LABOUR UNIONS AND INDUSTRIAL CONFLICT IN SELECTED PRIVATE AND PUBLIC WORK ORGANISATIONS IN LAGOS STATE: A CASE STUDY OF LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL AND SEVEN-UP BOTTLING COMPANY

Abstract

Industrial conflict is a term that denotes the clash of interests, and resultant disputes of varying intensity, between different individuals, groups and organisations in the industrial relations system. This study therefore, investigated labour unions and industrial conflict in selected private and public work organisations in Lagos State (Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and 7UP Bottling Company Plc.). Synthesis of industrial pluralist and conflict theory provided the framework. The research design was descriptive survey. Multi-stage sampling technique was used in for this study. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire by the researcher. The population of the study organisations were 3,600, and the sample size was 360. The research was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The result showed that out of the 351 respondents, there were 207 respondents, representing 57.3% were males and 144 respondents, representing 39.9% were females. The analysis indicated that labour unions’ activities promotes industrial conflict as 216 respondents, where 28.5% from LASUTH and 10.0% from 7UP affirmed to the statement, while 135 respondents, where 23.5% from LASUTH and 15.0% from 7UP did not agree with this view. On the note of using collective bargaining by labour union, 46.2% of respondents from LASUTH claimed to had witnessed collective bargaining, while no respondent (0.0%) from 7UP claimed to had witnessed collective bargaining. On the basis of effectiveness of industrial conflict, 20.0% of the respondents from LASUTH believed that it was highly effective while 3.6% of the respondents from 7UP believed that it was highly effective. In terms of proneness to industrial conflict, 17.9% of respondents from LASUTH claimed to had witnessed industrial conflict many times, while 10.4% claimed to had witnessed industrial conflict once. It was discovered that there was a significant relationship between labour unions’ activities and industrial conflict, positive link between collective bargaining and management of industrial conflict, connection between types of industrial conflict and conflict effectiveness, relationship between conflict effectiveness and proneness to strike. In summary, the results showed that labour unions’ activities had effects on industrial conflict. Employers of labour in private and public sectors through the Federal government must always embrace collective/industrial /multilateral bargaining as platform to reduce or prevent incessant labour-management disputes of the work-place. It is through prevention of labour-management disputes that industrial harmony can be sustained.