1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Various social science researchers have revealed that people can give their best at work if that employment needs are met. Effective mobilization of employee’s effort in the work place has become a very important work to management. For this reason, industrial relations cover wide range of issues on as employees relate with employ in industrial. According to Aliyu Dangiwa (1981:22) the aim of industrial relation is to provide mutual satisfaction between employees and employers for the purpose of heating of a healthy environment in the work environment. Practice therefore demands that whenever men and women are employed, the condition of their employment should be regulated. This can be done through:
In determining conditions of service through any of these methods of negotiation can break down this giving rise to trade disputes. Trade dispute decree No.7 of 1976 employees and employers or between workers and workers which is connected with employment or non employment or the terms of employment and physical conditions of work of any person.
Dispute therefore is frictions noticeable among the various contributors to the industrial progress of the workers. In most cases, they result in poor ailing of the machinery for human engineering in the industrial or organizations. It sometimes has tinctures of personality clash and self appeasing ends. However, where promptly they much point to managerial alertness and willingness to listen when disputes are allowed to limper on far a long time, either through suppression of common demands or any form of managerial intimidation, it may in the long-run constitute a disruptive factor in labour/management relationship. Dispute dampers the zeal of the workers to perform and cause a lot of disaffection. They may lead to collective soldering on the job and result in usually drastic out in production that may not be traceable to any physical cases. Unfortunately, most disputes defy all efforts aimed at resolving them. This defiance of solution might be due to such reasons as management unwillingness to acknowledge which worker may see as heir legitimate right, thus refusing to sit at the negotiation table with workers. However, when worker finally strike management is forced to negotiate. The managerial wisdom in their initial refusal to negotiate is therefore left to any ones guess. On the other poor articulate employees only to reproduce terms of collective agreement unilaterally. When such is the case, the issues of dispute persist.
Secondly union leaders have been accused of pulling forward unreasonable demands of their members to stipple the voice of sound reasoning in order to acceptable to their rank and file.
In case of unresolved disputes and where workers are bent on having their demands met action to force management to grant their demands. Workers therefore have come to strike however, legally restricted as the final weapon for bringing management to their senses. As defined by the Nigeria. Trade dispute decree No.7 1976, a strike means the cession of work by a body of persons employed acting in combination or a concerted refusal or refusal under a common understanding of any member of persons employed to continue to work for as a means of compelling their employer to accept or not accept terms of employment and physical conditions of work. Efforts have been made in various aspects of strike especially as it related to Enugu state civil service.
1.2 Dispute constitutes a drag on the process of industrial peace and economic activities. The survival of any organization especially in a period of economic recession requires maximum peace and co-operation of labour force.
The industrial peace is most required in the machinery of government operations, labor organization and trade unions. Since the creation of Enugu state in 1991, the states have been engaging in series of industrial actions or strike every so after for example right from the outset in 1993, Enugu state workers went on strike between 1993 and 1995, 1996 and 1999. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), ESUTHECH and UNN chapters in 2007 from April. In 2011, Enugu state worker also embarked on strike.
Many reasons have been behind these incessant strikes for example, the inability of government to pay workers salaries. He inability of government to implement the eighteen thousand naira (N18, 000) minimum wage approved by the federal government. The inability of government to review upwardly the workers emoluments implement terms of agreement reached with workers. Equally, efforts have been made to put an end to the ugly situation but till date, the situation persists. Notwithstanding the situation, expectations are yet high on the output of workers. Government still expects efficiency in the performance of the workers, the general public equally experts to see a new improved civil service to meet with the challenging demand of government for provision of quality service for the welfare of the public. Generally, where strike occurs anywhere in the world, the workers suffer some effects. In the short run, the workers objectives might be achieved but in the long-run where the strike exceeds one to two months, the workers suffer devastating effects. It is therefore for this reason the research is being carried out to discover the effects of strike on workers in Enugu state civil service with emphasis on job security, promotion ad job satisfaction. How strike affects their consumption pattern and their savings and investment habits is of study. Also to examine the effects of strike on psychological and socio- economic well being of workers. These variables are important in shaping the mind of workers towards achieving set objectives.
So the research will try to find out whether strike affects these variables and if it does, how does it related to the overall efficiency of workers.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THES STUDY
Economic survival demands labour efficiency which can only obtained from virile labour force. More so, the effectiveness of public depends on the cooperation of the labor force. This cooperation is mostly needed in a period of economic depression as it is currently being experienced in the country. Unfortunately this desired cooperation has often been married by industrial frictions. It is the primary objectives of the study to examine the effects of strike on workers in the Enugu state civil service commission. The objectives are as follows:
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The research tries to answer the following questions:
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study aims at assessing the effects of strike as it relates to workers, judging from relative contributions to the economic growth and development of Enugu state. Also the effects (both positive and negative) of strike on the states civil servants shall be examined and possible recommendation shall be made in respect of problems militating against the development of the civil service to effect a higher level of efficiency and performance as well as bringing about a development in the general well being of the state civil service. In addition, this study aims at contributing to the existing knowledge as well as serves as a relevant basis to the study and further research pm the civil service by researchers, planners, individuals as well as government.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Industrial relation is a wide field of study strike as an aspect of this field offers equally a wide spectrum of challenges. It is impossible to cover all its facts in this work.
Therefore, the research has forced on the public sector. A further narrowing down has brought the survey squarely on the Enugu state civil servants. To effectively do this, three powerful trade unions were surveyed for the relevant information desired. This includes:
Enugu State Wing of Civil Service Union of Nigeria, Nigeria labour congress (NLC) Enugu state chapter and Nigerian union of teachers (NUT).
Nevertheless, efforts were in this to survey the activities of industrial arbitration panel (IAP) and the national industrial court (NIC). The findings were amiably or via strike action or through the IAAP or NIC, an obvious dent has been left on the surface of industrial relations. This is to say that individual arbitration have not lived up to expectations. This is justified because the agencies often taken tog period of time delivering judgment on cases brought before them. Such delays have often left traces of importance and frustration in the minds of workers. As a result, workers se obedience to lied down rule as a waste and embarked on wide cat strike. But it is said that two wrongs cannot make right. That is why this study has bee carried out to take care of these dent.
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
It is not often that one carries out a research in this country readily available source of information. This ugly situation of non availability of information was encountered in this study.
Again, financial constraint had waited to thwart it and the classified information syndrome which is very rampant in our ministry and institution hampered some efforts made to get relevant information. Inadequate of time was another problem encountered in carrying out this research.
1.8 DEFINITION OF MAJOR TERMS
Research: solution to a problem seeker
Employment: piece of permanent job
Employee: a person working to earn money
Industrial relation: cooperation between the employer and
employee
Negotiation: Formal agreement between the workers and
employer
Trade dispute: Misunderstanding between worker and
another worker or between worker and employer.
Trade dispute: seeking opinion on differences or policies by
the employer and employee together.
Collective bargaining: seeking opinion on difference or
policies by the employer and employee together.
Management: Group of people that implement goals of
organization.
Employer: a person who employs one to work for him
Civil service: body of officials that implement government
policy
Strike: an industrial action.
Trade union: association of people with common goals.
Regulation: control
Promulgation: enactment of laws