University of Nigeria Research Publications UGWU, Christopher Chijioke

PG/M .Sc/92/13844

Title

Collective Bargaining and Organizational Stability in Nigeria: The Study of Golden

Guinea Breweries, Umuahia.

Facu

lty

Social Sciences

Dep

artm

ent

Sociology and Anthropology

Dat

e

August, 2000

Sign

atur

e

r --? -- +.'

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND .ORGANI~?- - . %?,'i,o- STABILITY IN NIGERIA: THE STUDY OF GOLDEN

GUINEA BREWERIES, UMUAHIA.

UGWU, CHRISTOPHER CHIJIOKE PGIM.Sc.I92I+l3844

Department of Sociology & ~ n t h r o ~ o l o ~ ~ , University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

F COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND ORGANIZATIONAL STABILITY IN NIGERIA: THE STUDY OF GOLDEN

GUINEA BREWERIES, UMUAHIA.

' A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Sociology~~nthropology,

4 , University of Nigeria, Nsukka

1

' 9 IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE

AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.Sc.) DEGREE IN I~QUSTRIAL SOCIOLOGY

UGWU, ~ H R ~ S T O P H E R CHlJlOKE PGIM,Sc.l92Il3844

SUPERVISORS: REV. FR. '(DR.) A. ONYENEKE

DR. C . 0 NWANUN.061

i

Thls is to certify Illat a postgraduate ~n the

I Department of Socrology ;indAnthr~polagy wi!h Reg. No. PG/MSc./92/13844 has

I project is ory~rml and hirs notlbeen submitted in part or full for any other d~ploma .

or degree of t h i s or any o lhe r l~n l ve rs l t ~ . I

I /r Head of Department REV. FR. (DR.) A. ONYENEKE

Augustme ~ t i ~ e n e k e w hose'palns taking thoroughnrss , p a l ~ c ncP and advice were

invaluable and instrumen;al \o the cornpletlon of th~s work

I I o ~ e my warmest regards to all the lecturers In the Department of

Socjology and Anthropology for thar cons!ructive and objecl~ve cr l t~c~sms duong

the proposal defence of thls work Perhaps with,out t h e ~ r collect~ve guidance.

carrectlorls and com~ncrits at that semmal stage of t h ~ s work, the thesis could not

Nwanunoh, L7r. C C . uk,~+.~hd rtnd Dr Onyeneke tor thecr ~llurn~natmg lectures on I

% :i nurnhr nl I:OCII:;L*S Th~:lr 1cdturt.s ~ndlsputably sewed as the bastan and stock

I of knowledge, w h ~ h 1 drew from.

1 My deserved con~menddt~on goes, wrlhou! tnlnclng words to my parents, I

I Mr. Paul Ugwu and M r s Jane,Ugwu for their unfhch~ng love, encouragement,

I inspiralion and'care towards me Of equal importance are my slblmgs, Ch~ef Ben

I Ugwu, Nze lnno Ugwu, Mabe! And Fa~th for all the material and financ~al

assistance which they gave mekind which propekd rns to greater he~ghts in l ib.

May God reward all of you abuddantly t I

I am immensely a~dehted to my room-mates. h n d s and colleagues. I

I , Amabi, Peter, Erneka, Ediynemd other innumerable ones whose names cannot

i be wr~tten down due to lrrnlteb, space.

I Finally, my warm apprmat~on goes to.the Corriput~r operator t hi^ t typcd

b this wark as much as human 1 1 , perfections could guarantee i

le of Contents I

I

vii

Page

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Title Page . . . . . . . . . . . I

Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Ded ica t ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lii

I Acknowledgements , . , . . . . , , I 11 I

I

I Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vi i

L ~ s l of Charts And Figures . .

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter One a I(

Chapter Two I

Intraduction 1.1 Background to The S f ~ ~ d y

1.2 Statement of Problefrj

Literature RevJcw And ~ h m r e t i c b l Framework . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 The Labour Movem12r-d . 1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 'I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .I

2.2 Collective Rargaining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I8

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I 1.3 Objectives of Study 5

1.4 Scope of Study 1.5 Significance of S t ~ l d y 1.6 Defjn~tion of Terms

2.3 Pre-cr~nrfi tions For ~r ~lleclivd Barqaining . . . . . 23

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.4 M z n : - q ~ r i ; d Apprn;'rr:l~~ >s

2.5 Theoretical Framework - .

. . . . 2.6 Research Questions

1.7 Th'e History of Golder~ G u i n h Breweries Plc-. . . . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 ' I

. , . . . . . . . LJ -I-

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

. . . . 2.7 Hypothesis 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 I I

i

Chapter Three I .;I Research Mathoddogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 Data thkc t ion Matlii~b :. 31

3.2 Study Pnpulntiori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

, i 32 3.3 Sampling Method Anil Sa , pie Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 Method of Data Analysis .I. 33

Chapter Four . ;I Data Analysls And Presentation 4.1 Recognition of Trade ~ n i o d s in Golden Guinea Breweries . . . . . . . 36 4.2 The Structure of Golden dines Brewe'ries

I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Workers' Union : ; 3'7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.1 Membership ! 37

4.2.2 Objectives'of The Workers' (Jnions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 I 4.2.3 Ccrmpositionistrwcture of t h e Junior Workers' Union (NUFBTE). . . . . 39

4.2.4 Composition of The Smior $ t i f f Union (FOBTOB) . . . . . . . . . . . 30

4.3 Collective Bargaining in ~he\F?esolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of Industrial Conflicts . . . . I

' i 40

4.4 Bsgairiing Between Management And . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unions in Golden Gu~nea E3dweries 43

4.5 The Practical Cases That. me Up For Collective Rargaininl~k~nd th& Resolution Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . 44

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.1. Internal Bargains in G.;oIde.n Guinea Breweries 52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.0. Collective Bargaining And O@anizational Stability 53

4.7.1 Management Attitudr! Towards The Unions And . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CoTlcctive nargainjnc) . . . '!. 55

i 4.7.2 Collective Rargaininq And Workers' Participation

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in D8cision Making Aiid Organizational Stability 58

Chapter Five *

conclusion And Recommend 1 tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Conclusion ./.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 ~ecommerrbations . I . I

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 .3 Suggestions For Further Research \

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bibliography .\.

Appendix A.

Appendix R.

1 ' Unstructured Inte&ie Y Schedule For Union Officials And hrtnnag~ment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

fdanager of Breweries, Umuahia . . . .

I

LIST OF TABLES .-

Page

I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RESOLUTION BEWdEEN 1985 AN0 1995 48

TABLE 4.2. FREQUENCY TAB& FOR MODES OF RESOLUTION OF THE

ISSUES THAT CAM UP FOR DISPUTE

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BETWEEN 1985 ANQ 1905 51

FIGURE 1:

i LIST OF CHAR IS AND FlGURES I ORGAWlZATtONAL CHA GOLDEN GUIN

PLC, UMUAHIA , . . . .

BREWE

The research work investighted the role of collective bargainmg, as a tool

used by trede unions, in the rr\amtknance organ~satmal stability The study is a I I diachronic one, which covered t h e period, 198.5-7995. The two methods of

I investigation that ware used are the drscumentahon method and the unstructured 1

interview gulden In tho analysis ofldata, conlent analysis and code ciitqgot~es

were used. '

It was discovered that bargaining mechanism was effectively and

regularly used in

Unions accepted

reached through

I Golden Guinea Brewerres Both the management and t h e

I the conditms and were also committed to the agreements I .

colTective bargaining. It was reahzed that there exlsted a I

harmonious relationship between lhe\managernent and the workers and this was

fsstered by the use of coIIective bargaining mechanism. ~t was equally '

I ascertained that there. was Ihe exiktence of open and regular channel of

I

i J communication and ioteraclmn betw ,en the unlons and management and this

depicts some reasonable rnuasure of hrdml,ty, order, congruence, cornrn~trnent

and sat~sfaction. I I Srrnitarly, it was established that collect~ve hargalrrtng has been used to I I

resolve specific conflicts in Golden Guinea Brewerres within the ten-year period.

d Both managwnent and the ~tt~ionists onfirmed that collective bargaining was

instrumental to the rernarkabhl stability i& the firm. Among other factors, c o k c t ~ v e

bargaining enhanced stability by enabli ,-I g the unmnists lo partleipate in decision- I I I

cohere. 1. The research findings in icate that the nianagement makes use of people I

oriented management style to etsure the sat~sfacl~on af the workers with the goals

of t h e organisation.

In view of the immense contributms of collective bargain~ng to I

I organisational stability, recornrnendat~ons were mabe fur other firms to emu& - I

the example of Golden Gr~mea Brewer~es. Lastly, suggesttons were made for

further research in this area. I

I 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

This study is on callecttve A argaining, which is a normal practice for trade

i unions. The trade unions use co lect~ve haqa~nrng machinery to promote their

d interests, The interests couJd e economic, soc~al, educarlana) or polltical I

[Yesufu, 1987:102). The f~rst trade unian organ~satrorr In N~geria was the I

Southern Nigeria Civil Servtce Lhion, which was formed in 1912. It later

transformed into the Nlgerian CIVI Servce U n m after t& creation of modern

N~geria in 1914 (Ananaba, Th~s was follclwed later by t he Nigerian I Ralway workers' Unjon and by the Nigertan Un~on of Teachers in 1931. About

i twehe Worker' Unians whrch func mned more or less as social clubs existed I I beiween 1912 and 1938 (Fs:.hoym, p980-22) However. the government untd the

prornu[gation of theTrade; Uruon Act of 1938 off~cially recogn~sed no uniorl. It was I under this framewark that the Niger1 n Ralway Union became the first registered I

trade union in t he country in ID4 1. 1 I Generally, collective bargainiqg machinery is a principal function and a t a d I

used by trade unians to ach~eve th 4 ~r desired abpctives. It IS a universal and

vertical t a d af industrial relal~ons, w d ich aims at establ~shlng a rapport between l

the employers and employees in thelwotk place i t is also seen as not purely a I

conflict &solutlan mechani~~ln but a tool for achieving peace and harmony in I organsationti (Fntihoym, 1I11{9:12). tbence the use of collective bargaming and

adherence to the agreements rea'ched should be very cruc~al to the maintenance

relations system generally alld in cbl~ectlve barga~n~ng espaclally This 1s because I

of industrial organisational I l k .

The law and goverrment

this system is hedged about with le$al restrictions and gbvernrnent orders (Ubeku,

agencies play a prominent role in industrial

to determine and manage the c 8 d ursa of industrializal~o~ and to prevent the

l983:118). The government beinglthe major employer of labour in Nigeria has the

explortalim of workers by snme e rh ployers. Industrial relations is also intended

to prevent inefficient and w,-tstef I cornpaliticsr~ t t ~ t may 'lmd to deprussicrn,

tendency to intervene in industrsal

unemployment, ~ndustr~al s t~~kes a I7 d work stoppages (Fashq~n , op.cit.p.7). I

Conflicts between n m a g mer-rt and labour a1.e establ~shed facts of 9

relat~ons by way of p o k y formulation in order I

industrial organizallans. In fact it is riflen argued that confhcts are endemc in

1 organisational Ilfe (Dahrenrhrf, 19. 9'230) Be that as ~t may, the ~mportant thing I

I

about conflicts in industry is how sukh conflicts are settled Corollary to t h s issue I

of settlement ia what facilit~ss or rneksures are put in place to llrnlt the occurrence

of conflicts and enhance cord~al relihonshp, beiwren the parties involved in the I

work place. Far instance, issues (related to the job contract are likely a h a s

requiring collective bargaining. / ' - The union is a potent instituthn which offers the opportunity for the worker

I

to interact with his calleagues. to con(rnune w~th them irrespect~ve of the econornlc

I nexus and to render serwicrs, if ,mad be, in their oommon ~rit~trest [Yeswfu,

1981:103). lrnpl~ed in thei;hove/ 1s that to class~ly unionlsrn as merely a

mechanism for collective bargaining for economlc advantages is to Irnderrale its

I importance in a democracy (ibip). Collgclive bargaining specifically is a way of

achieving industrial dernocracb through the particlpalion of the workers in

industrial management. In this bein 11 helps to remove the mbalance in power of ' I

the individual vis-a-vis the olnpldyer ( ~ a s h o ~ i n , op. cit. p. 12). The extent to which

industrial democracy is praclicel in the lnduslry will positively or negatively shape

Despite the fact that the industrial relations p o k y of Niger~a provides for

the industrial relations pract~sed

! workers' participation in decision, making at the work place, some employers may ,-

generally and Cdlect~ve barga~nrng spec~fically

I be reluctant to give this concession to t h e workers while the workers see this as

negating the dsalred indurit~~al b emocracy. The employers in turn argue that

workers d a y not be mature Qnough and intellectually endowed for such I I responsibility. Also, some firms, cJa~rn the~r workers are given a due voice in

decision-making, hhik their iabdur unions d~sagree with this assertion. Edher I

way, it would be- beneficla1 lo the firm i f the workers are allowed a volce in F

dec~s~on-making. Sim~larly, disputes in the wofk place, irrespect~ve of type and

I causes are supposed to be settled following la~d down procedures, hence t he

b life is desirable. It is also desirabl , to avoid conflicts and to settle them amicably

need to use collective barga~ning

methods of collective bargammg ih N~gerta are ernbddied in il~e Trade D~aputrs

Act af I976 and its endmant in 1978 (Ubeku, 1%3:89). The act

tool.

I recognised the use of c6lltxtive bargaming as a su~tablr panacea for industrial I I

In the present turbulent ecrsnornrc env l runrne r~ t t a c ~ ~ ~ g trrms In Niger13 a5

a result ofthe economic a vrable and harmonious industrial

I

J 4

conflicts. Collective bafga~niny, eccmding to the act, can be at three main levels. I

These are, at the enterpr~se, Tile hdustrial and national levels (Akpala, 1982:229). I

I . Collectjve bargaining at Goltft:n Gu~nea Breweries would be a form of e n tarprise

I

process. Each of these has rts own a t l e ~ ~ d a r ~ t rriyl~cations for the

industrial relatians

level collective bargarning. 1 1 1 adhitlon to the provismls) of the act, most firms in I Nigeria have their awn parkular systems of collect~ve bargaining strateg~es that

5 Sequel to the forego~ng i, sues, th~s research work looks at collective

are e~ther modified from or are canslstent w~ th national collect~ve b a q a ~ n ~ n g

interest in this d~achronic st 1 d y which, covers the per~od 1985-1995 will be

bargaining and its relationsh~p to

from Gdden Guinea Breweries P

organrsat~cnal s tabilrty drawing rts case study

c, Umuahia, Abia state.

I stability devoid of strikes and d~sputes over the years (Uhlara, "1955.4). In view of

I 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

to ascertain how far and how effakt~vel~ collective bargalnmg is used to handle

I this claim, this work seeks tr, r f e t e r ~ m e whether the secminqly relative stabdl ty in

industrial' relations matters by t h e

I this company is a prod~ict of good ~ndustr~al relations based 0 1 7 callective

unions and management of Golden Guinea

I bargaining, or management l;tyle, unlon suppression or s o w e otherfactors. This

I

I

Breweries to enhance the pttrforrr~qnce and cornrriitrnent af workers Issues to be

examined wdl include wages itnd co d~tmns ol ernPluyhenl. employre sat~sfaction ! w ~ t h ther jobs, industrral dernocrac and workers' padlc~pat~on rn decisian-makmg

with management.

I The Golden Guinea Rrewerles has enjoyed a seem~ngly relative lndustrjal I

is because uneasy peace, forked compliance and deceptive harmony could be a I

basic feature of inbusVial relations.

This research will hclp t b establish the extent to &~~ch collective bargaining

I the ability of the management to put people and things In the~r proper places over ,

I

I IS used as the key to t t l r ! resolution of industrial conflrct and establishment of

I the ten-year time period, 1935-1 995 to be covered by th~s study. I

3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY '

I MAJOR OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

1. To investigate the role o\ trade unions in callecllve bargarning and hence

stability. The fmal corwrn

industrial relations in Go 1 den Guinea Breweries

I 2. To establish t h e role of callect~ve bargatnmg In Golden Guinea Breweries

here will be on knnwtng, the extent to' which

I. in the resolufian of industlral conflicts, maintenance of good wmkmg wder I

congruence in terms of organizatronal goals, cor-~d~t~ons of sewlee, and methods

' I of cornrnunjcat~on exist between management and labour in an organizatron; and

and proper in!egratlan of !workers.

b -I .J. To discover the influenc of workers rri ddecrs~on and policy making in

Golden Guinea Brewerie 4 . 4 . To deterrnlne if the p d t i c e of collective barg&nmg is 'related to t he

I perceived stability In Golden Gurnea Breweries.

5. To ascertain if the wclrk d rs are sat~sfled wtth the collective bargainrng

machinery in the firm.

MINOR OBJECTIVES

I 1. To ascertain what pract cal cases have ccjrne up for c o k t i v e bargaming I

between t he unrorls and management In t h e past ten years.

I '.I . To examine the consrstency of trade un~bns In collectrve bargaining

I prncticrx in Goldrw Gui ea Breweries wrth laid dawn regulatrons 1 3. To deturmine thu dfectlvsness or otherwise af the collect~ve bargaming

I machinery adopted by the unrons of Golden Guinea Brewerres.

4. To make-deductiorls from the research and to make recomrnendat~ons on

how te maintam sl~br l~ty i mdustr~al organ~zations ,

4.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

1- i

This study will be prec~sely based on Gcrtden Gu~nea B r e ~ e r ~ e s , Urnuahia. I It will focus o? t h e evaluat~on o,f t he labour unions of th~s company and the

collective bargaining practices adkqted by the management and the unions. This I .

study will therefore focus on the unions of managenlent cadre, and those of ssniot

and junior staff of the con~lmny. he staff are represented at the plant level I

by t h e Matiunal Union of Food ~ e v d r a ~ e and Tobacco Workers Union (FOBTUB).

I Issues tci be exan~fned ,In t h ~ s study include t h e ~nvolvernent, $atisfaction P ' l

and ident~fication of the h r k e r s wrth their u n m s and the existing collective

bargaining rnach~nery of the comp !a ny. Also to be examined is'the role of the

I union5 and management ill regulating the work situation of t h e company over the

I 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of thi research work is both theoretical and practml . I

This work will be related to lhehes of conflict management in organmtions, the I

4 contribution of collective barg wing to that process and hence the achievement

d of peace, orcfor and intnrlratio , In Golden Guinea Brewer~es

I This project w11l i;l:io pract~cally enable us to know ways of handling trade d

unions in Nigerian firms. Som b instght wrll also be gamed into the contributions

I - . of ~ndusrnal relations in determ~ning job contracts, regulating work~ng conditions 1

and settlrng disputes. I I

1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS

TradelLabourlWorkem' ~ n i o A : These are used interchangeably to refer to tha

I union or assocjation of all workers who are organ~red into unrons and who are not

d ~n the management cadre, T ey are the operatives who do not take part in I ' strategic decism makmg or planning and policy formtilatmn. They are the I

workers who are bound und ha J e their alleg~ance to the workers' union. It refers

I ' I Collective ~ a r ~ a i n i n ~ / J o i n t Negotiation: These refer to t he process of

I

I to a p~rrnanent association of workers in organrsatlons, whrch is established to

negatratlon between 'wntkers employers or rnanagernen't, through their

arganirat~ons (Unions) for a conb~l~on and terms of employment, as

is cclntarnecf in the c~n t r i r c t

foster the~r interests thrcsucj h col

interchangeably to mean pro d uctlve work or manufacturing o'qanizations

ective effort

prec~pitated by industrral~s Ih and rts assoc~ated automatron and human interaction.

Industrial Relations: IS means the gamut of a13 the issues involved in the

contractual rdationshps tween errrployers/management and workers, and alsom- I

relationships among l l ~ t t workers thernsdve~, wh~ch arise out of industrial life. I Examples uta intarautr~~n between unrons, management and !he state. I I

Industrial Democracy: This refers to the freedom of workers to part~cipale in

decisron-making regards their employment conditions. It also refers

to the freedom of to bargam ccllecl~vely on equal status,

freedom of freedom of workers ta jorn in trade

unions.

Trade Dispute, Labour ~ n & s t , Industrialllabour Conflict: All these mean the

same thing. ' ~ h q refer to t 8 e unpalatable canditlons of work characterized by I

friction, disharmony, str~ke, b rsa'greement, discord and strateg~es of resistance I I such as work-tn-rule, 311-in, go-slow and lockout. I

Proquctivity: means pmver t b generate things of economic value, increase in the

I etfrclency of labour w~th regards to the rate at w h ~ c h goods or services are turned \ -

out.

Management: refers to strate& and policy formulators at the upper echelon of the

I organizationit( hierarclry In the context of the Golden Guinea Erewenes, it refers

I to the government artd 11s agents or other categories of employers and their I

ayen ts, namely, managers an d~recturs They are usually the crucial dec~sion-

makers and may somet~rnes themselves rBther than the owners of

I the company. They are however prohibited from joining the workers' unions.

Organizational Stability : ~ r b m the pant of view of this study it m e a n s order,

\ harmony and piace. ~t is he extent to w h ~ h congruence in terms of

I organizational goals, conditrons of sBrvlce, and methods of communication exist

I , beween management end ldba,ur in an organizal~on.

la 1.7 THE GOLDEN GUINEA REWERlES PLC I

HISTORY: The Golden ~ u i n k a Brewer~es Plc was ~ncorporated on 26"' - .

September, 1962 under t l14 hahe of Independence Breweries Lirn~ted by t h e I

Eastern Nqerian Development Oorporat~on (E N D.C), the Investment arm of t h e

Government of the former Lister h Region of N~geria. The company commenced

I production of lager beer and l a m Golden Gutnea Lager Beer on 18"' September, I 1963. The company also produces Bergedorf Malta and Beryedorf Beer On 16'"

b May, 1971, the company change its name lo olden Gumka Breweries.

Owing to the recenstitution of t h e country into slates t h e ownersh~p of the I company passed on from East Central Stare Government to the Ima State

Government tn 1976. In 1978, th Imo State Government controlled 51% share

capital in t h e company as against 25.5% in 1991, follow~ng the creation of Abia I State from imo Stale. The company has also about 17.000 Nigerian

shareholders. Altogether they hol 60% of the company's equ~ty, the remaining

10% af the company's equity 1s by Coutinho Caro and Company (C.C.C) of

t-larnburg, Germany. i ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: The organizatinnal structure of Golden

Guinea &reweriles corresponds t that of a .bu~eaucratic organization with

l h~erarchical ofices and than of corrlrnanb rangtng from the Board of Dlrechrs to

the workers, The Board of Directors 1 is responsible for pblrcy in~tiatim and

forrnulat~an. The ~ a n a ~ e r / ~ h ~ e f Executtve and other top managers are the nex-t

! in t h e hierarchy and a10 respo s~ble for straleglc poky forrnulat~on and decision-

making in some specific malte s of strategic rnportance. The management cadre

i also ensures that the stafl imp ernents t h e policies that fall under their own area I

of jurtsbict~on.

Among the staff that f \ 11 under - t h e management cadre are the line

managers for t h e departments of marketing, finance, personnel, engineering, I 9 -

production, administration, audit a@ accounts. These categories ~f

managers along with the are t h e ones that engage in policy

I formul-~tron and decision-r~raking. They do not belong to the workers' union

I

I because t h e y represent the interest of t he owners and the shareholders of t h e

* company.

The other categorius of nagers who d o not get invdved in strategic , I pollcy formulation and decision-mak~ng areatha staff managers Their roles as

staff managers are mostly adv~so A , I

An overview of the organizat~anal structure nf t h e colnpany reveals that the

chain of command from the Ger~w twlanayer la the operatrves 1s very tong. In

wew of this, t he firm is d~vidcd into semi-autonomous divisions to take care of t h e

long chain of command. The type o i production that paes on in this company is I

the "Codttnueus Probuct~on Organisatian". In other words, production takas place

tn stages joined together In pads*. .

TRADE UNIONS: The staff ma I agers are the ones that belong to the

Association of Food, Beverage and T I b bacco Employees ( F O B T ~ B ) Any other I

senlar staff of t h e company ts also entitled ta rnernbersh~p of this union provided

ha is not a line managur. E

The junior staff who the operatives belong to the National Unian I of Food, Bwera~e and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) The two categories of I workers' unions, FOBTOB and NUFBTE are directly under the superintendence

of the personnel manager. i The workers unions, judt like the organization are hierarchically organized.

I The leadership structure of NU'FBTE is made up of the Cha~rrnan, Vice-chairman,

Secretary Finanmi Secretary, assistant Secretary, ?rearurer and Shop Stewards .-

at the plant level. On the oth j r hand. t h e leadersh~plorganizational structure of

FOBTOB comprises t he ~xedutive Charnlan. Secretary, Assistant Secretary, I

Treasurer and two ex-ofi~cio members.

I I

L ~ T E ~ A T U R E R E V I ~ W AND THEORETlCAL FRAMEWORK

I Given the diverse nature of our area of interest i e industrial relations, our

literature review will try to foc 1 s on relaled views and opinions of writers as can I

be ascertained from literaturel These views range from the origin of the labour I

movement, callective bargamlbg to pre-condit~ons for collective bargaining and

managerial approaches. I To ease comprehension and enable a good arl~ccllat~on of the views of

I

b e under specific headings.

2.1 THE LABOUR MOVEM

A number of theories put forward in an attemp1

ta explain some of the issues in J olved in t he labour movement. Marxists argue

that the ~ e a l enemy of the wurkin d class 1s Ihe captalisr system a n d the capltalrsts I

who canlrol it. Hawever, theyc(arm that the trade unlons have rolcs to play,

whrch are basically and that lheir strength lies on a political

base. They also of the trade union 'as part of t h e

yiuater class struggle is as an agknt of protest, mobilrting workers' unrest and

stirring up class consciousness whrch the fu tu re social order depends

(Chamberlain and Cullen,

A, This postulation by lhe Ma ists could b e seen as idealist~c and futuristic

in outlook. This is because' curr B nt developments all over the world today

I

Y including Nigeria show that woikers do not possess !he kind c ~ f power that would I really enable them achiev? these politically. Their adions have usually been

I sporadic, weak and short-lived. This IS in vlew of the overbearing power of t he I *.

capitalists/govemment and above all government is t h e largest employer of labour

who dictates the pace.

Polanyi (in ~harnher l4 i1 -1 and Cullen. bid pp. 277-2731, using his theory of

double pmtectm movume /I t, believes that there are two major groups that

I compete for economic power. He claims t h a t one 1s composed of employers, a owners and managers who responsible for the conduct of industry and thus

I wield enarmbus power and who gain public backing from the recogn~tlon of !he

i importance of theireconomic unctions. The second group which, Pcrlanyi regards

as the social prolect~on rnoverkent is made up ofthe workers and their unions who w

draw support from a public of which they constrtute a large segment. '

H e further views the e i e q e n c e of labour unions as worth while, I cons~denng the fact t h a t they guarantee, "the opportun~ty to plan the strenglhen~ng

of indlvtdual rights and freedo s wrth~n a system of soc~al respons~b~l~tics". One

cannot but agree with the abovb assertions, cons~dering the indispensable role of . I .

the two groups in the 01 ihizahonal piocess. However, the worlhwhileness and

the ab~lity of t h e unions lo gua I antee workers ' protecl~on mjghhdepernd to some I .

extent on the formidability of ther internal organization, t h e r financial muscle and, I

correspond~ngly on the dbil~ty k f their leaders not to sell themselves out to the

I capitalists or therr agents and eventually become instruments that could be used

to suppress the workers.

A Commons (7909: 39- 41, saw Amermn labour h~stury rn terms of relentless ,

1

spread of competition overa I7 ever-wrdening area unhl the nation became a single I *.

market menaced at every p k n t of its v a s ~ ~ ~ x p a n s k by every cornpetitar. Wlthio

such a single competitivn malket, the pressure of retarlers and wholesalers as well

as the manufacturers led in turn to pressures on the wnfkers. As competition I intens~fied, and the became greater there was need to adopt a measure

I

I k r the protection of labour.

The implication of the above paradlgm is that no malter t he genesis or the

historical process of the deve/bpmenl, labour unions, whether in America or other

I countries of the world came ,into existence as a means of controlling or even

I we~ker t ing the destructive influences of Ihe competitive market system. This, they

achieve through the bargaming. t

Extending the that by controUmg the actions of

stme individuals through the r les of organizat~ons and The collective agreements 1 behve'err organizations and trade unions, the capsrbih?res of both pahies are

I enhanced. He sees the r-tconahy as a myitad of rjsrcng cunccrns b w n d logether

~ntsrnally and related a complex of customs and rules governing thar

I ~ntesactions, wh~ch ln'fact cons 1tut.e a flow of transact~ons. I - I The contr~bution ot commons in these respects IS very insightful but the

I I claim that both employers and the unions are legal equals seems untenable

I especially in specific situation where the government 1s the employer as rn the . I

case of Nigeria. Again, there is i& contradiction in his submission whkn he argues I

that the role of the labou; unidn is obviously affected by the extent to which

bargamng element is given pro A inence in a soc~ety at a g w n t~rne. Bargaining a

I 1

power, according to commbns , can never be made equal between people or I .

groups, but a limit can be set to its exercise. However, h e forgets that the level

I of bargaining and the attendL nt bargaining power can be stipulated in a codified

rnanncr and adopted by th d parties involved even i f it does not stipulate a

relationship of equality 1 , . - 1

Tannanbaurn, (1 g a i t :28) slated thath'the spontaneous clustering of workers

in shop ar factory into inlorrn b I trade unlons was t h u s an effo'rt not simply to

recaver a lost sense of ~unctibna~ community bur also to protect its members

agamst the uncertarntres and h a r m l s wh~ch threaten the survrval af both the

group and ~ts individual nremb j rs". Regarding the above, an k can proffer that actually unions exist primar~ly for

I . the protection of socio-ecanorr~~c rnteresls af ~ t s members. This, it achieves

A principally through involvement I collective bargaining wrrh the management and ,

/or employers. But the comrnunitb relationship lhal exisk among union members

is a fluid one, which however ser-&s somespurpose Collectwe bargaming bn the

other hand is regarded as t h e h d ,ad of tnduslr~al relalmns practice in any given

l _

organ~zatmn. This is because t he l co rn rnon denommalor in industrial relations is

how to attain and rna~ntajn an opt 1 mum level of praductrve eff~clency along with I -

how t o share out t h e ecanrsrnic gain The abrlrty to achleve these hinges on I

managernCntts abrlity to garn and susta~n the confidence and co-operation af I workers. However, in t h e process, kame env~ronment. mstltutional and structural

b crsn~traints may make the realisatru of these a myth. For instance, technological

changes, socio-economic and polilikal pressures m~ght compel t h e organization

L I

to alter its abjectives, plans, targets nd methods of operakn and consequently

I

I I

! 6

i ~ t s demands upon t h e wmke s. Yesufu ( t98IT3) pornts out that workers an thalr I own pafl see "change in t h e concept of what constitutes the good life, and the

I technical process and requirements needed of them as constantly corhpelling I

them to alter their perspect&es . . i J the level 01 demands made upan the I

enterprise". These a r e . ~ ~ b i the root causes of confl~ct in organizations, which

necessitate collective.bargai I\ ing. Oarnachl (1989:31) sees labour union as I

existing mainly ta factlitate cot~kctive bargaining

Collective bargainmg, IS rsne of the m a n roles of any labour union.

Here, the participatron of the through the unlons !n collect~ve bargaining

becomes a primary function of t d ,e unron, and the ra3e of t h e union alters w t h any l

perceived change or modihcatroh in the organization or its goals. I Darnachi's submission js u,ndoubtedly instructive This 1s based on the fact ,

4 that if workers ware t o deal with anagemen! individually their bargaining stance

could b e precarious, and less po Jd ertut. .

Cursons (7980:21 I ) , look J at trade unions in the ccrntext of a conflict I

I ' situation, a conflict of interest that I inherent in induitnal life H e argues that 'this I

basic conflict of interest is usually balanced by a sense of rnterdependenca and

the appreciation that both sides (th A t is, management and the unions)have many

areas of common interests". ?his !5 ituation is however delicately balanced and I

the employer-employee relationshirj is part of i network involving many other I *

in te res t s , which may also be tn conqtct. This conflict is further camplicated in a

4 situation where the: manager who sh uld have been an employee adopts the role I

of the employer or as his agent ~ h k problem of coiflict and tension is further I , . .

ccu-npaunded with the existence and collrsmn of trade unions and ernpjoyers' I

4 I The deduction fwln Cursons' thesis touches on the pluralistic nature d

induslriel society. Industrial lsociety is seen from the pluralistic perspective as

b ~ncreasingly ditferen1iatt:rf rnt a variety of social and sectional Interests with its

own part~cular needs and pro !ems. The needs and problems of the interest or

mxupallonal groups may cre P te a need for an argan~ratmn that will co- ofdmate

these in!erests, One of such or anizations may be 3 trade unipn, prafessionaf and

employers' assaciations who& ~n te r~s t s may be as complementary as they are I

opposing. This view tallies w l h that of the pluralistic advocates who, according ,

to Haralarnbos ('I 980:262-26$1, argue that .largely through trade unionism, the

i working class has been integrated into capitalist soclety: and that confl~ct bktween

employers and employees has been ~nst~tutlonallzed in terms of agreed upon set

of rules and procedures. The ne result is increasing stabilrty In 1ndusfriaJ society".

i Dahrmdorf ( 7 959:236), argues that "the specific cundit~on of industrial i

assoclatlons are clearly related to the fact that whereas it is passibb to cancelve

of modes of regulatron which war forever, str~kes cannot be

completely avoided, There IS, so for inknse conflicts w~thln t h e

social structure of industry, sometmes transformed into

vi~bmce'' .

The picture Dahredorf is bne o f ~nstitutionalmtion and

unavordability of on t h e unavoidability af s t r ~ k e is relatlve. This

is because in repressive socjo F; 4 iitical, economic or rndustr~al systems conflict

may be contained by the powers t 4 at be through .a secret machinery or sabotage.

1 This can be the case wlth some p ,ivate and government owned companies and

establlshrnents in Nigeria.

#

I

i 2.2 COLLf CTlVE 23ARGA1NING

* I

Labour activities in fndustrjes are one of the leyaoes introduced and * ' i bequeathed to Nigeria and a her ex-cdm~es by the colon!al adrn~nrstration, This

i formed part of their sn ~ a l e'b 'crvil~zmg mlssron alrned at mprovlng general

' . I standard of living, socut we)fare per capita income. economic diversification,

cantrol of indigenous worker$ and industrialization. The mission of the colonial I

administration was spear-heabed by Lord Passheld between 1929 and 1931 when

I . he was the head of the cdonial ofice. In accordance with the International

Labour Organization's standa 1 d s , there was the rntroduction of Provinc~al Wages

Committee in 1937 and a nurn A erof other trade unmns ardmances between 1938 ' I

and 7957. This serves as j! basis for membership -of International Labour

Organ~zat~ons (ILO). )I . On independencc, Nqer~a u~~dertoclk to cantrcsu~ to ~mpkrnent the

I International Labour Conventton standards a s applied lo non-metropolitan

1 . territories. However, their inabrhty *to bring employers ~ r t o collectrve relations if

b they bid not want it led to zhe pr rnulgatmn of trade unrun Decree No. 37 of 1973 I

(Fashoyin 41980:92). In spite of these developments, the government tried to

adhere to International Lahaur drganizatmn's standards

Internat~onal Labour Org (1973) sees coilect~ve bargaining as a

joint negotiatlcsn process as a group and the emplayer[$) as

opposed to: I

(a) Unilateral decis~on by either the employer or worker's union, I

(b) lndividoal bargalnine in which the worker a s an ~ndividual negolmtes

w ~ t h employer or I

19

(c) Regulation by the government (statutmy) or another third party. 1 . In line with the Internqtranal Labour Organizatm's requirements, another

boid step was taken in the\ Third National Development Plan 1975L1980 to

3 regulate labour policy and o. erh,aul the trade unibn. Neverthetess, the Federal I ' k

Military Government cbRtinu d to pursue the 'policy of guided democracy in I + labour matters (Uvieghara, 7 9 6:30-86). N t h the return to crvdian rule in October

k 1979, tho government of -Sh h u Shagari pledged ''3 return to free collective

bargaining" (Yesufw, f 981 :43) 1 Oq collective bargaining in Nigerian, Yesufu (op. cit p. 153) claims that the 1

use of trade unionism, colleclivf? bargaining, and t h e growing interventi~n of the

stare have had the effect of ;ern b ving the initiative and settlement of the elements

of labour contracts from t he inbiuidual warker and employer. Much of i t has .' I

undoubtedy been to the advanlage of the worker whosa bargaining pasjtion is \

fundamentally weaker t h a n that of the employer

YeswfuJs submiss~on on t e jrnportant role of colkctwe bargaining and 1. trade unianisrn is justifrabie only to the extent that they have been effective in

protecbng the interest of the worker The Issue is quite a hazy one on the !

mtervenlion of rhe state bamg advantage of the mdivldual worker. For

instance, in a situation where rs an wnpleyer, ii might become I

bjficult'for rt to rnatntam the role of an unblased'umpire In t h e same vern, the use

a f wage tr~bunals or ~clmmiss~ons t b del'erm~ne wages Instead of usmy c d l e ~ t ~ v e

bargaming rnachrnery as h ~ s been \ h e case in N~ger~a may prove ineffect~ve and

I may even lead to the retrrnrhment ,of workers

+ Kerr el a/ (1973.227) Jaes all ~ndustr~al r t j l a l ~ ~ u as ski-vlng !he purpose of

J definiig power and authority ,elatmns among management. labour organizations

l and government agencltls, bf'cdntrolling and channelmg worker protests and

establishing On this premise, industrial relations could be seen

an resources management and development and

by implication a catalyst far rebliring organizatimai ohjecthes, I

French(l982.525) strdsses that in geritlral, un~mizatlon expresses

d~ssatisfactron and appears to b e attempt to meet unfulfilled needs for security,

belongingness, esteem, integ etion, or self-actualizal~on Since unionrration

comes into conflict with rcl3tto 1 ships of author~ty and power establrshed in the

i enterpslse and slnce manager percelve callect~ve barga~nmg as ~rnping jng on ,

oryan~zat~on tends to be w ~ d e s i read.

In refutation of French's c \ am, manageml r e s ~ s tame to uncon organisat;on I

may not necessar~ly be w~despr ad. Rather, the socto-cultural mrt~eu In whkh the i arganization operates determin s the extent of manageclat resistance. This could

I be at industrial, national or ~nternatianal levels. For instmce, in more mature and

4 hberal economic and po?iticziI ysterns the tendency towards resistance by

management may be minimal h s may 'be the case in less deveioped political

b and economic systems where re, istance is the order of the day

Akpala (1978:21) sees col\ectre bargaining as made d~fficult by the tough

conditiqns that unions face. ~ r n & q ~ r s usually suppress unions. To h ~ m , ,

I Akpala further opined that a competent management would obviausly be

I at peace with human or interpersonal relatiqns and also w ~ t h group relations in the

I

organizalional environment. a n absence of lha t cornpelence would create a

nervous situation, and criticis s by co-operaling groups such a s trade union, and + ni I

suppression is the usual ascabid approach to contam the s~tuatton,

Assessing stance on publlr: enterpnsas Akpala (hid. P. 22)

also opines that bus~nesr e s t a b l i s h m e n t s may not give I

room fa free aperation of i r h unions and that such was the experience

s o m e t i m e or t h e othw in ~ o b m Guinea Brewetles. Urnuahla and N~genan \ + Cement Company L ~ r n ~ t e ~ , ~ k a / a ~ u . Fortunately, it is one of the objectives of this I

study to ascertain if tiiat akcounts for the perceived se+mingly r e l a h e

I organizatronal stabihty Iri Galden Gurnea Brewems

!

On t h s issue of suyprrssibn of workers' unlon it 5eerns reasonable to agree !

with Fox (1966:4), that since la unlon is cons~dered as a subsystem in t h e

enterprise, suppress~crn ot art of the system will lnil~reclly affect t h e ' o t h e r

Adedeji (1973:392-408) rs vlew that many busmess undeflak~ng wrthout I .

formal industrial rerations pol~dres are reflactions of the extent of povarty of

conceptual framework of the rnbnag-ement in ~ h l s 1s worthy of note b y '

managements that see the p o ~ ~ d y of suppression as a wtal loul of management.

On the role of the ~ j ~ e r i a h Labour Unions in adequately capturing all the

1 . interests of the rank and file workers. ~ a s h o y n (1980:36), claims that there is 1

evidence that they feel less codrnitted to support their unions due to inefkient I

leadership, large scale frsud and corrupt~on among union leaders, ethnmty and

nepotism. He a h staled that tde unzon's members da not adequatdy support I

I I

I their unions financialty. These .of cours6 will, in no small measure, adversely

i affect the ability of t h e union to face their ernplayers as a united force, This is

mare so when'issues should A ave been brought forward far collective bargaining !

or strike. I * I

klbeku ('I 986:lXi) states that management consultation at the enterprise I

level with the union is seen bJ the latter as not true collecf~ve bargamng. They 1 I

still regard meetings at th~s level as joint consultations where management's I

prerogative prevails. ~ q ; t i . l a ~ t of appreciation of the fact !hat it is not the name IC I

given la the process that mattdrs but the nature of the process has resulted in a I

lot of rn~sunderslandings and in some cases str.~kes. Furthermore, Ubeku (in I F a s % ~ y ~ n 1907:128) holds That Government lhough committed to the principla of

t 1 I fret: .sluntary collective bargaming, whch 11 has stated cons~stently, has done

I noth~rig to practicaIise t h e policy in the establishmenl of procedures for collective I

I result, Omole in Fashoy~n (ibid., p. 127) cla~rns that colkctive bargaining as a i - machinery for negotiating employment conditions leaves much l o be desired, and

bargaining.

The above contributions

that the state, while upholding tAe idea of free collective bargaining, st111 has to

I satisfy its role as a third actor in the rndustnal sdatmns system resp~nslble for

settrng standards and protect~ng t, b e national economy from the action of the other

two actors which might b e prejcl A rcial to a viable economy. Also the dwindling

b nature of the econamy has creak a wave of redundanc~es that has shaken trade

unran leaders and their members i the industry. Sirn~larly, scholars like Fashoyn

point to t h e fact that workers' urrions have slim

I . . chances of using collectrve barga~n~ng to champion their case effectively. As a . I

I 2 3 I

('1980:85) and Anugworn (1994:24) have seen the current state of t h e natronal I economy as altering the ruies and procedures of collectrue bargaining. While this

seems a plausible contentibn it still deserves further observst~on through mare

empirical studies. I . On the structure of ccslle tjve barga~nmg there can b e levels, which may be

I Independent of each other. Eht t h e levels may take a h~erarchlcal form, which

1

may be at national level with !i defin~t~on of general policy and pnnc~ples, the 4 a - clutlrn~ng of f r a m e w ~ r k for reglonL Vstate, rndus~rlal and local bargaming &xialities.

I Accordmg to Akpala (1 982 229). "the choice of levels and s t ructure depends on I

the strength of the partras, ~ h e i r o / ~ a n l z a t m e . Ihe economic s ~ t u a t m and perhaps I

t h e subjact of bargaining. Each bf these factors has different ~rnpl~cat~ons for an I ~nbustry. Bank (1974 20) for exampla, is of Ih'e vlew thal "whem the employers'

J and workers' organizations are trclng at t h e national level there would tend to '

I

develop a national level cu!lcctivelbarga~n~ng. And where thar organ~zat jm is on

i industi'ral bases, c o l l ~ c t ~ v e bargal ing may tend td deve(op aroirnd industry .., "

Accordmg to Qsganrzatron for €con mlc Co-cjperat~crn a r ~ d Development (0.E.C.D)

I In Akpala (op. at) t h e levels of collective bargainmg rnclude. the national ar inter-

I

mdustry level, the enterpriaa level! and t h e laclory nr shop floor level Each of

I these levels has tts own n~udahl~es for at tanmg a parllcular object~ve and t h e I I

success or atherw~se of r:ul\ective bargamtng rr~achrr~ery IS to some extent !

dupendent on t h e above w u e s anb trow they are used. I

2.3 PRE-CONDITIONS I'OR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Col lec t~v~ bwgaininq, which i based on t h e recognrtmn that employers and 4 employees have a rrght to decide th d a r c u r n s t a n c e unde r which they would work

is guided everywhere by laid dbwn rules and conventions.

- I The process of cullective bargaining is gurded by certain stated pre- I

i requisites, which the parties mu t meet andlor are willing to accept. W~thaut this, I I the process would not be successful and would t e fraught with loopholes. They I . serve as rneasurwnent of t h e cullect~ve bargaining level existing ~n a particular I

firm or industry. ! \ . Generally, the pre-requisi es for collective bargamrng are: I

1. That the parties must attam a sufficient degree of organization I

2 They must posses the ne, I, essary skills to manage the intricac~es of the I

bargaming process. I 3 They must be ready to e4ler into agre$rneot with each other within !he

framework of the rnachlneb eslabl~shed for thal purpose I

Collective bargaining agre ments concluded must be observed by those

to whom they apply. I To iqitiate a bargajning hetween the company and the union for the first I

time, the union would either ha recagnition of the management or a

certification by rdevant federal an agencies But where the negotiation is

not for the first time, the process 4 ay follow procedures prescribed in previous

agreements. It may call for formdl advance announcement by either party if . I

changes are to be sought in a new agreement. Thz process may beg~n by any

exchange af letters between parhe J . Negotiat~ans continue until differences are

I resolved or until parties find that th y cannot arrive at a sat~sfaclary agreement

without assistance. Conciliation anh Mediation iervices may help in settling the I

differences while unsettled issues ay be submitted to arbitrat ion. In essence, ",

t h e negotration process inddates that managers a n d union represenlatrves who L

negot~ate in good faith axe d t the necessity for=cornprom~se (Ubeku, 1 983:13 7 ; l . -

Damachi, 1989124; Yodur l972:Yl3) I The foregoing I~ighlghts the varlous rssues rnvolved rn collectrve

I bargaining. Whrle the vrdume of work rn the I~terature IS s r g n f m n t , only very few 4 l

of them are based on ~mplncal studies and the ~nvestlgations of day-to-day I

impact of collective barg.llnind on orgnn~zatrunal stabhty. However. the shaping I

of organrzatlonaf collective bargalnrng strategies, the ro!e of labour unions ~n

I adequately capturiflg all the In 1 erests af the rank ancf f11e workers and attendant

problems have been examined to some extent in the literature I

2.4 MANAGERIAL APPROACHES

Since the era of nascent! capltalisrn and lls concorn~lant industrialbation,

I - organizatux have been beset w ~ t h a series of confl~cts and other human

relatiofl's problems. These awe as such trrgge~ad off an avalanche of

organi7allurwl and/or rna~mger!a \ theories aimed at bnng~ng santty and orderliness

I far optimal productlvlty arid worker srhsf;lr:liur> r r r n r ) r i j ; ~ ! i ~ r ;~ l r c l r~s 111 ttiis regard . 1 .

Weber (1004 - 1920). -alentlf,c rnal~igement thcturrcs of Taylor (7911). the I

cltlssical human relations approayh'(1927 - t 932) and the human resources and

I behavioural scrence theor~os of nlanagernen! have -311 made vital inputs towards

I

the understantlmg of marl in mdu$tnal organrzat~ons

The Weberian, Sclentihc, 4nd Classical theor~es all focused attenlion on

! how to increase the productivrty of,labour directly by adding to sk~ll and improving

I t h e techn~que of labour and indi~e,ctly by the co-ord~natron and planning of the

process of production: and io provide a definite solution to the class conflict, to the . I I .

d

continual and wasteful antag d nism between workers and management (Mourelis I

1975). Thus, Taylor belweslthst the conatructmn bf the proper wage - incentive I

system would stimulate the Lorker to keep up with the standards set by tho I

rnanagernunt engineer. /-or ~$y lo r , the determination of the proper time for doing

a job and the proper amount of pay can be delerrnmed in an abjective and

scientific way. ~ o n s q u r ? n t l ~ , \ i f everybody adheres to t he laws of the situatipn,

I there is no place ;for bargaining and quarrel; one cannot bargain about scientific

, I facts (ibid. P. 84). However, these theor~es flaundereif on the grounds that they

could not rncoporate bolh irn d lic~t and expllc~t h u n m behaviour, the interest,

goodw~ll and co-operatm of w , rkers because they were treated as ~nstruments

c ~ f productron. In' such a s \ tu 1 I~on, there IS no cnns~derat~on of the befings,

attitudes, and pr~uate ganls o f t d e ' ind~v~dual, ne~ther IS there any reakation that

I t h e worker is a soc~al be~rig infKmced in h ~ s behavtour and attrtudes by his

I callm~]ues, by the social structure and culture of the groups w~thtn which he finds I

himself (hid p. 85). I I

. 's;' The human re la t~~r 1s theo ?l , popularized by Maya, Henderson, Whitehead,

I Chapple and Arensberg, is a deduction from their experments to the effect that

I

I physical condttions of work a n d o r aconomlc cons~deratims had no correlation

I with motivation and productivity (l!laralarnbos. 7980-31 2; Shaftz and VVhits back.

I

l9?8:129). Rather, The findings odthts ernp~rical study call attenlm to the fact that I

workers should b e seen members of a social group. Therefore, the

of t h e ~ndiv~dual worker IS affected by his

membership of groups whether kormal or ~nformal at the work place. The !

~nference to be drawn is that thd human relations approach emphasizes the I

phenomenon of worker rn d ,nagernent relatmns and organrrst~onal effectiveness

through the understanding/ af inlerpersanal relations within groups. Orucker I

(1981:10) in support of this hew. argues [hat for an oigtlnlzation tc be titahis and I

adaptable t h e worker must belong to a comrnunrty In whlch he knows people and I

they know him. 1 The above paradigm \ suggest that human relations approach revolves

I around the designrng 01 a s'acial environment -of wazk in an organiratlon th'at .

I

motivates individuals and gm, 1 ps to strive to aualn the overail organ~zatmn goals.

It as such tnss $0 BVO~VB an o 1 gan~zatmn that would ful f~l t h e follow~ng principles: I

achieve its task objectives anti satisfy lls members; encourage high product~vity I '

and low absenteeism; and strmulate co-operation and avo~d destructjve conflicts. I

Also, in !her mothadology andldeology, t he human relatlorls schaol belleves that

I t h e quast for the! explaniitran of workersbttitude and behaviaur is not all that I

dependant an h ~ s persot~~ll l ly characler~stlca which might have been sacrally

acquired in the past and out the plant bur on soc~al organmtion inslde the

I plant. Cor~segumtly, thore was a shift in emphasis from the physiological, I

I psychological and saclo-psycho og~cal tcr the socrologlcal varrable. Therefore, the I

determinants of workrng trchavidur are now sough! for In the strixturs and culture .. I of lhe group and, which I:, occasmned by the spontaneity of mteraction of people I

working togelht>r, Man,l~li:rs then , apart fram n ia~n ta~n~ng work groups, shoula

strrve to rnurrp the valir~:s of 0th ~nforrnal and formal work groups ~n t h e I

organrzatron to the goals of the organcatlon Hence, rt~anagement should anend i

to a series,ol needs wh~ch are common to workers Moreover. supervisors or

managers art, expected to play vi at rales in medlahng between the demands of

t h e firm and t h e desires of work groups (unior?s) lrnpl~ed in the human relations

theory is the idea of divergence 'b r conflict of mterests belween management and

i, labour and, which'must be raco cited. I

The central position of cknnict of interesfs in industry is recognized by

I Cursons ( 7 880:34). He stated that the basic conflrct of interest rs usually balanced I

by a sense of interdependence and t h e appreciatrori that both management and I I labour have many areas of common interests. With the hurnan rslatians approach

goes the issue of conflict betwee management and labour which Dahrendorf

(1959:54) sees as endemic in orbanizatlons. Hence, elements of the conflict

theory especially as regards the re i olufion of conflict w~ll feature in the study.

2.5 THEORETICAL FRAMEW~RK

Issuing from t h e purposes of spec;ficrty and contextual

suitabtl~ty, the human rclalim~*, wr!l be adnpted a s t h e framework tor t h ~

study. The mam thrust of th~:, tha t workers are r w l alwdys rt~ut~vated to

put in their best by purely economic. i ons~beratior~s rather, II calls attention to the

I fact that t h e worker is a member of a social group, which affects h ~ s behauiour and

performance in the work placi:. 1 The problem of industrral org nlratlan should nut be seen as hinged on

purely economic platform, the prod Ij ctron of goods and servrces - but more I

importantly on fosler~ng stablt: ,.~nd close knit work~ng groups. To ach~eve a stable

and clasa knit working group1;, mana A ers should merge the values of infarmal I

groups in the organiiatr~n to t he goals af the organ~zat~on Again peaceful and

harmoniausargantration could be ach~e 1 led if the management recognize workers I

as members of groups, that have a sehes of needs. Management shauld t hen

1 %? strive to arrive at a compromise position through open negotiation and by

I nediating between the demands o the firm and the desires of the work groups I Hence, the ~nstitution of collective bargaining which gives the workers, through

their unions, the opportunity to nego\iate conditions ofwork, participate in decision

making, becomes very imperative. 1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1 What is the role of trade un ioh in collective bargaining in Golden Guinea

Breweries? I M a t is the relationship between collective bargaining and organizational

1 stability in Golden Guinea Bre,veries?

What is the influence of workbrs in decision making in Golden Guinea

Breweries? i Are workers really satisfied with collective bargaining machinery in the

I

firm? L What practical cases have bee decided through collective bargaining in I

Golden Guinea Breweries? I How can colfective bargaining be, effectively used to foster stability in

Golden Guinea Breweries? 1 I

Hypothesis 1 There is a relationship betweenlcollective bargaining and organizational stability

k RESE RCM MET~ODOLOGY I

i 3.1 DATA COLLECTION E f HOD I

The dataneeded for ihik study will be derwed from the management level,

I officials ~t'tho senior staff vvo kers' union (FOETOB) of ic~als of the junior slaff I

workers' union (NUFBTE), and* infarmatian contamed ~n the official documents of I

the company. This is necessdry in order to ensure an exhaustive extraction of

I tahs from camrnunication materials and anadequate representation of all the I

aotars in t h e collective baqainine process. Moreover, the researcher will interviaw I *

some workers of the firm using the purposive sarnphg method.

I Twa methods will be used In t h e ca!lectton of data: t h e documentary I I

method arid the interview method. The documentar,, method w ~ l l consist of the I

analysis of past recards of conflrc b fr~ctron, their causes and methods of resolution, . ' \ .

4 and other practical cassqilkat h ve come up for collective bargaining.

i The docurrsentary method rn thru study rs uery decrswe and mvalwable rn

vrew of tile diachronic n.+tl.rre of t h e study, WIIILII OJVPIS t110 perrod 1985 - 1995. I

This long~tudhal study makes it d~ff~cul t and ineffective for t he researcher to I , observe, experiment or citrry out $ survey research on !ha phenomenon of study.

I I

T h ~ s is in view of t h e trme h g and its attendant memory fadure Thess ~ssues and I

the problem of exhaustwe and balldating information and originahty of the

documents being used would b e d vercome by us~ng the interview method. l

The universe of cuntentsirnatarrals to be analysed will mclude records of '

I, the labour unions (FOBTOB nd NUFBTE) and the management of Golden ..

Guinea Brewer~es and that of t e government if any, Recorded information from 1 sources such 86 National ,lcmt !ndustrral Cauncil (NJIC) and Associatton of Food

I Beverage and Tobacco I'rnployees (AFBTE) will be sought for comparison,

validation and analysis.

The interview guidu w~lT d e used in the cdlectmn of primary data to furlher

, validate the infbrmation we will d csllect through the documentary method. For the

administration of personal interv 1 ews, our focus will be on the management cadre,

and the officials of FOBTOH and 1 NUFBTE a s well as some trsd~nairy wcrrkws. The I

intewiew wi!l consist of unstructured questions that are premised on the subject

of study. I 3.2 STUDY POPWLATlON

I I

The population of the stuby will include all employees of Golden Guinea I I

Breweries as wcll as the nranagernenl As at the perlod of this study, there were

786 juqior workers, 176 : and 12 management staff. This gives us a

b ' total study population of 914 pe ple It is from this popujation that our study I

sample will be drawn. Incl~rded in his population are the o f h a t s csf FOBTOB and I NUFBTE. I -

I Those to be ~ntervlewed are the ones who have spent a mmirnum of five

i to ten years, that is at le~rst betW en 1985 and 1090 and 1985 and 7995. The

purposive sampling rnelhgd will b e used to select officials of FOBTQB and

NUFBTE and the management s 1 aff to b e interv~eweb. Three officials will be ,

I

33 chosen from each of these categor~es for rntervtew. In addrtton to these, twenty

ordinary workers wrll be purpo b ively chosen and ~nterviewed. In a study of th~s I

nature it is usually rnconceivable to cover all elements of the population. Our I analysis will be based on a thorough examination of information, dates and units I of analysis. For instance, there wtll be the internal consistency checks for each \ document. This will be done by independently cross-checking the frequency of \ occurrence of conflicts each month and period In order to ascertain its I correspondence with what is recorded in the annual reparts and registers of the I

company. Similarly, the annual, half-yearly, or quarterly reports on disputes that I erupted and their settlement procedure will b e cornpared with registry entries for

the same year. I The analysis will include themes and issues considered during collective I bargaining sessions It will also examine the nature of letters, circulars or I communique issued by either the, union or the management prior to or after

cdlective bargaining. , \

3.4 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

Content analysis will be use d to analyze the activities of the chief actors in l

the enterprise and the informatiob collected from them and other relevant

documents. These are t h e two bnions, FOBTOB and NUFBTE, and the I

management. I After the content analysis of documents has been made, code categories I

wiil be established to enable u s know the frequency of occurrence of items of I interest. The content analysis for thi? study w~ll be based purely on t h e role of

trade unions in collective bargaining, ifhe role of collective bargain~ng in the

settlement of disputes. rnaintenbnce of g a d working relationships and proper

integration of workers, and the role of collective bargaining in maintaining a I harmonious and stable organizat'on

The relationship between t 'h e various variables of interest in the study will

be thoroughly examined using th k relevant statistics. Tables wiil also be used I

where necessary to describe data\ I

DATA ANA I YS1S AWD.PRESENTAT10N

i The focal interest of this work is to determme whether a positive

relationship exists between co~lactive bargainingas a tall of industrial relatlonsahd

I arganizational stability. In this vein therefore information supplied during inferview I l and t h e ones contained in the r~levant documents over a p e r ~ o d of Len years and

which were made available wit1 be analyzed accordrngly. 4 b

4.1 UECOGNtTiON OFTRA E UWlQNS !N GOLDEN GUINEA BREWERIES

In the reslrictad oflicial dokurnentary sources. a w ~ d e variety of unpublished

i documents, and reports were examined. It was d~scovered in the official

documents of the cornpirny tha t h e company recognrres the existence of two \ separate unions in the company- One of the unions IS FOBTOE-for the senlsr I

staff, while t h e other JS NUFBTE, which is far the junior staff. The two unions are I parties to collective bargaining relations in the firm. Therefore, t he

I

company adheres to tho ILO's far collective bargaining . I vir. that t h e pafties must attam a uft icmt degree of organization: must possess 9 I

t h e necessary skills ta nl;mage toe bargaining process; must be ready to enter

tnta agreement wtth~n t l i r t trarne work of t h e r n x l ~ u r r r y e ~ t ~ b l l ~ h e d for that I purpose and must be w~llmg to observe agreements teached In fact, the i chairman of F00TOB wtro argued that Golden Guinea PLC. IS one of the best

fmns in t he country in terlns of colllctlve bargaming confirmed this. According to , I

him not only does tho firm keep to ILO regulalions on this, it also adheres lo I

A agreement reached. I r -

The pre-conditions upon which the management of the company bargains

with the unlans are, u r l d recognition. favourable political climate that assures

I freedom of association and w~llmgness to give ana take Equally the company's

policy stipulates that for there,to*be an effective collectrve bargaining process, the 1 '

workers' unions and file management or Its representatives must attain a

sufficient degree of org&izationl they must possess the necessary skills to

manage the intricacies nf Ihe bargaining process, they must be ready to enter into

agreement with each other within the frame work of the machinery established f ~ r

the purpose and; collective bargaining agreements concluded must be obseruad

by both t h e managernun; and the unions. The board and management of the

company also initiated 3 p o k y that recugnues the legal right of the employees to , I

combine or jom trade urhons and partic~pate in act iwks whose purpose is tq

ensure that workers fully safeguard their interests in a variety of ways. To thi's

end, the company as a matter of p o k y frowns at non-unmn workers.. In other

words, i t encourages the h ~ r k e r s to 1dentlf-y w~ th their relevant unmns.

Given this scenario, the trade unions in Golden Guinea Breweries are in the

poslt~on to perform the roles of articulating and represenl~ng the interest of t h ~

i%orkers in both collect~vd bargain~ng and mdustr~al relat~ons. However, like the

personnel manager intormed us, the unions do th~s In an atmosphere of peace

and mutual understanclmg The personnel manager further staled, "we have a

very g n ~ d bargaining structure here. Bath the unlms and management are very

much intsrested in keupidg the firm atlaat. Because nf thrs, colkc!ive bargaining

is done under the right an'd progressive setting". What IS obvious from the aBove. 1

rs that t h e trade unions are S P ~ to be! able to play thew expected roles in collective

bargaining in Golden Gu~nea Breweries. This seems In agreement with t h e views

of Fox (1966) that supprussinb t h e union wdl invariably affect the fin adversely.

The Chlden Guinea Breweries going by our study keeps to the attitude of not

suppressing tho union, . I I _

Ths workers' unions of this company are not regarded as part of the formal

structure of tha company. However, the activirias of the unions are recognized in

the formal processes of tlie company.

The two categories of warkers'iinion in the company are t h e Asstmation

of Food Beverage and Tobrtcce' Employees (FOBTOB) for the senior staff, and

the National Unron of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees for t h e junior staff. ,

I

4.2.1 MEMBERSHIP

The members of the workers u n A include all categor~es of staff other than.lhosa

employees whose respans~b~l;ties'wauld confi~ct w~t i i t h w loyalty to their company

and the aspirations of the unmn namely:

1. Members of Board of Djrectors ' 4

7 . Managing Directors I

3. Deputy and all Asstitant ~ & n e r a l Managers (AGMs),

4. Employees in t h e ~;inage&ent group whose duty ~t would be to negotiate

with the senior staff Asseciation.

5 . The Chief Engineer;

G . T h e Accaunts Manager; I

I 4.2.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKERS' U N I O N I I

I Tha primary ob,actil/e is to better the c o n d ~ l ~ o n ~ of work. for !he workers by

1 negotiating for its irnprov6rnent. Also. (he unlons try to ensure that there.is I

industrial peace and harmony rn the factory because it is enshnned in its

constitution that every member should obey the rules and regulatbns of the

establishment.

4.2.3 COMPOSITIONISTRUCTURE OF THE JUNIOR WORKERS' UNION (NUFBTE)

I

The leadership structure is made up of the chairman, Vice-chairman,

Secra ta~ , financial stxretarv, Treasurer, Assistant Secretary and Shop Stewards,

that is, drrpilrtrnental rupresdntalives. These are at t h e plant level. There are also

state adrrrrnistmtive tvri~ds who consult with the union. And it is made up of the

state Chairman, the :;l;~te Vice Chairman, the sfa'te Treasurer and the trustees,

At Iha National level. h e conlpos~tion of the junior workers' union include

t h e chief executive who is the adrninstrative head or Genera/ Secretary v h l e the

, President is t he ceremunral head. , -

These are also admhistrative heads who cons~llt with the union. And

~t is made up of the stale Chairman, the state V!ce-Chairman, Ihe stale Treasurer, I

and thtr Trustees. I

On t h ~ whole, wl! have! the national execut~ves aI the national level which

is mad^ up of nstmn~rl off~cets and state officers andlor branch ar unit ufficsrs d

(rnultipl~: branches of iI breweiy industry are called un~ts but the brewery itself, in

general, e.9. GoJden Guinea Rrewer~es is known as branch level )

4.2.4 COMPOSITION OF THE SENIOR STAFF UNION (FOBTOB)

I

FOBTOB is t h e Associatlan of Food ~ e v t k ~ e s ' a n d Totracco Employees. -

The quolification for rne~nbkrshi~ here is that one has to b e a top manager or

senior staff and, those who relreve them w h e n they are: on leave. The population

of FOBTOB in Golden Gumka Breweries is seventy (70). I

The leadership str[rcture of the senior staff unlnn comprises the executive

Cha~rrnan, Secretary, Ash~s tdn t Secretary, Financial Secretary, Treasurer. and two

ex-officio rnurnber-s. Thtl branch serlior staff union IS an affd~ate of the national

body - FORTOR, The rl4ir~onal leadersh~p structure,of FOBTOB ccmsists of the

National Presjdent, Deputy ~~at lonal Prrsldrnt. ZonA Pres~dents for ~ a s t , West

and North, and National Audltars and Treasurer In addlt~on, !hl;re IS the

Executive Secretary and Adtninistratrve Secretary who is ernplayed by the

organization. The above p&ple and t h e Vice-chairman form the National =

Executive Council. I

4.3 COLLECTIVE BAF'IGA1NING IN THE RESOLUTlON OF INDUSTRIAL CONFLlCTS IN GULDEN GUINEA BREWERIES

I

One of the main C I ~ ] ~ V & of our study was to ascertain the way coliective I

bargaining 1s used as 3 c.rvlftlct rbsolution tool In Golden Gumea Erewer~es From

I I a the col)ective bargainmg process Galden,Gurne;t Grewerles have experienced

few cases of real conflict in the pest decade. R u l in the few cases that arose, the

tool of collectrvp bargarn~ng was kffectively employed rn settlrng them in fact, as I

the union leader told us and as equally confirmed by the management, full hlown I '

c~nf l ic ts rarely occur becarrse both parties (un~uns and management) have shown

a disposition to lrsten to cach other. There IS an established procedure which

allows any of the unlons to bring any contentlous issue or demand to t h e notice

of t h e management through the offm of the personnel Manager who in turn

schedules a moeting to dehbeiate on issues. Apart from this, the union leaders

are qulck to point out that t11~: management has been very riesponslve to change.

They gave inslance of 19811 when management increased wages without workers

pressing for it I

H o w ~ v e r , on the low clccaslons that confl1clui?4 ~ssugs arose, they were

effectively nipped rn the bud According to the cl~a~rman of FODTOB, the conflicts

arose out of the need to accomr-r~odat~ all interests. For example t h e confljct over

the improvement of productm technology in f 99Barose because management

and workers had diffe~ent vrews on how to go abmt the issue But the conflict

was quickly resolved in a matier of days and on n round table discussion.

Conflicts are easijy settled slrlce management has the manda te to negotiate with

workers on buhidf ot t l~e b i ~ l ~ d . b n e senlor management staff who opined that

well-bd horses hardly go on rambags acknowledged this srtlratlon. In explaining

further, h e argued that the ri~tlnagernent has shown a remarkable interest in t he

workers weifare and that tJii: woikers themselves are well taken care of, It IS 1 instructjve to p a n t out here ttiat all the people we interviewed were of t h e opinion

I

that the act~ve ussge of coJlrdr;t,ve'barga~ning fos te~s peace and quick resolution #

\ of conflict in the firm. Also, the firm in ali its"annual reports makes a renewed

commitment to t he use d cot1t;lctive bargaining. T h e orientatton of both parties to

collective bargain~ng may adequately be seen as lying withm the views of scholars

tha t t h e use ~f cnllectjve barga~n~ng ameliorates conflrct (see Fox 1966: Abedeji,

1973; Fashoyin, 1980). Moreover, it'would appear that the unions in Golden

Guinea are strong and as such cdl~ective bargaming as aptly argued by Bank f

(1 974), beueloped at the indc~stry level.

4.4 BARGA1NING B~.TL~EEN MANAGEMENT AND UNIONS IN GOLDEN GUINEA BREWi-R\ES

The company practices, various for s of barsa~ning but the pmminent anas I

I are: industry-wide bargalnlnb and company bargaining

I I

(a). industry-w~rh? bargaining. In mduslry haqammg, basrc national

agreements arc negotiatvd between !he industry and employers' associatmn and

a national union and i t is normally intended to operate throughout an industry.

The scope of bargnln~hg over the years in study has also been changing

I l

and expandmg. There itre itbrns included for d~scussian by the National Jomt

Industr,ml ~ o u n ' c ~ l (N.J.1.C). the items are mcluded in appendix 'A' of NJlC

guidelrnes and it contains such1thlngS as wages a n d salaoes, overllmt? al lowance,

annual lsavn, lravelltng i ~ j h w a h c e , s ~ c k leave benefits, out of slat~on allowance, I %

1 overnqht travel allow ant:^!, achng allowance, heat allawance, matern~ty leave, I 4

I vchicle transport aIiowanr:c and transfer alhwancelbenefit. 1

I Appendix 'R' items at NJlC gu~del~nes are lor drscuss~on by t h e Natronal

Joint Industrral Cnunci! (N JIC), and also for purooses of estabhshrng principks

only. Here we have matters hkk shjft work, housmg scheme, bonus, pension,

provjdent funds, end of yttdr grftb, payment to o f f m i l s far unlon rneetmgs, long

service Aards , dlsc~plinary proci?duru and death benefrts

Items contained rn apperid~x 'C' of NJIC guldelrnes afe fur d~scussion

between each member cumpan? of the Assoc~allnn and respectlve branch

un~ons. This conlam ixittersl such as s h ~ f t arrangement. company I

ponsion/prowdent fund, dealh benefits, vehicle lcan, casualicornpassionale leave,

incentive hanus schi+ma, cumpany .scholarshrp, payment nf salarres and wages,

proba!ionao, period, exarn~nation l&aveiaxlsrnnl exam~naliun, and non-nccrdent

bonus for drivers. I

I (b). Company barqa~nmg wh~chls the centrepme of this research covers

I a wide rangn t i f matterti ~ r i h d j n g the ones related to the company and its

i .

o m p l o y e e . ~ It is done where agreement-will apply and may encourage easy

adjustment and improvement of specrfics to meet the f~rrn own situat~on. I I

Consequently, the parties that dome into p la i here: are the management versus

the unrons (that is, rnanagcmenffboard versus FOBTO8.NUFBTE). In t h e course !

of bargaining the unions usually tab!e t h e ~ r formal demands to the company

personnel manager with t?xplanatory notes. However, there were cases In which

the perslsnnel manager l~e ld meetings w~th the secretaws of FORTUB and

NUFBTE over demands m a d e by the unmns Ourmg th~s perrod, the issues

involved were separated into those for d~scusslon and those for riegotiatirsn as

cantained In the agreen1~k11 Sequel lo thls IS the f ~ x ~ n g of a date for formal d

negotmt~on. T h ~ s procedure was follawrd rn 1986 when there was the Issue of

new tectsnoloyy of producl~lm and l h ~ role af the workers It w ~ t s ;\rj,Jln usud tw~ce

butween f98U and 19m whlw the workers felt there was need to Improve wnrklng

conditions.

I A number of s~gn~f~cant' changes have taken place nat~enally between

management and the uniuns on issues for cbl~ectlve bargaining. i t has been

noted that much of the b;brgzin~ng d~niens~ons appear to be decentral~zed with

some powers vested at the cnterpr~st lave1 and others at t h e level' of Assoc~at~on

of Food Beverage and T o b ~ c c o Employees (A F B.T E). These changes were

mtroduced between 1985 and 1987. Prmr to 1933. the management only alhwecf

un~t by un~ t bargammg of the plant w~th ~t Over the permd, the u r ~ ~ t s have merged

and can now bargain with the management under one umbrella. Also between

1987 and 1989 there was th? devglaprnent of bafga~n~ng at one time wh~ch

proceeded on a separate plant bas13 urltll ~t g far j~~; i fes ~nto an ~rlduslry-w~de

n e g ~ t ~ a t ~ o n between the management or its unlm and workers' unlorl However,

what pre-dominates IS t h s s~ngle-plant and s~ngle errlplcryer Laryam~ng. The

Golden Gumea Breweries, as our study revealed, have rriadfl effect~ue use of the

single-plantlsmgle employer bargaming espmally on Issues pecuhar to the frrm.

4.5 THE PRACTICAL CASES THAT CAME UP FOR DISPUTE AND THEIR RESOLUTION MECHANISM The pract~cal cases that came up for dispute a i d nearly led to conflict

b e t l ~ e e n workers and management between 1935 and 79% as was discovered

In the records of the firm can now be outlined.

In '1985, there was the problem of squeeze on !he importation of raw

materials needed for production by the brewery industry. Thiswas a fall-out from

the economic recess~on in the country. This culminated in the attempt to

~ntroduce the Structural Adjustment Programme I.5.A.R) policy by the Stiehu

Shagari adrnin~stration and later impleniented by the Babangida administration in

1986. This development nearly affected the workers' job security and the viab~lity

of the firm. The management nearly retrenched some of its workers The

workers' mio on braced up to the situation by adopting apohcy ofencouragement.

It took the initiative in promoting change and efficiency by impressing upon the

management to ernbark on farming and research for local raw materials. This led

to the establishment of a number of farms and a research development centre by

the management. The issues involbed were resolved through discussion.

In 7985 also, there was the introduction of marsh filter machines. This was

equally part of the union's policy of encouragement to the management. The

~ntrduct ion of this machine was done after series of negotiations between the

management and the unions. The uhions demanded far management guarantee

that the individual workers wohd not be affected adversely by way of

retrenchment or redundancy if the machines were introduced.

In 9 986, there was the need to improve the techimlogical base af the firni.

Hence. the management proposed the cornputerizatian of the firm as well as need

to replace the distillation and packaging machines In order to meet the challenges

posed by competition and to adjust to the need to Increase the local cmpoi ler i t

of the firm" saw r-naterrals It is well known that with the downturn In the nation's

economy, the brewery lndustry as a whole began to source for local raw mater~als.

Golden Guinea Breweries was equally involved in this exercise, While the unions

appreciated the need for t h e changes, they fea;red that the changes would occasion

loss of jubs for their members. I t was om this score that they opposed the

change proposed by the management. However, after a lengthy period of

~lcyotiations spanning over two months, the unions agreed with the changes but

on the condition that no worker W O L J ~ ~ lose his job because of these changes.

Conciljation method was adopted resolving this problem.

There was the jssue of *age increment in 1987 which nearly paralyzed

the effective functioning of the organization. In their brd to resolve this problern,

the management and the unions adopted collective bargainmg mechanism to

resolve this problem. In this case the parties that came into play were the

management versus the w o r k e ~ ' unions. In the course of the bargaining, the

unions presented the~r formal dehands to the company personnel manager with

explanatory notes. The personnel manager responded promptly by ~nviting the

union executives to a meeting where the issues involved were separated into

those for discussion and those fdr negotiation This was fater followed by the

f~xing of a date for formal negotiation on the issues involved In the possible wage

increment. Eventually the wages were increased and the management insisted

on increasing the expected output of the workers per day.

In 1 980, some matters that carne up for collective bargaining grievances

were violations and interpretation; of contracts by management and the disregard I

of precedents, and the failure to live up to prorriises by management. On the

part of the workers/unions they were accused of indiscipline, violation and

misinterpretation of contracts and unfounded allegations against management.

These Issues were resolved through intra-organizational bargaining. This is a

process that involved manoec~vring between management and labour in order' to

achieve a consensus. In thk reoard the management and the unions tried to

browbeat each other at the onset but later the matter was made a featherbed

issue by the management.

Matters pertaining to fringe benefits, car Ions, housing allowance, bonuses

a n d pension were raised by the workers' unions in 1989. These issues were

resolved without much pressure or argument in the sense that management

management control of ac t~v~ l~es . The issues ~nvolved were resolved through

cc~llect~ve bargaining in that both: manayement and the unrons tried to mmlrnlse

their losses and rnax~m~ze thew gains All the procedures ~nvolved In c n n d u c t q

the collective bargaining process were adogreol There was the ~ssue of the

notification of the vnrons by the managerncril and a dare was later fixed for

negat~ation

In 1991, cases d~:nl~ng with redundancy, eftjc~ency and retrenchment of . workers, were yearning for attention. The focL! pant here was how best to

make the organization more eficient and by mplrcation m ~ k e the workers less

redundant. Matters coricarning r e t r e n c h m e n t were brought up by the union

executives to management. The economic doldrums In the country which

affected the ~ndustryl adversely ~nstilled the fear af possible'retrer~cl~nlent In the

workers. However, thrs wil:; not to be because the problem was resolved t h r o u g h

mternal grrewance procedrrre and attitude barga~nrng to allay the fears of the

workers and I ~ I turn ~rnbud*ri them w ~ t h the no t lw of t ~ u s t , fr~endl~ness and co-

t h e market. Ht-vc, t he unroll left the board and rnanagerrienf trs take the Initlat~ve

and simply acquiesced. I

In 1993, the workers' un~on rh1st.d the ~ssuc of its members owning shares

in the company as well as the introduct~un of r;cholarsh~p schemes and tram~ng .. programmes for tis rnernbnr :; Ail thkse Issues were peacefully resolved through

managemwt were d~scuss~r~g on the Issues There were series of exchanges of

l e t t e r s betwee~i both part~t!., Protracted negot~atmns contmued until both parties

agreed on Ihb t t t r rn s in qucl,tlon Ttw r-r~~lnagerrlent accuptcd to allow the workers'

I u n l m memb~f:; .own S ~ I ; I I I ! S III the company, and also offered schdarsh~p

schemes to 1he.chjldren of inumbers bf staff 11 also agreed to encourage workers'

4 s I

partleipate ~n decis~on-rnak~ng. Thrs triggered off heated'bebate on the part of the

management as to competence of the workers In this area. In the course of t h e

bargaining that ensued, there were sews af negotiatrons but the matter remained

unresolved. Hence, concilial~on and rnedmtion setvices were adopted in settling

t h e differences. Thus. the urllon members ware allowed to parkipate in decision I

making..

In 799.5, thew was ttw introduction of CoH2 new plant and a compressor

machine. This was accsptt.fJ wi!h/-n~l\y by the union mernbers. The workers tried

to adapt to the use of the nllw equrprnent, its process a n d material after much

negotiatmn and aflitude bargaining. Thrs problem of adjustment almost caused

conflict but the m'anagemcnt and the unlons agreed on the need, through

collectrve rtegotiatjon, to givrr more room and time to staff t~ become adept at ' handlmg the innovation. Th~s display of accomrnadation may emphaslre the

people centred nature of manapment pract~ce in the f~rrn. Therefore, the

personnel manages agreed that t h ~ techndog~cal change was not des~gned to

sack workers but to make them more efficient.

These cases and their methods af resolution are summarized in table 4.1

below I

Table 4.1: Contentious Issues arld their modes of resolution

Nature af Issue

(a) Conflrct over ~rnprovernent In productiny k&hnolagy

t (b) Problem of I centra!~zation of powprs

(c) Problem of mw material procurement

(d) Intrnductror? o f marsh filter n~achine

(a) Intraductlor~ of new machines! ~rnprovenient technical base

(b) Irnprcivcment ~n work~ng conditrons

- -

(a) Collective bargaining

(b) Collective bargaining

(c) ~iscussionlencouragem ent by unions

Id) Collective bargaining

(a) Collective bargaining

Ib) Discussion

(a) Workers Union participation in decision making

(b) The cfistributidn of powers between the management and the unions

c Wage increment

(a) Fringe benefits and allowances

(b) Violations/interpretations of contracts by management, and unfounded allegat~csns by workers' unions. -

(a) Wage increment ( b ) Izrrnge ber~c-!hts, car loans,

h u u s k j alhwances, bonuses and pension .

- - - -

(a) Introduction of I

technological 1 changeslautornat~on includmg milchines and computers

(b) Mechanization of battling lines

(c) Investment in communicat~on and infomatron t~chndogy

(a) Redundancy efficiency and retrenchmer I t of workers

(a) The introduction of a new product into t h e market

I

(a) Collective bargaining

(b) Cdlective bargaining

(c) Ccsllective bargaining - -

(a) - Collkctive bargaining

(b) Collective bargaining

(a) Unilateral consideratian by the managemen t

(b) Discl~ssionld~alogue

(a) Dialsgue!discussicin

(b) Conciliation Involving a tllifb party

(c) Collective bargaining

(a) Unilateral offer

(a) Demand for owhership of the company's shares by' members of wnrkws union

'(b) fntrodvction of scholarship schemes and trarnrng programmes for rnembms of workers union

(c) Encouragement of ducati ion, tra~nrng and re- traming

(a), Workers part~cipatlon in decis~on making

I

(a) The intrubuclion of COH2 new plant and a

{a) Collective bargaining

(b) Collective bargaining

(c) Dialogue

(a) Conciliation and mediation by a third Party

Table 4.1 above S ~ C I W S thaL1 between 1985 and 1995 the company aLI

experienced a totai;wenty-thrr!e cases which were caused by one problem or t h e h

other. 1

One can see from taMr7 4.7 that the labour confkt which the company

experienced featured more between 7985 and 1987 This corresponds to t h e

period of general labour stress experrenced in Ntgeria as a result c ~ f economic

squeeze which culminated in the intbduction af the Structural Adjustment

Programme (SAP . ) in July ? E W . The table also showi that most of the cases

were resolved through cokclrve bargaining. Subsequently, the econorny f~lrther

nose-dived drastically and tl \ere was increased demand for wages. fringe i

benefits and alfowances. Tllere were also accusations of misinterpretation of

contract agreements.

Thew was another jound of re\ative upsurge of tension between

management and the unions tletween 1693 and 1995. This can be related to

* the 1993 political crises in the country arisiricj from the annulment of the June 12

presidential r?lect~an in 1952 -The political crises on this Issue affmted the

economy adversely in the sense that most af the industrial unions under t h e I

umbrella of Nigeria Labour ~ b n y e s s (N.L.C) either went on strik! or were

clamped down upon by the hbangida administration, Consequently, most of the

industrial unres t that cropped LIP as a t then required cdlective bargaining and

dialogue.

Modes of Resdution: Four modes of resolution were adopted for the conflict

cases that arose between IS85 and 1995. These are gjven in tabla 4.2 below

Table 4.2 Modes of resb~ution for the disputes that occurred, 1985-7 995. .

From table 4.2 above out of a total nu~kber of 23 cases 217at occurred

Modes of ResoOAon Frequency , Percentage

Collective bargaining b} 13 A-

Discusslon/d ~alogue @) 6

Unilateral Offer (c) 2 - - - Concil~ation

-. 0)' ! 2 8.7%

between 1985 and 1995, 13 chses or 57% of them were resolved by collective

Total

barga~ning. Thus, collective batgaming seems to be the main procedure adopted

in settling [abour conflict within th~s organization Closw to collect~ue bargaining , 9

is dialogue and or discussion Here out ofA total number of 23 cases, 6 cases or I

26% of them were resolved through this means. This buttresses the fact that

23

management has good disposiiim towards collective negotiation between ~t and

1 00?4 1

the unions. This idea is informed by the fact that this can form a prelude and a

pre-requisite for bargaining

A total of 2 cases or R 7 d h o f t he issues were handled unilaterally by the

management Its impact is rnsignificant when compared with the other methods . adapted.

C~ncilratlon, which involVes s th~rd party, also hada total of 2 or8.7% of Ihe

I

cases. This involved the use of third parties to settle dispute. Its impact was also

insignificant.

The following cornputation can enable us to determine whe tk r Ihese

occurrences were by co~ncidence or by a deliberate design. It will also enable us

to determine whether there is a reladonship between collective bargaining and

organisational stabil~ty. I

Df=n-1=4-7 =3 I

CATEGORY 0 E I (0-E) (0-E)'! (0-E)?IE

k 13 5.75 7.25 52.56 9.74

B 6 5.57 1 0.25 0.063 0.01

C 2 5.75 -3.75 4.06 2.45

I 14.0 5 I Calculated Value = 14.05

% = (df=3) I

50h P [xZ )> 7.81 Table value I

I Decision rule: I

If c a l x 2 @. 5% < table value we accept the H, and reject H,

If the cat.%' @ 5%> table value we reject the H, and accept t i ,

Since our calculatedd = 14.05>s7 =' 14.05>w2,, = 7.81 we will then accept the

hypothesis and conclude that a relationship exists between collective bargarning

and organizational stability.

4.5.1 ~ E R N A L w w m w s IN &DEN G u w m ~ ~ E w m l E s

Thrs has to do with:

I. lntra organizational barg'aining which entails manoeuvring to achieve

consensus with the labour and managemenffboard.

ii. Resolving competing interest; within the union through the bargaining

process - this is done informally. It requires union leaders to negotiate with

one eye on rnanairt'henf and the other on their members. That the cmivr~

leaders take into cor~sideration the interest of all parties. Tt-re manayeinent

negoMtor is expec\ed to please Ilk own constituents.

. . ur. Roulwar;srn: This is the process by which one of t h e parties makes o n e and

final offer. The managen~ent of Golden Guinea Breweries adopts this

procedure. The olden Guinea Breweries management adopts this . - method occasiunally by, first refusing to play the haggling game, instead it

makes its first offer - a full and finai one. However, it always ensures that

all matters must h a w been taken into consideration in such a way that the

interest of both the union and management are served. Secondly, the

management meets with union representatives and conducts an exlenstve

communication program in which it tries to sell its offer directly to the

empbyees ' and urges them to make their views known to their union

officiaki . I

I

4.7.0 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ANQ ORGANIZATIONAL STABILITY

I t was gathered from fhe company that t h e r e h e r e no cases sf str~kes or

other forms of acufe industrial disputes in the company between 7985 and 7995.

This was because collective bargaming or negotiations were used to settle

disagreernznt between management and the unmns. Issues covered in such

collective bargaining sesstons are frisige benefrts and condit~ons of service, which

are cantaiqed r f r rterns A and R of the National h i n t industrial Council NJIC) W~th

respect to item 8 , the unions Jobby the management from time to time in m k r to P ' .

reach a compromw? '4:

1

Colfective bargaining lias also ,been used to institute one crucial focal

interest for t h e ~miorrs and the management alike. In this regard, a lm~st every

worker is a staff and shareholder. Management also organizes soft loans far the

workers to enable them procuw shares whenever there are rights issues

j ..i I

Golden Guinea Brt!weries is said to be a stable one and this stability is

believed to emanate nol !ram srqpression of the unions or workers but from a

cordial reiat~onship exishlig bdween the rnanagen~eflt's association and the

workers' unions. This c t~rd id rilationship issues from effective use and strict.

adherence to collective Imrgaining machinery and the adoption of a human

oriented management styln by the unions and the management alike.

1Vorkers are said to be satisfied with the collective bargaining machinery

of the firm under study in vlew of the fact that it is used to negotiate on every issue

cavering fringe benef~ts and conditmns of semice Management on ~ t s own part

is said to be acconimnd;~ting and co-operatlwe and always ensures that i t

implements to the letter whatever agreements are reached between ~t and the "

unions. This owes to the fact that collective bargaining has proved ta t ~ e a quite

effective and positive tool fiv a srriodh r~rnning of the organization. The above

issues are said to contribuh! tremendously towards organizational stability. This

is more so because workws and management as shareholders would want to

guard their investment interest jealously, hence the avoidance of cotlflict.

The issue of interflsts and, safety of workers was adequately tackled

through collective bargain~ng. ~ i t h regards to these two issues, a number nf I

committees were set up to handle them. They exist in the following hierarchy; the

board at the apex, fdloweb by the m'anagement cornrnittes and at the base is the

comrnuni~atir~ns committee. ~ e n c i action and information concerning workers

tnterest and safety flow in a bottom-ub form. if the ctnions have any issue affecting

their members they use the cornmunrcatii~n committee to channel the grievances.

After this cornrn~ttee has done its lob1 it then forwards the workers' grievances to

the management cornrn~ttee for necessary act~on It is the duty of the

rnanag~hent cornrn~ttee to deliberatb on and cod15j the union's grievances into

proper terms which, it in t u n 1 rnakes ava~lable to the board far necessary .qct~on.

The board whtch, 1s mad'+ bp of heads of departments and the~r irrirnediate

subordinates formulates pdic~es relating to the workers gflevances. The

management usually trat~s\ates these p o l ~ c ~ e s into action. The cornm~ttees adopt

a part~c~patory managcrnent style and the managrng director chairs at1 these

cornrntltees. The outcone of neyobatim between management and the unrons

usually goes to t h e Board fbr approval.

Collect~ve bargalor& mechanism is bel~eved to have proved very

effrcaciaus In tackling problems assclcrated w ~ t h workers' interest and c,afety. Fur

instance, it has been used 6n a n u m b e r of occasions to secure increase in all '

m a n n e r s of allowances dnrf rrnprovemcnt in general conditions of work for

workers This posture has contributed greatly towarbs the mamtenance of peace,

harmony and stabil~ty wiihtn the organizatron. This is because isstres that could

have degenerated into destructive industrial cbnflicts were settled amicably

through diatogue, co\lectivc bargaining or negotrations.

\ 4.7.9 MANAGEMENT ATTITUDE TOWARDSTHE UNIONS AND COLLECTIVE

EARGA1NlNG

a Managernmt recognizes the legal freeborn of the workers union to operate.

The c~rdial nature of t h e relationship that exkts between the workers' union and

the management is a t t es td to by the symbolk relationship that exjsts between

the two. For instance, rnnnagerr'wd usually remains attached to whatever t he ,

u n m negatlates while at the &me t~me the unions ensure that management

benefits from union negotiations even though they are not members.

Management also rernatns carnri?itteb !o the use of dialogue or negotiatlun

whenever there is a disagreement between i t and the unions. it is the belief of Ihe

management that the workers' u n m s ale a very understanding and co-crperatlve I

ons. For this reason, thi! ~~~anagement. does much to assist the unions in the

pravision of such things ;IS logistics among others. This, t h e management . believes, is a way of prorncl\ing better uaderstanding between it and the unions.

Another typical case in pant is t h e unilateral posture taken by management in

I 989 to increase workers' salary withnut wen t he workers asking for it. A C C O F ~ I ~ ~

to one union member, "Our management is the be51 around WJhateverfhey deny

the workers is what they cannot afford. I have worked elsewhere before so I know

what I mean". 130th the r-riar~ager-r+nt arid Iha umon executives acknowledge that

managernen t attjtube towards collective bargaining has so far been favnurable.

This owes to the fact that rnanago\&nt adheres strictly to the recomrnendat~ons

of the National Joint Industrial Courkil (NJIC) which hinges on items for discussion

between management and the unions at the national and anterpr~se levels. So

concessions in a numberof uccasions, sporad~cdisagreements not with stand~ng

'The use- of d ia lque, negdiatlons or collective bargaining to tackle

disagreements or confhcts hehveen management and the unions has increased .

in tempo over the years. h s is i i view of management's insistence thrlit there

should be a total reliance on the application of these tools in the settlement o f ,

matter concermng wages, retrenchhent, employment v~el'fare and fringe Denef~ts

of service, For instance, even though salary increase is negot~ated at the nat~onal

level, the management always ensures that it reaches an underr;tanding u ~ t h the

internal body on these Issues. Equally, in 1991, there were a few cases

connected with redundancy and undue retrenchment of workers by the

management, but t h ~ uninr~s came to the rescue by asking the management to

fe-instate and also pay thil affected workers compensat~on.

On wt7~:thf:r agreE?n Ir 'I its readled ttirnugli nrsgot~at~ms between the ~~nior-15

and management were kept by (he management. the response is in the

affirmatwe. For ~nstance, xnlnry a ~ d wage increases, out of statinn allowance,

and the management to the Inkr had implemented annual leave allowance among

at hers. I

The management c l r ~ ~ r n s that it rna~ntains a peaceful and harmonious

relat~onship w ~ t h the workilrs and thew unions by ensuring a regular qun2rterly # -

briefing that take the form o l a qxst;on and answer sesslon. Here the managing

Director asks t h e workers iluestiond. and briefs them on the prevailing stale of

affairs in the company. Thr't workers in turn are expected to ask that Managing

- - L~ /

I

Director questions touching or1 a wide range of sensitive issues and aiso express

their feel~ngs an how the prwailing state of affairs in the company affects them.

They usually offer suggest~u~is' for improvement where necessary

There is also the ex~stt.nce of Association of Food n e v e r a g ~ and Tobcir,cn

Employees (A.F.R.T.E.) magazine. Th~s rnagazlne glves the union rn rmber s the

opportirn~ty to express their v ~ ~ v ~ s on the running of the- company. Such vlews are

usually taken into consideratr~n by the management during policy formulation.

lvlanagement clams Hiat it t r w to Improve on the harmony between it and

t h e unions by encouraging the unlons to embark on some ventures that are

believed tu be in the best intrreszof the workers Management also sponsors and

trains umon officiais and members al~ke. To furthcr prnrnute better understand~ng

between it and the unions, n~anngernent does much tu provide them with all the

necessary log~sfrc support th:~ t d l l enhance their social welfare and aJsu facrl~tate

the~r unron activities. Long service award 15 another ~ncentlve, used by the

management to promote cordial relationship between it and the unions

The management also a d h k r ~ s to its pol~cy of trainmg and develq~nient for

its workers. This was made realizable through negotiations with the nnions. This

policy embodies out of scliool 2ducation programs offered by neighbouring

universities or Polytechnics It pays for study leave of not more than eighteen

months and such sponsorsli~p 1s strictly in areas of need. This is believed to help

t he management put peaplta and 'things in their proper places. There are also

scholarsh~p schemes for tlit: ch i lWn of managers and the junior staff The

number of chrldren that get IIIP sc l~darsh~p is us~~a l ly apportioned between the

junlor and senlor staff. Fd,lnagdment also takes caie of workers' personal

~nterests. For ~nsiance. ~t pays for wiorkers' membership in at least two c l u t ~ . The

management belrwes that t!~ls niat!vates the workers and makes them to have a

sense of belonging.

However, one remot{! but extraneous variable which the management

adduced as also contr~buting to stabrljtj, IS that pf lack of pressure or cornpet~t~on

from its irnmed~ate env1ronrr1w-t C'ornpetWm IS believed to lead to h ~ g h labour

turncver.

4.7,2 COLLECTIVE BARGAlNf NG AND WORKERS PARTICIPATlON IN DECISlON MAKING AND ORGANIZATIONAL STABlLlTY Collect~lse barga~nmg has been used to get the management comprornlse

on the issue of workers' part~cipation in deasjon making. Howevsr, warkers do

not usually pi~rtic~pate: dlrecrly but through their unjon executives ar s ~ m e t ~ m e s

through a team that is nominated for that purpose by the union wnrkers. In this

vein, workers are allowed to particjpatr: in work-place decisinns of different types

Considering the fact that workers are equally shareholders of the company,

collective bargaining machinery bas also made it possible for the workers' union

to have repressntation in the governing board and this is known ' as co-

determination. The wdrkek' &-tior~s have also used coliectivi: bargaining

machinery to make the r t tanagernent create a fow1-11 for informal cmsultations on

work procresses at difrermt levels. In fact, o ~ ~ r s t u d y found out in the I2st ten years

that i l l major pollcles in the h r h have also benefited from the input of \he workers

Th~re fo r s workers are consldqreb as part of the decision making team. Collectrue

bargaining has also rnahl: rt pclss~ble for management to involve worxers' unlons

pertaining to modalities for job enr~chrnent in order to enhance workers' I

satisfactm. This incll-~des decision as how to expunge donstr~ct in~ work

processes. ,411 these strategies are aimed at ensuring congruence in matters I

pertaining to organm11maJ goals, imp raved conditions of service and increased

sense of ~nfhxnce, as wc~ll35 effectrve cornm~mrcatrcln and consultat~crt between

management and the urvons. These, the management bdieues, are ~esponslbk

far the ~x i shng increased mativStian and commitment, harmony, industrial peace

and stabil~ty. and greater'produ'ct~v~t~~ in the company.

It is also irnpartant to point out here that in as much as the workers are

allowed ta padicipate In decisron making, thls part iapatm does nor cover all . ' areas of policy and cor-r~pany business. The workers participation, which as we

have pointed out IS normally through their u n m s leaders or special cnmni~ttees

set up for that, occurs mainly in Issues affect~ng the workers. Therefore, such

other vital Issues that do not ielate to or affect the workers are left for the

management and the bmrd. Thk arrangement which to an end goes contrary to

the openness of collective bargaining has the blessing of the workers. Thus, the

Secretary of the IJorkcrs Vklfare Committee argues that as long as the workers

are allowed to part icip~te in matters that affect them, tbe management and board

can face the rest. ,411 thc.', sane, the prevarltog arrangement seems to work . because it has greatly cor~tribuled to organizational'stability. As a result, the

workers see t h e use of cnlic~ct~ve bargarnrng and the rr-vvdvernent of workers in

bec~sion making thraugh ~ \ I F I ~ process of cokct ive bargaining as thl? most srngle

contributor to organiratton;i\ st8billty. However, as mentimed elsewnere, stabihty

in the firm may also haw heen helped by the fact that the Golden Guinea

Breweries by being the brcw~ng giant in its immediate social milieu have curtailed

competition and poaching i ~ f stiff by other frrms.

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATlON

5.1 CONCLUSION

This study as could be seeh from the foregang was aimed at asoerta~ning

the role of collective bargaining in organizational stab~lity in Golden Guinea

Breweriet; Plc. Our research fmdmgs indmte that.

7 . Collective bargaining as an industrml relat~ons mtxhan~srn is used regularly

in Golden Guinea RryherieS. t a

2 Both unions and rnanagemknt in the arganizat~on are welt aware of and

wholly accept the International Labour Organization's (ILO) p & m ~ b r t ~ o n s

for callectjve bargamirq one of which is the recagni t~on of unions atc.

Also, both pasties have shoLvn a remarkable commitment t~ abirling by

agreements reached through collective bargaining. This is a Iie;.rlt hy

development since repudiatron of co lkc t~ve bargaining-agreenients is one

major factor militating against the use of collective bargaining.

3. The e x i f ing harmonious relationship between the employers and workers

in Golden Guinea is fastered'by t h e good use of collective bargaining as

well as the recognition by the management of t h e legitimacy of workers' 1

unions and the willingness td always approach the workers through the

unions. I I I

4. There is the existence of an cipen and regular channel of communication

and interaction between the unions and management. To this end, t h e

pkrsonnel manager IS the I~nk between the two parties and has shuwn a

consistent wilhngness to c reak a conducive atmosphere for bargaining

5. Collective bargaining as a tool has been used in resolving specrfic confljcts

in Golden Guinea Brewer~es ih the last ten yeas I

8 . Management and unjbnists interviewed are of the view th2 t collectrue

bargaining is the secret behind the: remarkable stability in t h e firm even

though a segment nf the management also pointed out that t3e absence

I of competition far personnel could be ZI contributory factor.

'7. The workers in Galden Guinea Orewenes through their unions ,ind special

cornmrttees take part In decision rnak~ng in the firm.

Also the finding of the study shows that the human relations t h m y as put

forward by Mayo, Henderson and Whitehead (see Haralarnbm, 1980; Shafitz and

Whiteback 1978) can adcquatdy account f(jr the prevailing rappor between

management and v m r k m in Golden Guinea Rreweries. Our inve~t igaf i~n

revealed that the management makes use of a style that is people oriented. Thus, I

the management adapts a human relatrcrns perspectnie which ties the satrsfaction

of workers squarely with t h ~ goa~k of the organization: This sort of orieniation has 6'

been lucidly portrayed by rim ins'taoces.

One, t h e managenim! of the Golden Guinea Breweries in 1989 r a s e d

vdorksrs pay w l t h o ~ ~ l any form of pressure or ag~tafion from the worker5 or the~i'

unions Two, when ~mprovra~nents rn the technology of product~on was ~ntroduced,

tho f ~ n gave the workers r1111ple tihe and npace to adjust to the new technology

And as the pessonnel manager later told us the technology was meant to increase

workers' efflcrency and not to d~sp\ace them. Therefore, we can conclude from

ourstudy that the hurnan relaiians theory can be effed~vely used In charactcnang

.~varkersr'ernpl~yers rdationship in Guinea Brew~sies.

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

Rased on the forgo~lq, vie wauld recommend that.

I. Firms operat~ng in N q e r ~ a should emulate !he example of Golden ~ u h a

and make collective bargaining a veritable tool of industrial relations tools.

11. Workers unions on their own should borrow a leaf from the Gcilden'Guinea

expwience and make themselves amendable to positive inkractron:; with

management. It 1s obvious that constant interactmn and ripen I

ccsrnrnunicatian between the two parties ameliosate conflict. . , . 1 1 1 . From our obsewation, there is need to dem~cratize the unions in Gcllben

Gw~nea Breweries. To this end , the current over-ernphas~s or\ 1 1 1 t l

leadership alone should he de-emphasized. Therefore the unrons should

create avenues for rank and file n-rernbers to contribute to negotiatmns,

pohcies, and other issues effecting them in the organizat~on.

~ r / There is also need for the Golden Guinea Management to expand the

scope of collective harga~rmg and workers partlapation in decisiol makrng

The current pract~ce of excludmg workersfrorn partrcipating in some areas

of the organization policy And dec~sion making may serve some purposes

now but this may b e the sour& of friction in the future.

v. Finally, there is need to coptjnue and if possible to expand the ~n-trative of

allow~ng workers to nwn shares in the firn-~. As a nsatter of fact, other I

organ~zatlnns in Nigeria might have to emulate this prachce as the

ownership of a stake by way of shares in the company can ginger

cornrn~trnent and dech ghon from the workers.

It is however necessary to pomt out her^ that th~s s t ~ ~ d y even though a remrdrng

a n d worthwh~le exercise has revealed tht. I.tnwill~ngness of enterprise.; in Nigerra

to expose th~lnselves to C : I ~ ~ I I i c i ~ l or f<l:ierrrch s t i td~us. TIIE ol>.;tn;clc grwtl j ,

rn~lltated against the ~ c h ~ r v e m e n t of !be nbjtllchves of this study sirice the

management of Golden Guinea initially refused to co-operate w ~ t h the researcher.

It took so many journeys, letters from the University and pressures from the

researcher bsfore the management finally agreed to GO-operate. Based on [hi!;

experience, researchers may be well advrsed to be thoroughly sure of the

unalloyed co-operation of thc proposed research organiz~tlon before embarking

on a study. I

5.3 SUGGESTIONS FOR F U R J ~ E R RESEARCH

We would like to suggest, baked on our stt~dy that future research in this

area may focus on the folbwing arnnng others: '

(A) The role of competition in the stability of orgsnization in Nigeria 131- the

extent to which the presence or athenvjse of competition affects the

efficacy of collective hargainirig as a tool of stability in organizations

( 6 ) The infltience of cotlixthe bargaining on the concrete productivity crf 1 1 1 ~

firm. In other words, td what extent is increase in workers productivity

ascrjbed to collective bafgaining?

(C) The factors that may hinder the effectiue implementation of colkctjve

bargaintng agreements in specific firm.;.

Fashoyin, T., (1 986). "~ollkctive Bargaining C hailenges During Economic Recesshn", In Ukand~ G Darnach~ and Tayo fashoyin, e d . , Contemporary Probkms in Nlgerii-ln lndustrral Relatrons, tleveloprnsnt Press,, Lagos.

Fayol, H., (1971), "General Inbustrial Management", in D.3. Pugh, Organization Theory, Penguin Books,, England.

Fox, A . ( 7 %6), inbusha/ Socidogy and Industrial Relatiuns, Research paper 3, Royal Commission an Trade Uninns and Employers Assoc~atron, London, H.M.S.O. .

French, W.L. (1982j, The Pcrs~nnel Managenler-/( Pmess , Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. I

I

tiaralarnb~s, M., ( f 980). Sotiology: :Themes and Perspectives, University Tutorial , P r e s s , Slough,

t

Kwr, C., et a1 (1973), Indush-idk,;sh and lndusfrja! Man, Penguin Books, London.

Liked, Rensis, ( I 9611, "The Pnndpie of Supportive Relationships", in D . S . Pugh, (1 g7f) Organizafiur~ Theoy, Penguin Books, England.

Mouzelis, N.P., (1975), Oqanization and Bureaucracy: An Analysis of Modern Theories, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.

Omde, A,, ( q 9841, in Fashqin , T., (1 %7), "Collective Bargaining Ch;il \enges Ouring Economic Recession", in Ukanb~ Darnachi and Tayol Fashayin ed., ( 1 987). Cn~femporar), ' Prohiems in Nigerian Ind~rstnhI R&~IDTIS, , Development Press, Lagos.

Polanyi, K., (Tt944), "The Double Protection Movement". Chansberlain N., a rd Cullen D.E., (19G5), The Labour Sector. McGraw Hill Inc., U.S.A.

R o s e , Michael, (1975), Industrial mBehav;our: Theorefical Devefopment Since Taylor, Hazel Wastson and V'!ney Ltci, Ayksbury, Great Britain.

Shofitz, J. N, and Whiteback P. H., ( ~ W S ) , eds., C/assics of O~garlization Theory, Moore Pub. Coy. Iliinois.

Stillman, R. J. (1 9RO), ~lrbhr: ~dn?inistraboir Concepts and Cases. Houghton i~il~ff~n, Boston.

I

I

Ubeku, A K., (1983), Ir~dtrsirjal ~elahbns in Devdopmg Carwrrics: The Case uf Nigeria, Mxmillan Press, Lorldon.

Warnrer, W. L. and Low J.O., ( 1 947). Thc Social Syslem af the Mobem Factory, New Haven.

Weber, M , "Bureaucracy" in $hnfitz J.N. and Whiteback P.H. (197R). eds., C1assics of Drganizahun ';?eory, Moora Pub. Coy. Illinois.

Weber, M., "Bureaucracy andl Rat~malrzatim", ~rs Haralambos M, (198U), Sociol~gy: Then~es a i l d F r ? ~ s p a ~ f ~ v e s . University Tutorial Press, Solug h .

i Whyte, W.F. (1 %I), Patterns of ndustrial Peace and "The Impact of the Union on the Management of Organlratron", in Arensberg, C. (1 957) ef a/. eds., Research in Humar1 liclations. McGraw-HI\/, New Y oik.

Yesufu, T.M., (1 981), The Dyr~anws of Incfiisfria! R&tions: The Nigerian Experience, Oxford Unlversity Press, lbadan .

JOURNALS AND OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

Association a f foud Beverage a d 7abacco E r n p h y w s (AFBTE) JOURNAL, Vol 4, No I , 1993/94. Eze N . (1 Q K ) , ''Management d~lemrna In DevlAopmg Countrks". Deve/opi? lent Oi~rkmk, M a y Lagos

Commons, J.R. (1909), " ~ ~ n e n c i n Shoemakers. 1684-1895. A Sketch of Industrial Evolution," Quafie!-ty Joornnl of Economics

Golden Guiwa Breweries Offrc~al f~ le No '1 01

Internatm-ml Labour Orqa,l1rabon,!(19FO), Col lec t~ve Bargaining. A Worker's Education Manual, Geneva. La Tnbune d e Geneva.

Spinrad, W., (1 984), "Work Democracy: An Overview", in lnternabonal :hcial Science Journal, Industrial Democr&y, UNESCO. VoI. Xxvj, No. 2.

, APPENDIX A

UNSTRUCTU~ED l N f ERVIEW SCHEDULE (FOR UNION OFFlClALS AND MANAGEMENT)

fa) Is the relationship'betwecn the union and management in Goiden

Guinea Brewpries cordral?

(b) Does managemen\ encourage dialogue or negotlatjons with the

unions?

Has management attitcrde towards 'collective bargaining been favourable?

Have there been cases of friction, strikes or rn~sunderskmdings between

management and the? unions in t h e past 70 yeirs, and how w w e they

seitkd? , 1

Is collsctive bargaming used ta settle drsagreernent between management

and t he unions, and what are the issues covered in such co!tective I

bargaining sessions7

(3) If you consider the combany a stable one, what do you attribule this

to? OR

(b) Is the practice cif collective bargatnjng related to the organizat~cm's

stabr\ity? I

Are workers satisfled with the c~llective bargaining machinery of t he f i rm?

00 you h ~ n k that the: interests and safety of the workers are ad~~quately

tackled through cdlective bargaining?

Are t h e workers allowed to participate in becisi~n-making on t h ~ influence

of their unionslco!lective bargaining?

Is collective bargaining used to tackle industrial conflicts in the company?

If callective bargaining is used to tdckle industrial conflict, how effective has

I

11. If colkctive bargain~nglis used tr, tackle industrial conflict, how art. such

conflicts resolved? ,

12 Do you think that thr: w&kers/unions are suppressed?

13. Is there any existing regular cotlective b~rgaining rmd-~anisrn in the firm? . 14. Do you think that the us@ of dialoguelneyotiation between management

and the unions has been declining over the years?

1 5 How were matters of waythc,, retrenchment, employment welfare ;~nd frmge I

benefits resolved?

1 G, DO think thatag,rlirnehts reached through negotiations between union

and rnanagernknt i:; ~~sual ly kept by the management?

I .

Mr. Christopher Ugwu , .- school of Pastgradw, te 5tudFes rlnFvarsity of Nigeria ' ,

. Nsukka. I I

in N i g c - l a , a case of G o l d m Guinea Breweries P l c , Umuahia h a s been a?l?epced.

,

' JE dte' by ,copy of th;:; ;-atter requesthg the ~szs t .mn~? i ManagPr, II' r P t l r s ~ l n n e l Of .'.ic~r, qecretary to t h e Managin? Direc tor , '~!r, . irrnan and Secretdry FUBTOB) , ard . ;'lhal,:rna.n ard Secre~ary (WiJFI3TEj to co-0: Israte with you by a!,.iwering y o u r quasl-Fans and p r a v i d i n g you with information t h a t are n o t classified.

YUU are: free to visit bur Campany any day 'frurr: M ~ n d a y , 30th Nnvember, to F r i d a y , 11th December, 1 9 9 8 to gathe-: your m f o r r n a t ~ o n . We w i l l a p p r e c i a t e it if a c q y of your research findings is made a v z i l a b l e ,to u s . .