CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The essence of trade unionism according to Webb and Webb (1920:67-72) has always been to maintain or improve the wage and other working conditions of their members. The need for a collective approach to human problems gave birth to trade unionism. It has grown with human organization; rarely can one see any contemporary establishment without organized bodies of workers. The reason is not far from the fact that it is easier for workers to secure the attention and sympathy of management while acting as a group than as individuals unionism is now common place in every establishment world-wide. The local government, which is the third tier of government in Nigeria, is not out in our formation of workers/unions. The Nigeria union of local government employee (NULGE), is a body that unify all the local government employees. It was in 1978, according to Agalamanyi (2004:4) that the present body Nigeria union of local government employee (NULGE) was formed. The union is affiliated to the Nigeria labour congress (NLC) through the efforts of local government workers. Its aim is to protect the workers from exploitation and most importantly, to defend the workers’ rights in such issues as
participation in decision making, creation of relationship between labour and management, adequate pay etc.
In fact, the formation of trade unions has been a universal reaction to the instability and degradation of wage employment between government and labour.
The union remains the typical and universal organization of the workers, the umbrella of protection, lobbying, influencing and advancing their welfare, rights or interest of the workers. However, due to the divergent interest between the workers and management, conflicts is a common features of government/labour relations in Nigeria.
According to Marx (1955), trade unionism is born out of the struggle between wage earners and employees referring to this struggle between wage earners and employees as classes, Marx (1955) has the view that technical progress (the rise of machines) has concentrated the social means of production under the ownership of capitalist who thus become absolute masters. The labourers of course remains a freeman, but having lost the means of production, which he had as a maters of labour during the handicraft age and industry, his freedom, is only an illusion and his bargaining power is no greater than if he were a slave. Therefore, labour union movement is a product of the historic struggle against age long exploitation of the working people by the properties class, the
reactionary bourgeoisie
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