This - as she rightfully indicated - has many causes.

Key to this is the erosion of sound value systems - the golden rules of good behaviour and the understanding that man (and woman) are primarily spiritual beings.

However, in this contribution I want to focus on middle management and to some degree on the middle class of our society.

Namibia is one of the countries with the steepest social gradients in the world - perhaps even leading those countries with the most extreme gap between rich and poor.

This is obviously a cause of great concern, because it must lead to serious social conflict as history has taught in endless revolutions.

The question to ask is what happened to the level of society in between these extremes - the middle class? Where would you typically find those people in the professional world? In middle management! However, I like to extend this concept beyond strictly the management function and include any form of supervisory function and the special skills jobs in manufacturing and industry, the artisans and craftsmen who supervise workshops and shop floors and farm managers in agriculture who produce valuable crops and meat for our sustenance.

This sector forms the stabilising element both in society and the corporate environment.

In the working environment middle management has the operational knowledge and skill to marry the workforce with the objectives set out by the strategic managers - the top management in the corporate world.

However, currently this level is the least protected and most exploited section of the work force.

Middle management is supposed to be represented by the unions under the "sole bargaining unit" which exist in most industries.

However, they are not! The unions are called labour or workers' unions, which by definition discriminates against middle management.

The labourers see the middle managers as "bosses", while top management perceives the middle managers as "white-collar workers".

Middle management are allowed to be members of a union, paying their monthly contributions, but by "gentlemen's agreement" middle managers are not supposed to actively participate in the organisational structures of the union, because there is a strong conflict of interest.

During disciplinary hearings it is the middle manager or supervisor's role to formulate the charges, while the shop steward's role is to defend or represent the "worker" against possible discrimination or victimisation.

It is a very peculiar situation which does not only exist in Namibia but almost everywhere in the world where labour unions exist.

This situation has developed out of the classic industrial conflict, where one had the factory or farm owner and the large workforce.

Often there were factory or farm supervisors, but they were very few in number and looked after by the owner.

Through many bitter and sacrificial battles unions formed to protect the large number of workers against exploitation.

The victories that were won during industrialisation were subsequently anchored in the labour laws of most countries.

These laws still today reflect this polarity of powers.

With the development of the modern corporate structure, a strong middle management developed.

Many specialist jobs - though not necessarily having actually a supervisory role, like programmers - were slotted into this category and accommodated within the same salary structures.

Depending on the industry figures might vary, but the numerical representation may look as follows: Lower bands - 80 per cent, middle bands - 15 per cent, top structure - five per cent.

Unions always bargained based on numerical strength, therefore the 80 per cent of workers form their powerbase.

When it comes to remuneration the top five per cent have been very able to look after themselves.

That leaves the odd 15 per cent who are not really represented, because according to the Labour Act this group falls automatically under the sole bargaining unit of a union, where it has won the majority.

However, the needs and interests of those 15 per cent are very different from the 80 per cent of workers.

While unions were negotiating equal percentage-based increases, all bands benefited on equal terms.

However, to compensate for the injustices of the past unions have now started to negotiate on differentiated increases.

Strangely enough, in most cases middle management came out worst, because the unions fight for their 80 per cent powerbase, top management look after themselves and defend their interests, thus middle management and the middle class lose out.

Consequently, with a weakening middle class the gap between the very affluent sectors of society and the least privileged group widens.

The 15 per cent in the middle have to either struggle to make it into the five per cent or will start joining the 80 per cent.

It looks as if the uncomfortable polarity of the industrial conflict is being restored and the struggle is fuelled a new.

Many organisations have adopted the Patterson grading system.

This system is recognising "responsibility" as the topmost criteria for grading and subsequently remunerating a post grading.

It sounds logical, but what are the consequences? Middle managers implement strategies and policies which were drawn up by top management, therefore they don't "really" have that much responsibility.

Pilots are just following instructions set out in flight manuals, artisans and craftsmen are guided by standards, so are the programmers and specialists in the IT field.

The "soft sciences" desk jobs are graded above the "dirty" artisan jobs on the shop floors, but how truly productive are many of them? Workers follow orders and instructions.

Therefore it seems the only "responsible" people in the world are the top managers, who earn exorbitant salaries.

If things don't work out, strategies fail, targets are not met, who is to blame? Middle management! They didn't do their job! Who is going to defend them anyway - the unions? Often it is incompetence and unrealistic expectation at top level, the attitude of achieving minimum (quality) standards at maximum profits, that put undue pressure on middle management.

Many of them worldwide work countless unpaid overtime hours, because they are "managers" and it is expected of them! Who then wants to be in the 15 per cent "discomfort zone"? If you are grading a master artisan who spent five years in apprenticeship and another five years on a master craftsmanship course barely higher than a labourer, who then wants to choose this as a professional career? Will Vision 2030 be built on semi-skilled artisans who are barely trained enough to imitate certain processes but lacking the true knowledge about materials, and have not developed a feeling for the tools and machinery needed to complete a quality job, in a responsible and productive manner? I suggest that Namibia should seriously look into training the 15 per cent middle management properly and rewarding them accordingly.

Middle management is a logical career path for those who graduated from a technicon or obtained a master artisan degree.

The skills and the productive input of ARTisans and CRAFTSmen into our society must be recognised; so must be foremen and specialists in a productive agricultural sector.

The traditional labour union has its place in our society, but proper representation for middle managers and supervisors must be anchored separately from the sole bargaining unit concept in any new labour law.

This can be done through professional associations or direct representation in wage negotiations.

The unions will not lose, because this sector never truly was part of their powerbase and many middle managers were never union members.

If middle management is allowed to come out of the "discomfort zone" and - free from political interference - be granted adequate participation in management processes, all sectors of the economy will become more productive.

Middle managers and supervisors are the operational specialists, and only when recognised and rewarded as such will they be able to unlock their true potential.

Namibia is in dire need of a strong middle class!

Martin Amedick Walvis Bay

Letters Of The Last 48 Hours

•  Where Have All The Huab Elephants Gone?
•  Propagation Of War Is A Crime
•  How Knowledge Happens
•  Professionalism In Africa
•  Roads Unsafe For Cyclists
•  Ban Those Ads
•  SMSes Of The Day : Friday
•  SMS of the Day : Thursday