Remuneration And Industrial Conflicts In The Anambra State Civil Service, Nigeria (1991-2011)

ABSTRACT

This research work is on “Remuneration and Industrial Conflicts in the Anambra State Civil Service, Nigeria (1991-2011)”. The study was motivated by the frequent complaints made by the civil servants over their remuneration and the insensitivity of the Anambra

State government in addressing the problem especially against the backdrop of severe economic hardship the country is experiencing. These complaints often snowball into industrial conflicts in the state. Arising from these complaints, the researcher among other issues investigated the relationship between the mode of determining remuneration and

industrial conflicts in the Anambra State Civil Service. Survey research design was adopted in carrying out the research. The data for the study were collected from primary and secondary sources. Five Ministries were chosen out of the existing seventeen Ministries in the state from where the sample size of 163 respondents was drawn. The data generated were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics used were mean and standard deviation for the research questions. The

hypotheses were tested using chi-square contingency test which is an inferential statistical tool. The findings show that industrial conflicts in the Anambra State Civil Service are consequences of the unilateral mode of determining the remuneration of the workers by the state government. The study further revealed that inadequate remuneration of workers

also account for the incessant strike actions embarked by the civil servants. It was further revealed that differential salary concessions to certain categories of civil servants in the state is a potential factor in fueling industrial disharmony in the Anambra State Civil

Service. Lastly, the study revealed that delays or outright reneging by the state government to implement negotiated remuneration agreements (and in the case of the present administration, refusal to even enter into any agreement on remuneration related issues) exacerbate industrial conflicts in the Anambra State Civil Service. The researcher therefore recommended a proactive approach to the problem which includes that the State government should embrace collective bargaining as a strategy for determining the wages of the civil servants. Secondly, that the Labour union, of necessity, should push for legislation making it binding for the government to honour negotiated agreement with labour.