Industrial actions and effective administration of Nigerian healthcare systems

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Strike action is a common mechanism through which workers express their dissatisfaction with their working conditions in order to achieve a desired result. The problem ofcontention between government, labour unions, management, inter-professional conflicts and employees and employers has become a recurrent decimal in the Nigerian healthcare industry. This has greatlyaffected the morale of the workforce and the work process with the corresponding consequences is oftenon the patients. This study therefore sought to identify the causes of industrial actions in Nigerianhospitals, ascertain the effects of industrial actions on effective administration on Nigerian hospitals, andexamine its consequences on healthcare services in Nigeria. Design/Methods: This study employeddescriptive survey, which provide a picture of a situation as it naturally happens. Results: The studyreveals that if there is no conducive working environment and up-to-date working equipment in thehealth facilities, the workers will lose interest in the job, thereby resulting to low productivity or poorservice delivery. It was also discovered that some of the industrial unrest in the health sector was as aresult of battle for supremacy among healthcare professionals. Conclusion: Patients are at high risk ofavoidable deaths and the huge financial burden they face in sourcing for medical care at the private hospitals during industrial actions. Administration of the hospitals becomes ineffective and often leads tothe collapse of administration functions in Nigeria hospitals. Government and/or hospital management needs to keep to their words by implementing agreement entered with health workers, industrial actionsin the health sector will be reduced to the barest minimum.Keywords: Effective administration; Industrial action; Industrial harmony; Nigeria hospitals; Strike action