A harmonious, peaceful and orderly work place is essential and needed to guarantee satisfaction of employees and employers’ for enhanced productivity.
However, whenever there is conflict in the interest of parties, industrial unrest and crisis becomes inevitable and unavoidable.
Research has shown that disharmony between workers and their employers’ often centre on poor remuneration, inadequate welfare, non payment of salaries and allowances as and when due.
Other factors for industrial actions are unconducive working environment, delay in promotion and breach of contractual agreement.
Recently, Nigeria was plugged into a season of industrial action, especially in health, education, oil and gas as well as the civil service.
This harvest of strikes include the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, COAESU, Joint Health Staff Union, JOHESU, NARD, NUPENG and PENGASSAN.
A national strike planned for last month was averted at the last minute by the federal government.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and Trade Union Congress, TUC had threatened to lead Nigeria workers on an indefinite strike due to electricity tariffs increase and fuel price hike that worsened living condition in the country.
While industrial action is the statutory right of workers to press home their demands, the result of such unfortunate happening is socio economic paralysis in the various sectors of national life.
Incessant strikes often lead to brain drain which is why there is exodus of the country’s trained personnel and professionals to other countries of the world in search of greener pasture.
In moving forward, there is the need to ensure industrial harmony between government at all levels and in the private sector to minimize the adverse effects of labour unrest on the socio economic life of the citizenry.
Government should fast track and implement policies that can reduce inflation and ameliorate the poor living condition of the people and help to decrease the level of employer and employee frictions in the country.
Dialogue should be encouraged at all time while government should not wait for workers to embark on strike before meeting their legitimate demands.
Since it is evident that industrial welfare is an ill wind that blows no one any good, ensuring a sound and harmonious workplace relation is essential not only to the workers but the entire society.
Tayo Sanni
pub-5160901092443552
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