ROLE OF ACTIVE UNIONISM ON MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Manpower development has been one of the fundamental issues that have consistently attracted the interest and concern of succeeding government in Nigeria since independence. The Federal Government of Nigeria (1981) realised that if independence was to have meaningful impact on the general well being of its citizen, it must be complemented promptly and definitely by a rapid transformation of the economy to achieve self-reliance. The initial effort of achieving rapid national development were concentrated on the expansion of formal education institution at all levels, and the product were expected to have acquired the skills, knowledge attitude to meet the needs of the vital sector of the economy.

It has been established that the greatest assets of a nation are its human resources (men and women, old and young) who are capable of participating in productive labour, capable, natural resources, international trade etc. It become increasingly clear, in government, industry and commerce that economic growth and economic advancement of the country required the services of trained workers and professionals who possesses technological skills and or executive capacity to provide specialized services of all sorts.

Most nations today are development conscious. The less developed countries are in a state of war against poverty, ill health, ignorance and dominance by stronger nations. They are no longer willing to entrust their future exclusively to the forces of colonial masters. Even the advance nations are committed to growth, and the more rapid the better. These advance nations are reaching the greater achievement like exploring the outer space and other plants. This universal quest for growth is motivated by rising aspirations for economic, social and political progress and it is based upon the optimistic conviction than man, in this age science can move forward by leaps instead of steps.

In essence, the difference in levels of economic development of countries is largely a reflection of the difference in the quality of human resource. The key element in this proposition is that the values, attitudes, general orientation and quality of the people of a country determine its economic development. The shift from manufacturing to service and the increasing pace of technological change are making human resources the crucial ingredient top the nations well being and growth. And in service-oriented industries like banks and railways, the quality, quantity and utilization of human resource become more important.

A nation with abundance of physical resources will not benefit unless human resources make use of them. Hence, human resources are solely responsible of making use of natural resources and for the Transformation of traditional economies into the modern and industrial economies. Lack of organization of human resources is largely responsible in the backwardness of a nation. Countries are underdeveloped because their people are underdeveloped.

Doubtlessly, the most significant resource of any organization is often said to be the people. Such claims appear in organizational annual report mission statement.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM OF THE STUDY

The cruel nature of Nigerian entrepreneurs have over the years reflected on their emphasis on high profitability without due consideration of the training of the employee that will make this possible. Ogunyomi et al (2011) noted that in recent times, there has been a contraction of personnel activities, with staff welfare issue being relegated to the background and business-centred approach to employee relations being given prime of place. This is readily noticed in the Nigeria banking industry and other industries where the employees’ private lives are jeopardized in the course of trying to meet the high demands and targets of the management. Young university graduates who are ignorant of what is happening in the industry often fall in this trap and the economy is not helping matters in any way.

This study is designed to evaluate the activities of the trade union as an alternative avenue for manpower development in the country. It’s high time the problem of poor manpower development is visited and a lasting solution provided.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objective of this study can be stated as follows:

1. To highlight and justify the efficacy of the role of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in manpower development in Nigeria.
2. To evaluate the contribution of Nigeria Labour Congress to Nigeria Economy.
3. To identify the problems associated with Manpower Development in Nigeria.
4. To justify the need for an active Manpower Policy in Nigeria.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The questions for this research are

1. What impact does active unionism has on the working condition of workers in Nigeria?
2. What role does the operation of the trade union play in the national development of Nigeria?
3. Does the operation of trade union affect the political stability of Nigeria?
4. How does economic recession affect the survival of industries vis-à-vis vibrant unionism in Nigeria?

RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

1a     Ho :    That active Unionism could not lead to better conditions of service among workers

b       Ha :    That active Unionism could lead to better condition of service among workers

2a     Ho :    That provision of training programme does not contribute to good quality Manpower in the economy.

b       Ha :    That provision of Training programmes contribute to good quality Manpower in the economy.

3a     Ho :    Voluntary membership by workers could not affect the effectiveness of Unionism.