At Nairobi's Industrial Court, the diary is usually full. As Kenyans continue to litigate on labour rights, there is no shortage of cases to hear.

While industrial strikes have waned, save for the recent one by Kenya Airways workers, the number of such strikes are on the decline.

Experts attribute the drop to continued use of collective bargain agreements -- a tool used to bargain collective remuneration packages.

The experts also attribute the declining cases of industrial action to a host of factors such as the high level of unemployment, low numbers of unionised employees, the fragmentation of trade unions, and political disconnect between labour unions and political parties.

"The toughness of the labour market due to the high level of unemployment, casualisation of labour limiting employees being unionised, and a break up of trade unions which affect their voices (being heard) have taken away the punch from trade unions to effectively mount industrial action," says Mr Jacob Omolo, a labour economist with the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR), a local think tank.

However, Mr Omolo argues that the need for harmonious relationship between workers and management is critical as it allows for increased productivity and efficiency, which leads to creation of employment.

The current economic hardships that the country is going through; manifested by job losses and rising inflation -- which eats into workers' incomes with no commensurate pay rise to cushion them against the rising cost of living --naturally provide a fertile ground for strikes.

The high rate of unemployment has deterred those who are employed from engaging in industrial action.

The teeming numbers of the unemployed is seen as an alternative labour source in the event those working opt to lay down their tools.

"The toughness of the labour market, which has created rigidity due to the high unemployment rate, has effectively neutered the need to go on strike," says Mr Omolo.

Many organisations, especially in manufacturing and construction, in an effort to rein in their operation costs, have resorted to the use of casual or contractual labour.

Engaging employees on a permanent basis calls for provision of additional benefits such as medical cover, paid leave and training, which are increasingly raising the overall operating costs.

Besides cutting down on cost, companies using casual or contractual labour end up denying trade unions fertile ground to fish members.

According to Mr Omolo, these types of employees are not unionised hence they cannot participate in industrial action.

In addition, such employees may not be willing to participate in strikes as they do not stand to benefit from any good tidings accruing from such action.

Another factor that has snatched the fire power from trade unions is internal wrangling and formation of splinter unions.

In a nutshell, trade unions have been their own worst enemy.

The splintering of the workers' unions, driven by selfish desire to be leaders, has been the main cause of the demise of the movement.

Take the case of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) which represents the teaching profession.

Billed as one of the most powerful union in the country, representing both primary and secondary school teachers and able to take on the government machinery, the union has slowly become a pale shadow of its former self.

Different union

The push to form a different union named Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (Kuppet) to represent secondary school teachers has effectively neutered Knut.

Observers say the formation of many splinter groups is largely driven by the desire to control membership fees which run into millions of shillings.

In addition, the government has been known to front splinter unions with the intention of making existing unions ineffective.

Wrangling among leaders has driven members away.

With little to show from unions in terms of better working conditions, improved remuneration and other benefits, many workers are no longer interested in joining unions.

"The splinters have reduced the voices of the workers hence they cannot emphatically send a strong message to management", says Mr Omolo

In other countries trade unions are known to be work with political parties. As such, they tend to have a strong voice in government.

The Labour Party in the UK and Cosatu in South Africa are cases in point.

The influence of labour unions in politics is clearly capture in the election of Jacob Zuma as president of South Africa.

Without the backing of Cosatu it's almost impossible for any presidential candidate to win an election in the country.

The masses are galvanised by unions, calling them to cast their votes in favour of their candidate.

However, locally, having no historical strong ties in terms of an ideological pursuit has denied trade unions a platform to advance their cause.

The political environment has also changed with the co-option of many trade unionists in the government.

Even where such relationship has existed, it has been one way traffic with the political class riding on trade unions to gain political mileage.

In the past many unions would rely on the political class to front their agenda. Many a politician used such forums to advance their political agenda.

By virtue of their combative nature in terms of pushing for members' agenda, trade unions are not known to be diplomatic.

The hard ball tactics have denied them the opportunity to advance their course.

However, lately many organisations have adopted collective bargain agreements (CBA) with trade unions, which has effectively removed grounds for potential industrial conflict.

The CBAs are entered into early and they typically run for a couple of years before review.

Mr Omolo says that the unions and employers need to be partners as workers are central to the success of the organisation.

By actively engaging the workers, organisations tend to improve on productivity hence healthy bottom lines.

Opting for schemes

Indeed, the essence of active labour management as opposed to being reactive is to ensure that workers have a stake in the success of a business.

As such, some organisations are opting for schemes such as the Employee Share Ownership Programme (ESOP), which provides an opportunity for workers to buy shares in the organisation they work for.

In developed countries such as the USA, Japan and Germany workers through their trade union either are shareholders of their companies or are represented in the decision making bodies such as the board of directors.

In the US , for instance, through their trade unions, workers are known to own shares of organisations they work for.

Take the case of employees of General Motors (GM) for instance, through the Auto Union Workers (AUW) they constitute a major shareholding of the firm.

Indeed, the failure to restructure the GM forcing it to go into bankruptcy was largely due to the powerful AUW refusing to cede to demands for workers to take a cut on their health and retirement benefits.

The benefits were seen as some of the excesses which were weighing down GM revenue.

In Germany and Denmark workers, through a concept called co-determination, are represented on companies' boards.

The representatives champion workers' interests ensuring management cannot make adverse decisions affecting workers without their input.