techniques for data collection and analysis and to enable participants to plan and implement the results of the research.

Phenomenological research

The researcher has greater control over the research process. He/she observes and records phenomena as they occur or affect the participants in the research, and interprets the findings using his or her own judgement. There is clear element of expertism in phenomenological research though the biography of the researcher needs to be known so that the interpretation can be judged against the assumptions the researcher had at the beginning.

Ethnography

is a form of qualitative research carried out singularly and sometimes over a long period of time. It employs such techniques as observation and interviews. The researcher stays on one site, talks to the participants and some times takes part in activities e.g. teaching in a school, but primarily he/she is a keen observer of what is going on.

Biographical Research

Biographical researchis a form of self-study. The participant is asked to write about his/herself. What he/she writes is prompted by questions prepared by the researcher. Mwanakatwe used one long autobiographical account by Mwamba Luchembe (Mwanakatwe, 1993). In it, this ex-soldier who ruffled Kenneth Kaunda by announcing a short-lived coup attempt recounted his own life from school to the army and to the day when he announced the coup de tat. A biography written on the basis of an interview is called a semi biography.

Case studies

Case Studiesare studies of single sites or persons in depth for the purpose learning about one site or person. A case study takes a long time.

Chalimbana Popular Theatre Workshop 1979

In Zambia, the theatre workers found the Botswana Theatre for Development ideas very attractive. The Chalimbana Popular Theatre Workshop was held at Chalimbana Training Centre, about 40 km east of Lusaka in August, 1979. In fact, there had already been examples of plays in Zambia before 1987 which used a didactic technique to highlight social problems. For example, the Lusaka Housing Unit used drama in the mid-1970s for demonstration of techniques of building low-cost houses in the ‘site and service’ schemes. One such play, Chawama! Chawama!mixed drama with slide shows (with electricity run from a grocery or bar) and songs from a popular township group called the Buntungwa Stars Band.

In order to provide financial aid to the workshop and to provide an organization which could plan and administer it, an International Theatre Institute (ITI) Centre was set up in Zambia. The centre managed toraise funds, mainly from theGulbenkain Foundationand CUSO for the considerable expense of the regional workshop. International resource persons came from Botswana, Tanzania, Lesotho, Canada and USA.

Chalimbana Popular Theatre Workshop 1979
Chalimbana Popular Theatre Workshop 1979

There was also a strong resource contingent of workers or extension officers from different agencies in Zambia. The regional workshop was held at Chalimbana Training Centre, about 40 km east of Lusaka in August, 1979. It followed closely the Botswana format of research in villages, problem analysis, play creation (at the centre), performance in villages, discussion with villagers, and evaluation and planning for follow-up activities.

One crucial difference between the Zambia regional workshop and the Botswana national workshop was that. despite the attempts at participatory research, there was a larger gap between the workshop participants and the villagers. Partly this was a result of not having so many non-Zambians in the research and performance teams. Probably even more significant was the language question, which made even many of the Zambians outsiders.

The Popular theatre Venue Background

Chalimbana Popular Theatre - Venue Background
Chalimbana Popular Theatre – The Venue Background

Chalimbana is located in an area inhabited by one of the less populous ethnic groups in Zambia, the Soli. Althounh many of the Zambian participants could communicate with villagers in Nyanja, which is a lingua franca in Lusaka, very few could speak the local Soli language. In Botswana there is a widely accepted national language, Setswana, which made communication a lot easier at Molepolole, it was significant, for example, ‘that one of the plays at Chalimbana about a literacy class was completely transformed when a talented Soli-speaking primary school teacher joined she cast. There was much closer rapport with the audiences when he was performing.

Another different emphasis at Chalimbana was the greater attention paid to performing skills. Particularly impressive was the way the dance team which contained two very skilled drummers and choreographers, Mapopa Mtonga and Stephen Chifunyise, created a didactic play without dialogue. The performance by the dance group illustrates some of the basic contradictions in the aesthetics of Theatre for Development.

In five movements the play highlighted the theme of poor water supply, which the participatory research revealed to be a major problem. The story dealt with a man suffering from a gastric complaint cause by dirty water. After rejecting a false mercenarysing’anga(spirit medium), the man goes to a clinic from where he is transferred to the main hospital in Lusaka. He returns triumphantly cured; the villagers dig a clean well and celebrate.

The plot sounds crude, but the play actually had a considerable impact both on the audience and the other participants at the workshop. Each movement of the play was associated with a dominating dance motif; these ranged from LoziSiyombokadance, TongaChingande,TumbukaFwembeto West African Highlife and Afro-rock; the whole was choreographed to produce a unified ballet performed in the round near the primary school at Chilyabele village.

Chalimbana Training Centre - Hosted the Chalimbana Popular Theatre Workshop 1979
Chalimbana Local Government Training Institute

Such polished performances were different from most of theLaedza Batanamisketches where the resource persons often had skills in social mobilization rather than in performing arts. The different emphasis led to a debate about the role of aesthetics in Botswana there was a tendency to avoid a display of intimidatingly sophisticated theatre skills.

The idea was that a simple set of skills which were nevertheless close to indigenous performing traditions could be an appropriate communication and conscientization tool for villagers to adopt. Doubts existed, however, whether such a ‘rough’ theatre might not in fact be a euphemism for a second-rate theatre, especially bearing in mind that the pre-colonial traditions theatre were certainly not ‘rough’ in the sense of de-emphasizing skills.

Performance of a play like the untitled water-borne disease mime described above at Chalimbana was meant partially as a giving back pre-colonial performance arts to the people. Unfortunately, in the context of a two-week workshop like that of Chalimbana there was practically no time for the villagers to genuinely participate in and learn (or relearn) such performing skills. This meant the villagers were dazzled with the spectacular performance with little impact on their cultural life once the workshop was over.

Thelack of follow-up applied not only to the cultural/aesthetic impact of the Chalimbana workshop addressed itself. After the dust had settled down from the last performances the people around Chalimbana were still plagued by illiteracy, poor roads, inadequate water supply and lack of health facilities. In the absence of a dynamic group within the community mobilizing for development, halfhearted schemes which the organizing committee made for follow up programmes were doomed to failure.

Artistic Code Creation

Introduction

You have collected and analyzed a lot of information. You have acquired some of the knowledge and skills that researchers use to discover causes of things. Many things do not just happen but are caused. You will now use the information for code creation. By codes is meant: symbols, letters, system of words used for recording or presenting information. TDF is a research, educational and artistic group event.Now that you have covered aspects education and research, you should be in a position to create an artistic code that will represent what you have discovered. It is through your chosen artistic code you will present information back to the community where you made the discovery. In art, codes consist of dramas, mimes, songs, dance, and poetry.

Artistic Code Creation
Artistic Code Creation

Parts of a story

From literature, we learn that a work of art has three parts, (i) the beginning, (ii) the climax, (iii) the anti-climax or denouement.

The beginning of a story introduces the place and the characters. The climax marks that part of the story where most action takes place. The anticlimax, denouement or resolution gives the answer to the question, what happened thereafter? Between the beginning and the climax, there are a series of sub climaxes which lead to the anticlimax. Between the climax and the resolution or anticlimax, there are a series of anticlimaxes. The anticlimax does not drop to the level of beginning but ends at a higher level than the beginning. The work of art is moved by conflict which is created through opposing positions taken by characters.

Rehearsals

You have pieces of work to play with. The creation of the final work that you will perform before an audience begins from here. A rehearsal is a practice of playing the parts at first, you will work without a written text but towards the end you will write what you have performed. During the rehearsal you will assign roles to each other. Each person should play a role of a character.

Characterization is a presentation of the behaviour of a character in a performance. You need to understand your role and bring out the best of that character you are representing. Directors help in making it easy for performers to understand their roles but the real making of the character is the responsibility of the performer.

Performances

You are going to present your work to a group of people you have invited. You are going to reflect back aspects of the lives of the people of the people you interviewed. You need to do the following preparations: a) Choose an MC (Master of Ceremony) — this is one person who will introduce the group and the performance. In the introduction, the MC can say something like this: The Guest of honor (if somebody considered important has been invited), ladies and gentlemen„ welcome to this presentation by (name of the group). It is a group that has been working together to promote behaviour change through use of Theatre for Development. You are going to watch a performance entitled … (name). At the end of the performance you will spend 10 minutes discussing the content of the performance. So please do not leave before the end of the performance. Please enjoy yourselves. b)Stage Manager/Manageress: is the person in charge of the production backstage. This person takes over from the director or the group leader. He/she assigns people to arrange stage, lift and remove furniture from stage. c)Stage: An acting arena or area. In TFD the stage is in the open and takes two or three forms: i) theatre in a round form, in which the audience surrounds performers on all sides. The focus of performance is at the centre, performers who are less active move to the outer part of the centre and those preparing to perform later move completely away.

Artistic Code Creation
Artistic Code Creation

During Performances, each performer should know when to come in and when to leave the stage ii) behind stage, performers should observe silence because even whispers can be heard by the audience.

Post-Performance Discussions

Code Creation - Post-performance Discussion
Code Creation – Post-performance Discussion

At the end of the performance, the MC should quickly break up the audience into small groups where people are seated. All performers should split into pairs and work with the small groups to collect information using the following form: When the audience divides into small groups, the performers become; (i.) discussion leaders, (ii) discussion guides.Discussion Leader: One among the performers leads a discussion by asking questions while the other records the answers. No one should play two roles.Recording answers is important. The recorder should quietly count the number of people in the small group by gender. The chair of the meeting should:

  1. Ask one questions at a time and pause for answers.
  2. Balance the sources of answer among men and women
  3. Should not dominate the discussion. To keep others talking, the leader should acknowledge answers by nodding the head.
  4. Terminate politely the discussion after 15 minutes

Discussion Guide:Animateursbecome discussion guides when the audience is too large for the number of animateurs. The responsibility of conducting discussion lies with the audience. When divided into small groups, members in each group should appoint a chairperson and a recorder. Animateur should stay in the groups and distribute question papers to the chair persons who should facilitate the discussion. The role of animateurs is to help chairpersons in their roles and to clarify some matters.

Scripting the Code

Introduction. Whatever you perform should at the end be written down for i) Keeping record ii) Future lessons. Many works that have been done inTFDhave been lost because of lack of documentation. The work that you do could become part of literature or art theatre. Some of the works that we know today began as oral literature and survived loss because they were scripted. I will Marry When I want is an example of the work that was done first orally and later scripted and disseminated more broadly.