Trade Unionism and Industrial Democracy in the Rivers State Civil Service System

Abstract

Industrial democracy is an aspect of industrial relations system that entails a high degree of cooperation between union and management. This labor relations system is reinforced by the offer of a life-long employment which allows workers to feel secured and unthreatened by changes in technology or job characteristics. Within this context, therefore, industrial democracy which results from a process of collective bargaining assumes a mechanism for representing the interests of workers against management. This work is a descriptive survey that sought to determine the impact of labor unions on Industrial Democracy in the Rivers State civil service system. Three hypotheses were formulated in line with the objectives of this study. Data were generated through a structured questionnaire, interviews and observational techniques and analyzed using results from mean scores. Analysis showed that collective bargaining is not always employed in decisions concerning working conditions in the Rivers State civil services system. The second hypothesis justified that management unilaterally decides on issues concerning working conditions in Rivers State civil service system. Analysis of the third hypothesis showed that weakened and fragmented trade unionism inhibits the use of collective bargaining in decisions concerning working conditions in Rivers State civil service system. The study recommends that since working conditions of workers are required by law to be negotiated between employers and employees, enabling mechanism should be put in place for the existing laws to be enforceable, and punishment used/applied where there is breach of law relating to conflict resolution activities.

Key Words: Trade, Unionism, Challenges, industrial democracy, collective bargaining.