UNION BUSTING IN COLONIAL NIGERIA’S PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT: A STUDY IN THE DYNAMICS OF LABOUR RELATIONS, 1938-1948

Abstract

Incessant industrial disputes, an outgrowth of the discord between labour and management, no doubt have had grave consequences for the Nigerian economy. The sour relationship between the two parties has assumed different dimensions over time. In 1938, the Colonial Government enacted the Trade Union Ordinance (TUO) which legalized the existence of labour unions. However, this did not bring about a fundamental change to government’s old anti-unionist stance. It brought only a new dimension to the scenario and thus heralded a change in the dynamics of labour relations in all government departments. This paper enquires into how this new dynamics played out in the Public Works Department (PWD). It finds that during the period under review, labour relations in the PWD was characterized by an increasing effort by the unions to grow their bargaining powers, and the management’s attempts to diplomatically weaken them as a way of balancing powers. A case of union busting in the PWD, which led to the breaking up of the Union in 1947 is presented to justify this claim. The paper contends that this labour relation pattern is counterproductive, and that the management and the unions must work together for better economic result. Primary and secondary sources of information are used for this study.