ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFICACY OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AS A PATHWAY TO CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIAâ€™S PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS

Code No: 635500

₦5,000.00

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the efficacy of collective bargaining as a pathway to conflict management in Nigeriasâ€™ public sector organizations. A sample of 1425 respondents drawn through stratified random sampling technique from six (6) purposively selected public establishments with chequered history of conflict in work-relations in the federal capital city, Abuja, participated in the study. Data were obtained through the use of questionnaire which has a modified 5-point rating scale with a reliability coefficient of 0.796. Descriptive statistics of percentage count, mean and standard deviation were used for the analysis of data collected. The two hypotheses which guided the study were tested using t-test statistical method and Spearman correlation analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The result established a significant difference in the perception of labour and management on collective bargaining as an accommodative device for conflict management in public sector establishments. The study also found a non-significant statistical determinate effect between collective bargaining and conflict management. Specifically, the finding prefigured collective bargaining to be ineffective, indicating the creeping web of governmentsâ€™ intrigues as one of the main constraints inhibiting the effectiveness of the mechanism. The manifest outcome has been the incessant intense cycle of industrial actions in the Nigerian public sector organizations. The study concluded that collective bargaining is an institutional invention for reconciling conflicting goals of labour and management, but the machinery has not played any central and effectual role in the industrial relations practice of the public sector establishment in Nigeria.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Contemporary work organizations, whether in the public or private sector of any nationâ€™s economy are predominantly made up of plurality of interest groups with diverse goals and aspirations. These different goals and interests are in perpetual conflict with each other (Ekwoba, Ideh and Ojikutu, 2015). As such, the possibility of elimination of conflict in work â€“ relations seems remote but the spectre can be recognized and managed for the overriding benefits of all stakeholders in organizations. For this reason, collective bargaining has emerged overtime as an accommodative device for regulating and dealing with relational problems between labour and management in the work â€“ situation. The mechanism has served as an effective conflict deterrent, resulting in avoidance of bitter industrial actions and ensuring the promotion of lasting industrial peace and harmony in work-establishments.
According to Bendix (2011), collective bargaining is a rational process in which appeals to fact and logic reconcile conflicting interests in the light of common interest of both parties. Within this context, the approach is seen as an essential tool of institutionalizing and containing
conflicts in the workplace. In dynamic establishments, where collective bargaining is done effectively and in good faith, the outcome is often an amicable resolution of joint problems resulting into collective agreement by labour and management. This implies that effective collective bargaining establishes the set rules between parties during the life â€“ time of a collective agreement and also gives the method of settling grievances that will occur from to time to time (Appah and Emeh, 2012).