The Effects of Trade Union Membership on Earnings: The Case of Kenya

Thinguri, Andrew Mukui (2015) The Effects of Trade Union Membership on Earnings: The Case of Kenya. Masters thesis, Kenyatta University.

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Abstract

The main objective of trade unions is improvement of the welfare and the protection of the terms and conditions of employment of their members. Two of the most important terms unions negotiate are wages and other benefits (e.g. health insurance and pensions). As a result, differentials in wage and benefits between union and nonunion employees of similar human capital are considered an important measure of union power. This differential is normally called the union earnings premium, the size of which varies from country to country and from industry to industry. Although there is existing literature on the wage premium in Kenya, there is limited information on the effects of unions on total earnings, which includes wages and other pecuniary benefits, since non-wage pecuniary benefits may constitute a large portion of employees' compensation. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of union membership on both wage and nonwage pecuniary benefits of employees. The estimated union earnings premium was around 23%. There was asymmetry in the union earnings premium, with the lower end of the distribution having a higher union earnings premium, and the upper end of the distribution having a negligible premium.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare
Divisions:	Africana
Depositing User:	Tim Khabala
Date Deposited:	06 Mar 2018 13:19
Last Modified:	06 Mar 2018 13:19
URI:	http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/3419

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