Let me start this lecture by sincerely thanking the PENGASSAN Branch of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Bonny; for the honour to present a paper before her esteemed delegates and the Management of NLNG. The choice of this topic cannot come at a more auspicious time than now, because of the current global economic meltdown against the backdrop of a collapsing capitalist regime, which hitherto has been said to hold the ace for the financial freedom of countries.

 

The second reason why the topic is apt is the effect of the meltdown on the world’s economy and the negative impact on oil and gas sector as crude oil price has been fluctuating between $50-$60/barrel. This also will affect your operations in NLNG. This is further compounded by pipelines’ vandalism and the inability of your gas suppliers to meet NLNG gas supply needs, which has reduced your optimum capacity by 55%. The overall impact of this is the declaration of force majeure twice by your organization.

 

In the first week of July 2008, Nigeria’s Bonny Light Crude sold for $146.15 but slipped to $76.24 and $57 per barrel at the middle of October and November 2008 respectively and Light Sweet Crude Oil to  $47.78 by 3^rd December 2008. This represents a dip of about 69.83%. Dwindling revenue will affect budgetary performance, allocations to sub sectors because of the country’s monoculture economy and possible delays in the discharge of government’s responsibilities in recurrent expenditure. This has led to high indebtedness to internal contractors. Pension payment might become a huge source of worry because of the dwindling finances to meet up with the financial obligations of recurrent expenditure.

 

The third reason for the appropriateness of the topic is that the multinational oil companies in Nigeria will sooner than later put in place, some restrictions which will affect recruitment, corporate social responsibilities (CSR), autonomy of companies as the home countries are likely to put in place stiffer oversight functions. This may also lead to the withdrawal or reduction of foreign aids, which may affect counterpart funding of projects. In worst case scenario, multinationals may withdraw huge sums from their portfolio in the country to support home offices and operations. If the meltdown runs further trends of financial uncertainty, there is the likelihood of divestments, more mergers and acquisitions etc.

 

The fourth reason why the choice of this topic is apt is that the proceeds from oil drive our economy and the slump from over $140 to below $50 per barrel might affect our country’s foreign reserve. On this, Aluko says “If one looks at its website www.cenbank.org  – Foreign Reserve Movement page – starting from January 2, 2008, one sees that our gross foreign reserves steadily increased from $51.2 billion to a high of $63.5 billion on September 10, 2008, before declining to a value of $61.99 billion on October 1, 2008 – the last recorded entry.  That is a decline of $1.5 billion within a two-week period.

 

The fifth reason why I commend you for the choice of the topic is that the meltdown occurred because of leadership problems in various institutions. Lack of directional and focused leadership led to the collapse of the world’s economy e.g. lending without borders and restrictions, corruption, extravagance of CEOs, break neck competition and apathy on the part of political leaders.

 

The sixth reason why the choice of topic is apt is that security of employment is gradually becoming a tall dream for workers. Ogbeifun in his web post said, “In September 2008, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) rose by 167,000 to 2.0 million, an increase of 728,000 over the past 12 months. In the US housing sector alone, the foreclosures in 2007 stood at about 850,000 and by the 3^rd quarter of 2008, financial institutions like Lehman Brothers, AIG; WaMU, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan-Chase, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and many others cracked under the meltdown”. If this can happen in the advanced nations, then ours will definitely be worse.

 

In Nigeria, it will surely affect direct inflow of investment and capital. Many Nigerians abroad that transfer money to their relations and fund various investments have lost their sources of earnings. Even before the meltdown, our own economy had melted decades ago and jobs have been lost at dizzying pace especially in 1999-2007. Except the government puts in place an effective inward looking mechanism  there is will be more Job cuts, layoffs, increased unemployment and strikes because of shrinking economic landscape.

 

The seventh reason why you must be commended for the choice of this topic is that, we are running a near 100% consumption economy structure, which behoves that we import virtually everything that supports our economic base from white petroleum products to spare parts to service the few industries that are still on stream. With the depreciation of the naira there has been between 10-50% increases in commodity prices with a corresponding diminishing purchasing power of salary earners.

 

The last reason why the choice of your topic is apt is that the multiplier effects of the depression will lead to restiveness of the Unions because of policy shifts and inflation. To cushion the effect of the rising commodity prices and inflation, the Unions will be tempted to demand for pay-raise amidst the organizations’ diminishing returns.

 

The beginning and definition of Trade Union

 

Prior to 1914, relationship between employers and workers was simple and personal in nature. It was the era of master-servant relationship in which the employer had absolute powers. He had Powers to hire and fire at will, unilaterally fix wages and determine the hours of work. The worker had no voice in matters that regulated his or her working life.

 

After the First World War, the relationship became more complex. Though the industrial revolution led to improvement in production, the income of workers remained low. Workers became more responsive in the demands for their rights, appropriate wage and improvement in their welfare, equity and justice.

 

They became rebellious and organized themselves into trade unions for the articulation of their views. This resulted in unrest and declining productivity. Government maintained a lassez-faire attitude to unionism until 1929 when the British government put in place the trade Ordinance Disputes’ Act.

 

For Nigeria, the journey towards trade unionism began in 1912 with the formation of the Nigerian Civil Service Union. Due to a combination of factors which include: rising cost living, poor remuneration by employers, influx of people into paid employment and the need to forge a formidable front through collective action.

 

In 1931, the Railway workers’ Union and the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) were formed. Between 1930 and 1976, the Unions grew in leaps and bounds. Government also promulgated several ordinances during this period to support social dialogue. 

 

However, in 1978, the Trade Union Amendment Act No. 22 restructured trade unions in the country reducing the unions from about one thousand to seventy. This gave birth to National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers of Nigeria (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

 

The early definition of trade union saw it as “a continuous association of wage earners, the primary purpose of which is the maintenance and improvement of the conditions of working life”. This is one of the many definitions proffered by distinguished writers. The main distinguishing feature in the many definitions is that membership of a trade union is exclusively for those in paid employment, that is, those who exchange their labour power for wages. The exclusive concern of a union should be with the improvement of its members’ and the maintenance of their working life (life of job).

 

However in Nigeria, a trade union is seen and defined as “any combination of workers or employers, whether temporary or permanent, the purpose of which is to regulate the terms and conditions of employment of workers” (Section 1 Trade Unions Act Laws of the Federation 1990). This definition tends to be more-embracing, as it is not limited to workers but also extends to the employer. It has as its focus the regulation of the terms and conditions of employment of workers and to the extent that these terms and conditions of employment affect what the employee gets in return. It can be argued that the interest of employees can be furthered through trade unionism.

 

Having the above definition in mind and the need to improve the welfare of union members; the recent reduction in the salaries of political office holders, which is like a pronouncement on wage freeze, becomes an issue of concern to any union leader. It will take the enthronement of effective leadership on the parts of trade Union leaders and the leaders of enterprises to stare the ship of various organizations far away from economic and industrial relations’ turbulent waters.

 

For us to meaningfully discuss the day’s topic, we shall try to examine the previous global economic depression, its effects and impacts on people especially the working class. At the end of the discourse, you should be able to fully appreciate what your roles should be in times of economic downturn.

Historical Perspective of Global economic depression

Several reasons have been given for the First World War. These include the scramble for Africa, which led to face off between the European nations as it led to series of wars. An example of this was the Germany- France fracas over Morocco in 1906 and 1911. Germany was said to have attacked France over Alsace and Loraine in 1870-1871. The Russia versus Turkey war over the BALKANS in 1878 and the break neck Naval competition in which Germany wanted to outdo the British Navy. The various leaders went into series of war of supremacy, which later culminated into the First World War in 1911. The world monarchies that reigned for several hundreds of years in Europe lost their overbearing influence on the world with the end of the war in 1918.

 

The preoccupation of the political heads at that time was to amass weaponry and not concerned with the delivery of the dividends of democracy to their citizens. After the war, Britain that was adjudged the most powerful country in the world at that time became heavily indebted (Michael Dinatale: 2005). This led to economic crisis and series of events, which include strikes and massive unrests across Europe, followed. America though temporarily shielded from the harsh effects of the depression, was confronted a decade later by the collapse of her stock market.

 

The agricultural sector that was the mainstay of the economy witnessed severe catastrophic decline for several reasons. After the war there was technological advancement that helped the farmers to improve their productivity. Unfortunately, most of the food produced outweighed the demand and this glut of agricultural produce led to decline in prices. In bid to maintain profitability at a stable level, more food was produced and the farmers produce, the more reduction in the prices of agricultural products. This led to the bankruptcy of most farmers who were not able to meet with the obligations of servicing their credit. Finally, the agricultural market was hit by severe depression.

 

This was further worsened by the declined importation of goods from Europe by America. Rather than political leaders at that time to intervene in the regulation of the market policies, they relied on the laissez-faire mantra of “let the market run according to the dictates of supply and demand”, which was unable to stem the tide of the deepening depression.

 

The Second World War (SWW) started because of the spill over of unresolved issues from the First World War (FWW).  For instance Germany thought the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh on her because of the loss of territories, massive reparations and restrictions to remilitarization. The League of Nations watched helplessly as the breaches of rearmament were carried out and the last straw was the invasion of Poland by Germany in September 1939. Again, the political leaders misled the entire world into a preventable war.

 

After the war, the world powers started decolonizing the Asian and African States they had held under their grips. Rather than allow the new independent States to act in self determination; they started the competitive economic race branded as neo-colonialism.

 

In the 70s, the nationalization of oil companies in the Arab, Asian and some African countries was a sore point in the relationships between the advanced nations and the nationalizing states. In the ensuing Arab-Israeli war in 1973, the Arab bloc used the OPEC instrument to put sanctions in place against perceived anti Arab interests that were labeled unfriendly states This led to a drastic increase in crude oil price from $ 2.83 to $10.41. These developments led the West to begin massive research into renewable energy source, the use of coal as a major source of energy, reduction on the dependence on oil from the Middle East, the opening up of the North Sea oil fields in the UK and Norway’s search for alternative source of energy.

 

There were incremental rises in the price of oil until the gulf War started in 1984 when continued until 1986 when the crude oil price crashed from $27.77 to $10.34. Some of these under currents premised on purely selfish agenda rather than genuine concerns for global economic and political interests of the West resulted in the Gulf wars of the 90s as the opinion of Sunday Times of 12 August 1990 suggests “The reason why we will shortly have to go to war with Iraq is not to free Kuwait, though that is to be desired, or to defend Saudi Arabia, though that is important. It is because President Saddam is a menace to vital Western interests in the Gulf, above all the free flow of oil at market prices, which is essential to the West’s prosperity”.  Again the insincerity of the political leaders led into the series of wars that was climaxed by the latest war in the Iraq.

 

The 2008 Economic Meltdown.

 

Though not used as a part of the reason for the depression, I believe the multiplicity of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and other heavy military presence overseas dealt heavy financial blows to the United States. This was further compounded by the collapse of the financial institutions.

 

Between the second and third quarters of 2008, financial experts and analysts in the advanced economies warned that the world economy was facing an imminent depression because of their worries over the stability of their banks and financial institutions. Governments allowed the markets to run wild without adequate regulations because in a capitalist system, the market forces should regulate the market.

In Nigeria, our manufacturing companies had collapsed more than a decade ago. Unemployment has been a recurring decimal in our labour manuals for so long. Staff rationalization, chronic unemployment, insecurity have been with us for God knows when. Though our economic planners told us in September last year that Nigeria will be insulated from the meltdown, job losses have been on the increase. Compounded by poor power supply and militancy in the Niger Delta; Dunlop, Cadbury and the textile sectors have sacked more than 6,000 workers, with a lot of others on reduced salaries and emoluments. In the oil and gas sector, declaration of redundancies is a daily occurrence. As we speak, most of the companies have relocated to neighboring West African countries and several investors closing shops.

 

Since the beginning of the 90s in Nigeria, we have had a restrictive labour market, declining productivity, declining economic growth, collapse of the manufacturing sector, increased unemployment of youths, increased prices of commodities, housing, services, vandalism of petroleum pipelines and oil and gas installations, decreasing production levels of crude and decreasing commodity exports.

Why the Market failed

v      Negative impacts of borderless markets (globalization).

v      Criminal borrowing.

v      Incompetent practices.

v      Weak regulations.

v      Lack of transparency.

v      Corruption.

v      Unrestricted mortgage activities and lending to those with bad credit history.

v      Decreased consumer spending as a result of massive job losses.

v      Questionable break neck competition and expansion craze. 

v      Lack of proactive strategy by the executive, legislature and the financial experts to deal with the symptoms at an earlier stage.

v      Absolute freedom of the market economy.

Negative Impact (s)

v      Closure of enterprises because of lack of access to borrowing from banks and high interest rates.

v      Massive job losses and accentuated unemployment (In the aftermath of the South Asian crises in the 90s, job losses rose from 5,015 in 1996 to 38,217 in 1997).

v      Erosion of the middle class.

v      Decreased consumer spending.

v      Decreased capacity utilization.

v      Increased cost of available goods.

v      Hyperinflation.

v      Recession.

v      Increased restiveness of the labour unions.

v      Industrial actions.

Howbeit and irrespective of the state of this seeming harsh economic environment, Unions making demands that Management sees as unreasonable in times like this, there is the need to have synergy of thoughts and ideas rather than take extreme positions capable of widening the gap between the parties. The Unions should not brood over the present global financial crisis. Union leaders have a huge challenge and an opportunity to reinvent labour-management relations; engender increased developmental processes to improve human behaviours, attitudes of their members that will bring about improved productivity that will at the end foster greater understanding between Management and the Unions. At this time, what should be of utmost importance to the Unions is how to keep their members productively engaged.

The recklessness of some of our political leaders, corruption, looting of the treasury and embarking on white elephant projects is the albatross of the Nigerian Nation. We virtually have nothing to show for the windfall from the oil revenue from 1999. When other nations are investing massively for periods like this outside the shores of our country we have our leaders amassing billions of dollars and pounds outside Nigeria as typified by the number of governors and public officers already convicted by EFCC. There has been so much societal dysfunction because of leadership crisis in Nigeria’s political system. From all the dysfunctional economic states highlighted from the nineteenth centuries until now, leadership to me is at the apex of the causes. Therefore, there is the need for us to systematically address the missing links in the leadership strata at all levels so that gradually, Nigeria and indeed the workplaces can become the successes we so much desire to make of them.

Concept of leadership

Leadership as a concept has been known to mankind from the inception of man but only recently did organizational theorists start to examine the qualities in relationship to management. People all through history do believe that there is a linkage between those who lead and accomplishments. This might have been why some people believe in bold, courageous and charismatic leaders and abhors leaders that are selfish and docile.

 

The evolution leadership theory began with Fredrick Winslow Taylor. The Scientific Management in early 1900s sought to improve workers productivity through the studies of time and motion rather than the rule-of-thumb as in traditional methods. The leader under the Scientific Management or Classical theory was to put in place and sustain performance criteria in order to actualize organizational goals. The focus here was on productivity of the enterprise rather than the welfare of the individual. Irrespective of this, (Brittel et al in Fredrick W. Taylor) opined that “the success of the enterprise should be premised on mutuality of interests, training and development of workers; enthusiastic cooperation with workers to ensure that all work performed is done in accordance with scientific principles and believing that the interests of workers and management could be made to coincide”

 

In the 19^th century, urbanization made so many rural dwellers migrate to cities where they were exploited by employers who believed in absolutism in their right to hire and fire; and the maximization of profit. At the beginning of the 20^th century (Luwoye: 2005) said “We began the twentieth century focused almost exclusively on a leader-dominant theory of leadership that assumed a low opinion of the followers’ maturity, maturity and abilities”. The 20^th century started on leader-dominant theory of leadership with little sympathy for the reward of followers and had little or no respect for their capabilities.

 

In the 1920s, the likes of Elton Mayo began the human relations’ theory. This theory focused on employee needs and motivation to increase output. The leader under this concept was to maximize organizational alignment through cooperation and providing opportunities for the personal growth and development of the followers. This theory went on to focus on the needs of the follower rather than the organization.

 

There are other theories including the great man theories which arose from the belief that leaders are born with the special and inherent qualities and therefore destined to lead, the traits’ theories that has the belief that the traits and qualities of an effective leader are abound and only needed to be identified and recruited for the leadership positions in organizations.

After the Second World War, leadership theories began to focus on finding the equilibrium between the demands for output and the welfare of the employees and behaviours. Douglas Mac Gregor propounded the Theories X and Y, which provided the framework to analyze the attitude of leaders towards their followers. Theory X and Y though not strictly a theory of leadership, but the leadership strategy of effectively-used participative management as proposed in his book, “The Human Side of Enterprise” had a phenomenal impact on managers.

Theory X says that man has inherent dislike for work and will avoid it if possible. Therefore, he must be controlled, directed, coerced and if possible threatened for an alignment with organizational objectives. This postulation is autocracy directed.

 

Theory Y says that under proper conditions, the average being sees work as natural as play or rest and will seek responsibility, exercise self control and self direction to achieve objectives to which they are committed. This theory stresses participative management style.

Relating all of the above to the management of Unions, Union Leadership becomes a social contract between the followers and the leaders. The myth is in the power of the followers to willingly submit to the authourity of those chosen to lead them.  There are defined roles ascribed to positions of authourity that have been built on trust between the Union leaders and their members. These roles are defined by the constitution, guidelines, and handbooks of the Union etc.

 

For instance, the constitution states in clear terms the vision and mission statements of the union, the governance structure, the duties and responsibilities of each officer of the union, the mode of finance and the disciplinary procedures. It is in the interest of the Union that the leaders should try at all times to lead their members according to the dictates of the constitution. At difficult times, leaders must learn to put the followers first because without the followers the leaders will cease to exist in that capacity.

 

Leadership is a process of giving purpose (meaningful direction) to collective effort, and causing willing effort to be expended to achieve purpose, (Jacobs & Jacques, 1990). An effective leader should give purposeful and meaningful direction to his/her followers. This is more relevant in times like this. The leader should not play to the gallery by telling members what they want to hear, but should be bold to tell them the truth and the reality on ground that will enable them make concise decisions and willingly take appropriate actions about the challenges they encounter in the workplace. It is in your position to direct the workers to where they ought to and should be and not where the workers want to of necessity be. 

 

Leadership is the ability to step outside the culture, (E.H. Schein, 1992).  Here, union leaders should have the capacity and attributes to carry their members along in order to achieve organizational goals. They should be in a position to support the changes that will effectively lead the organization to a more profitable future because it is in the existence of an organization that workers draw their own lifelines in form of wages and other emoluments. The Union leader must have the courage to step outside the culture of “so it has been from the advent of unionism”. You should innovatively seek ways of moving both management and the unions to the level that both will have mutual trust, confidence and reliability in each other.    

Expected leadership behaviours and attributes

Sacrifice:

 The Union leader should at all times endeavour to feel that they are in the union to serve and sacrifice for the growth of the organization and promote the welfare of their members and not to be served. This is the basement of the servant-leader concept. In doing this, especially in Nigeria where most of the practitioners are not career unionists; they face the herculean task of combining their primary roles (employment) with their secondary roles (union).

Focus:

Members vote for particular candidates because of electioneering promises and the character of the individuals. The leader should therefore, never lose focus about the destination that was conceived from the beginning.

Know thyself:

A union leader should start by knowing all about himself in terms of strengths and weaknesses. The leader must articulate and convince others on why he/she is the right person to lead them at this time of depression. The ideal leader tries to work to improve on the weak areas that will enable him forge a harmonious working relationship with the people around him.

Courage:

Courage is at times misplaced by union leaders who believe that courage is synonymous with militant unionism. The Union leader must have the courage to tell management and the union members what the reality and truth are at all times. The leader must also have the courage to stay up to his weaknesses, work through them into strength that will uplift the organization and the interest of the followers.

Empathy: T

he Union leader should cultivate effective listening skill that will enable him or she put the efforts of people to use under any circumstance. It is through this that they can fully appreciate the positions of their followers and Management.

Integrity:

The union leader should learn to “walk the talk” through the use of accountability and transparency as effective tools of governance that will make the followers follow their leaders willingly.

Hope carrier:

In times like this, Union leaders should be carriers of hope. Let them know that though tough times are here, it’s for a season and would soon pass away. Urge them to be strong and see opportunities in the phase.

Stress pacifier:

A union leader in times of recession is a sponge that soaks stress from the members of the union. He is a stress pacifier and remover of spots of doubts and impossibility from the dictum of staff. The leader should be a source of life and strength to the wary workers that are scared of the recession and possible retirement.

Visionary:

Use today’s events to determine the outcome of tomorrow’s events. The effective leader translates the big picture into actionable elements. Alert to social environment and plans how to strengthen the Union for effective unionism in the future. For example, it is a fact that the membership of NUPENG is shrinking in several organizations. Time has come to think of how to get membership or get involved in massive investments in oil and gas business in other to get funds to prosecute union objectives and stay afloat in times of adversities.

Demonstrates Interpersonal Effectiveness:

The Union leader should demonstrate effective interpersonal relationship when dealing with other people. Such interactions should focus on assigned tasks and the achievement of group goals.

Displays Leadership Values:

The leader should try to live the values that are consistent with the purpose for his/her aspiration to lead. This should be laced with self discipline with which others can measure the character. Develop core values, competencies, best practices and be gender sensitive.

Efficiency and Effectiveness on the Job:

As non-career unionists, you should be on top of your profession and encourage your members on the need for improved job performance and productivity.  

Loyalty to the Organization:

Irrespective of the Union leader’s differing views on management policies, the loyalty and commitment to the organization must be unwavering

 

 

Communicate Effectively:

a)     Writing:

The Union leader should be very good at putting the views of the Unions on paper in an accurate, precise and unambiguous manner.

b)     Reading:

Should be research oriented in order to remain abreast with information and have accurate facts to face management. Having the heart to lead is one thing, having the intellect to disarm management that has hired the best of brains in the management of human resource is another ball game.

c)      Two-way communication:

The Union leader should be very effective in communication with his constituents through meetings. Congress meetings should be held as prescribed by the Union’s bye laws. Management should not be presented as uncaring, callous and wicked during such briefs. There should be no grand standing and playing to the gallery. Tell them what is real, true and not what the members want to hear.

 

Feedback:

Share information and social partnership. the information from the shop floor members should be objectively presented to Management without coloration and feedback to the constituents should be accurate and without distortions.

In dealing with Management, the Union leader should refrain from seeing management as “they” and the unions as “we”. Both those in the management cadre and the other unionized staff are employees of the same organization that must work together for the good of the enterprise.

Duties of Union leaders

v     Sustenance of jobs/management of redundancies.

v     Protect the interests of members.

v     Bargain for improved welfare/wage packages of members.

v     Train and retrain members.

v     Facilitate flow of information management to members and vice-versa

v     Hold executive and congress meetings as at when due to avoid rumour mongering

v     Support the organization to plan survival strategies

In the pursuit of the above duties your role is to provide responsible leadership, be an outstanding performer on the job, supportive by showing concerns to the matters affecting both the union membership and the organization, displays confidence in his dealings with both internal and external customers, consults widely before decisions are made, displays loyalty to the organization and the union without subordinating the interest of one for the other, decisive, motivates others to believe in themselves and the survival of the enterprise.

 

It is your duty to develop and maintain a responsible union that management can trust and take serious, informed membership, maintain as much as possible symbiotic relationship with your employer, put in place a code of conduct, disciplined members. As a leader, you should ensure that your members must be seen to do what is right at all times. You must not condone insubordination and any wrong doing from your members. You should endeavour to set standards, insist on punctuality and best practices. It is also your role to keep faith with agreements reached with your management.

 

One of the critical functions of a union is to improve on the welfare of its members. This it does through Collective Bargaining through scheduled negotiation cycles.

 

Collective Bargaining

ILO Convention No 154 defines collective bargaining as all negotiations which take place between an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organizations on the one hand, and one or more workers’ organizations on the other for:-

1)     determining working conditions and terms of employment; and or

2)     regulating relations between employers or their organizations and a workers’ organization

 

Article 8 of the Convention states “the measures taken with a view to promoting collective bargaining shall not be so conceived or applied as to hamper the freedom of collective bargaining. This is based on the rule of social dialogue by social partners. It is your role as union leaders to bargain in good faith and adopt the principled bargaining methods.

 

The Union leader is a problem solver; not just for the union but for the organization. For there to be a win-win during bargaining, the leader should negotiate in good faith. The ingredients of good faith bargaining includes:

v     entering the negotiation with open mind

v     not making excessive demands above what management can afford especially in times like this;

v     learning to be hard on the problem and soft on the people;

v     Focusing on interests;

v     Imbibing change when such changes are imminent and for the good of the organization;

v     Separating people from issues;

v     Displaying friendliness;

v     Being patient;

v     Tolerance;

v     Having multiple options that could be explored by both parties;

v     Using objective criteria and shifting of positions with objective and superior arguments.

v     Doing reality testing in almost all issues;

v     Learning to give;

v     Not being afraid to disclose your bottom line;

v     Like the right of way, learn to yield to pressure if convinced without reasonable doubts that management has reached its zenith on mandate.

v     Having a  best alternative to negotiated agreement (BATNA); and

v     Ensure that an agreement is signed at the end of the negotiation and avoid deadlocks.

Negotiation

                                      SWOT ANALYSIS

                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                               CBA PROCESS CHART

 

                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deadlock and arbitration in the negotiation process should be avoided. Because they often lead to a win-lose situation. Deadlock could occur because of inexperience of negotiators, ego trip, power imbalance, bad faith bargaining, unwilling to negotiate with open mind, hostile environments, poor communication skills, use of threat, distrust, intolerance, coercion, hidden bottom line, one-sided offers and rigidity.

Rather than seek the strike option if there both parties are unable to reach an agreement; a small committee should be put in place from both sides to deliberate on areas of differences and report back to the plenary.

Union leaders should at no time have prejudices against management nor constitute themselves as a parallel management.

Roles of management

Ogbeifun (2008) said “workers see the future security and welfare over above doing their jobs as prescribed by the organization’s procedural handbooks. Therefore, managers of human resources (HR) should have it at the back of their minds that they are dealing with employees that are confronted with high emotions, low morale, curiosity, anxiety, uncertainty, thoughts of negativity, possible loss of life savings, losing their houses, apprehension and near state of hopelessness because of the fear of trial democracy and the unknown over the sustainability of their gratuities and pension

 

It behoves on HR practitioners to start a realignment of thoughts, synergy and step up programmes that will give hope to workers. Only an inward looking HR management, which is strategically positioned, efficient and effective that will successfully swim through this ocean of uncertainties into a period of boom, which usually comes after a period of downturn.

 

Management strategic communication must be such that ensures the workers are interested, ready to listen and portrays that management has the interest of the workers at heart by letting them know what is in it for them, stresses dignity of labour, wet and fill their appetite to energize them for maximization of organizational alignment.

 

Management must encourage the development and maintenance of industrial democracy, should not interfere in the internal affairs of the unions either overtly or covertly; especially during elections. It should not engage in divide-and-rule by either engaging workers using the Yellow-Dog contract or the formation of a parallel union.  For the senior staff, the only recognized and legal mouth piece of the senior workers is the PENGASSAN and NUPENG for the junior workers.

 

Management should Ensure that the grievance procedure is maintained, the provision of a safe working environment and even without asking, in times of boom management reward staff through incremental improvement on welfare packages so that in times of decline, management will be bold to also ask for the understanding of the union. These rewards should provide decent work and encourage the use of CB. Some Management believe that the training of union officials is outside the mandate of the organization. This is a grievous mistake because most of those canvassing for leadership roles in the unions are sometimes neophytes and are not career unionists. The management should endeavour to assist in this area because an enlightened union leader is an asset to his organization.

Modern Management should desist from having the mindset of the traditional management belief that union officials are rabble rousers and confrontational. A new friendly approach is necessary for the sustenance of industrial peace and harmony.

 

Implementation of Agreement:

 

Once an agreement has been reached and signed with the Unions, management should faithfully implement the agreement.

Management Prerogatives:

Emphasis on this is gradually waning and no management should hold on to this when there is need for a win-win solution.

Transparency:

Often times, it is in periods of negotiation that the Unions are told that the company is not doing well. This should not be. Management should engage the unions regularly on the state of the enterprise for them to appreciate management’s position.

Dignity of Labour:

Management should be magnanimous enough to dignify labour with appropriate wage for its efforts. It is only when employers pay wages commensurate to the investment of labour efforts in the production chain that one can talk of dignity of labour.

Conclusion

Leading any union through adversity could be challenging but respect is almost always gained on difficult grounds. The measure of a man is the way he bears up under misfortune and no one sees your courage in the sunshine. It takes challenges and darkness to prove bravery. When others see your character and persistence during the rough stretches in the chain of leadership, they walk away with an enhanced opinion of you.

The mental strength acquired in dealing with challenges we are faced with today, is an invaluable asset in pushing forward into a better tomorrow. It is assured that a brighter tomorrow awaits the followers of an astute leader on the other side at dawn.

Leaders acutely feel the pains and pressure of economic crunch that creates adversity, but it is at such moment that one identifies a true and dependable leader. While no one hopes for adversity, it can actually serve to benefit a leader.

By bearing in mind the potential upside of leading through difficulty, it can be easier to deal with the present circumstance either as management or as union leaders.

Obviously today, there is a dramatic shift in leadership and management roles with the belief that employees are the greatest resource of any forward looking organization. Employees want leaders that a willing to intentionally spend time with them and aid their development and progression. Therefore, coaching and mentoring are even more apt at this period.

An employee enjoying growth opportunities will be more likely to offer loyalty and commitment to the organization. Today’s leaders are not expected to be frozen when obstacles disrupt the perfect plan, but they should be willing to step into the unknown by “calculated risk syndrome and find now and better ways to operate.

To both management and the union, I want to:

v   Stir-up inspirational dissatisfaction in you;

v   Make you develop a daily dose of paranoia- a pebble in your shoes;

v   Continue to set goals that stretch your team; and

v   More from motivation to inspiration

It is a tradition that triennially, you gather during your Delegates’ Conference to elect your new officers that will run the affairs of the Association for the next three years. While this may be the real focus for the Delegates, I urge you to also use the period as a moment of sober reflection and introspection on all facets of your governance in the last three years. Use the lessons learned as a platform to strengthen the cause of the Association and the continued survival of NLNG.

Hunger and poverty knows no race, tribe or sex. Therefore, those to be elected by you must be elected based on their track records of accountability, trust, honesty, loyalty to the Association and the organization, integrity and not on professional, tribal or sectional interests. I wish you a very successful Delegates’ Conference.

The Once again; I thank the organizers for this opportunity.

Great PENGASSAN!

Great NLNG!

Great Management!

Great Nigeria!

References

 

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Bittel, L.R; Ramsey, J.E; (1995); Encyclopedia of Professional Management, vol.2;

Grolier International, Danbury, Connecticut,

Center for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR): (2004); Handbook of Mediation, U.K.

Convey, S. R (2004): The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, New York, Free Press

Dana, D (2005): Managing Differences, Prairie Village – Kansas, MTI Publications.

DiNatale, D; (2005) The Second World War: An Examination of Failed Peace, www.Associated Content

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http://www.secondworldwar.co.uk/germans.html

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http://www.accel-team.com/human_relations/hrels_03_mcgregor.html

http://www..economicconfidential.com 

Luwoye, S. O. (2005): The dynamics of leadership: Styles and Traits of a successful Leader, Owerri.

McGregor, D. (1960) The Human Side of Enterprise. New York: McGraw Hill.

Ogbeifun, L.B: (2004), “Labour-Management Relations in the Oil and Gas Industry”; Port-Harcourt, Nigeria

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Nigeria: A Practitioner’s Perspective, Lagos, Concept Publications.

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Nigeria’s Trade Union Act 1978

 

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