Effects of strike action on organizational performance: (ASUU; Nnamdi Azikiwe university Awka chapter)

This research examined the effects of Strike action on organizational performance: A study of ASUU; Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka chapter. Strike action is the withdrawal or withholding of services by the employees from the employer for the purpose of getting greater conditions in their employment condition than the employer is willing to give whereas performance is measured by the nature of output generated. A sample of 394 staff and students was selected from the population using random sampling. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources presented in tables and analyzed using percentages and frequencies. Hypotheses were formulated and tested using Chi square method. It was discovered among other things that, strike action affects employee’s performance in Nnaamdi Azikiwe University depending on the outcome of the strike action. It was also observed that there is need for smooth relationship between the government and the  union with regards to the unions plight as both parties still want the same thing which is a strong economy with capable persons as graduates and there is therefore need for implementation of agreement reached between the two parties.Following the above findings, the researcher has recommended that government be responsible to their actions, the need to inculcate increased private participation in the educational sector and establishment of politically neutral bodies to ensure proper implementation of agreements. The union should therefore always strive towards the improvement of the sector in such a way that the benefit will outweigh its negative consequence even on the long run.

Effects of strike action on organizational performance: (ASUU; Nnamdi Azikiwe university Awka chapter)

CHAPTER ONE

• Introduction
• Background of Study

Strike action is said to be a form and manifestation of industrial conflict which is defined as any dispute or incompatibility of interest between employers and employees connected with employment or unemployment. According to Anugwom (2007), Industrial conflict usually starts in form of grievances in which case an employee’s right is considered to have been mishandled. Most people tend to see the concept strike and industrial conflict as the same thing but the two concepts do not convey the same meaning because strike is only part of industrial conflict i.e strike is a form of industrial conflict. Strike action most times is used in putting pressure on management, employers or government to look into redressing the subordinates need.

The first use of the word strike appeared in 1768 when sailors in support of a demonstrations in London ‘struck’ or removed the top gallant sails of merchant ships at port thus, crippling the ships. The first historically certain account of strike was towards the end of the 20^th dynasty under pharaoh Ramses 111 in ancient Egypt on 14^th November 1152 bc. The artisans of the royal necropolis at dier el medina walked off their jobs because they had not been paid. The word strike action only became a feature of the political landscape with the onset of the industrial revolution. For the first time in history, large numbers of people were members of the industrial working class; they lived in cities and exchanged their labour for payment.

In 1842, the demands for fairer wages and conditions across many different industries finally exploded into the first modern general strike in London. The history of strike action in Nigeria can be traced down to the colonial era by the railway workers corporation which was led by pa michealimodu against the excesses of the colonial masters. From then till this 21^st century, there have been many other incessant strike actions by different unions like the NLC, NMA, JUHESO, PENGASSAN , ASUU and the latest strikers beign the state governmentworkers especially from Rivers and Osun states respectively.This research is however interested in the activities of ASUU as a union.

ASUU(Academic Staff Union of University Workers) was formed in 1978 as a successor to the Nigerian association of university teachers formed in 1965 and it covers all academic staff in federal  and state universities in the country. This union emerged from the beginning as a fighting organization, from the military regime, they have embarked on national strikes to obtain fair wages and university autonomy which led to its beign proscribed and its property seized. It was allowed to function in 1990 but after another strike, was banned on 23^rd August 1992. However, an agreement was reached on the 3^rd of September 1992 that met several of the union’s demands including the right of workers to collective bargaining. After the return to democracy in 1999, it continued in demanding rights of university workers against opposition by the then president OlusegunObasanjo.

In 2007, ASUU went on strike for three months, in May 2008, it held a two one week warning strikes to press demands including salary improvement and reinstatement of some dismissed lecturers. In June 2009, they went on an indefinite strike over disagreements with the federal government on an agreement reached with the union two and a half years earlier. After three months, they signed a memorandum of understanding with the government and called off the strike. However, on 1^st July 2013, ASUU embarked on another strike which lasted for 5 months and 15 days as a result of non implementation of agreements made previously on issues which includes; proper funding of the universities, the revitalization of Nigerian universities as well as certain earned allowance which was claimed to be in arrears of 92 billion naira. It was however called off after another agreement was reached.(wikipedia).The NAU chapter of ASUU was said to be moribund for about a decade owing to the problem of financial accountability between the chapter and the national body of ASUU. This led to the suspension of the chapter from the activities of the national union and its consequent dismissal. The chapter however joined the union in 2013 in order to join in the struggle for the greater good of the educational sector in the country under the new leadership of professor ike odimegwu .The chapter was actively involved in the 2013 ASUU strike despite the division present in the university i.e. the ASUU and the ASUU progressive and amidst the problems between the management and the ASUU chapter. These incessant strikes have been as a result of non implementation of agreements between the government and the union and it has led to many consequences in line with meeting their established demands. Some of the implications according to kazeem(2009) includes the brain drain from the country and fall in the educational standard of the country leading to backwardness in the educational  sector, loss of school calendar days, graduation of half baked graduates as a result of rush to meet up with the calendar days therefore releasing book graduates incapable with competing in the real world as well as increase in social vices by these idle students. Invariably, it appears that the loss overweighs the gains of the struggle. According to Adesulu(2012), there is no university system in the world with no strike action history. However, our in Nigeria is extreme with strikes lingering for months. It is therefore in this context that this research aims at looking into the effects of these strike actions on performance of the organization i.e lecturers, students and system at large of NnamdiAzikiwe University.

• Statement of Problem

Industrial conflict is one that has eaten deep into the Nigerian working system and the use of indefinite strike especially in the educational system as a means of expressing their grievances has worsened the case. Most employees especially those who work in the public sector are represented by unions who act as umbrella and a link between the employees and their employers and this means that they determine or tend to influence the working condition of employees. Sometimes, disagreements or differences usually break out in the cause of the negotiation in a bid to reach an agreement and implementation of agreements previously made between the employers and the union and this result to conflict which is then expressed in form of strikes and lockouts. Blyton(2008) conducted a study that revealed that employees do not put up their best performance at workplace when they are unhappy with management, government or even fellow colleagues. This bad employer-employee relationship therefore leads to the incidence of strikes and lockouts.

ASUU as a union has given in to the use of indefinite strike in the expression of their grievance. The problems inherent are in relation to certain conditions mostly relating to infrastructures and funding that need immediate attention as it is considered a lifeline to the sustainability of the academic condition of our country which is consequent upon our survival as a whole and our ability to compete with other nations in terms of knowledge and practicability as the world today is evolving to one where a nation is considered strong not by the nature of its armory but the nature of knowledge that could safeguard its sovereignty but the union argue that the government has failed to heed to its recommendations and consequently demand to improve the level of performance in the sector by putting in place these required funding and infrastructures to attain the anticipated condition.

Another problem is the negative consequent effect of the strike embarked by the employees to get their demands on the organizations performance and the society as a whole: the students as individuals, the parents as the saying goes, when two elephants are fighting, it is the grass that suffers. This further even includes the welfare and life of union leaders.

Further problems are in relation to the recalcitrant attitude of the government in putting in place and ensuring that agreements made previously with the union are been implemented to avoid the occurrence of another strike raising questions if the requisite bodies have been put in place to ensure that both parties honour their parts.

Effects of strike action on organizational performance: (ASUU; Nnamdi Azikiwe university Awka chapter)

• Research Questions

1. What effect does strike action have on organizational performance?
2. Are there checks to ensure proper implementation of agreements made between the government and ASUU?
3. Are there infrastructures and funding present to prevent reoccurring strike actions?
4. What is the way forward in our country’s present predicament?
   • Objectives of Study

The general objective of the research is to examine the effects of strike action on the organizational performance. The specific objectives include:

1. To examine if there are checks to ensure proper implementation of agreements made between the government and ASUU
2. To examine if funding and infrastructures are present to prevent reoccurring strike actions.
3. To suggest ways towards quelling the country’s present precarious position.

Effects of strike action on organizational performance: (ASUU; Nnamdi Azikiwe university Awka chapter)

• Research Hypotheses

Hypothesis One

H1. There is no significant relationship between strike action and organizational performance

H2. There is no significant relationship between strike action and organizational performance

Hypothesis Two

H1. There are checks in place to ensure agreements between the government and ASUU are implemented

H2. There are no checks in place to ensure agreements between the government and ASUU are implemented

Hypothesis Three

H1. There is need to provide adequate infrastructure and funding to avoid reoccurring strike

H2. There is no need to provide adequate infrastructure and funding to avoid reoccurring strike

Effects of strike action on organizational performance: (ASUU; Nnamdi Azikiwe university Awka chapter)

• Significance of Study

This study has attempted at providing its views and suggestions on better measures for ensuring implementation of agreements made between the two parties involved i.e government and the union, to serve as a reference to students, for futher study on works related to the research purpose, to also suggest to policy makers, employers and managers on how to draw policies that would improve conditions of work of employees, to increase readers knowledge on the components of strike action and suggest better work relation in industrial relation.

• Scope/Delimitation of Study

This research made use of the population of the Academic Staff Union of Universities with samples from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Chapter. The sample also includes students as well as non-academic staff of the university. The study covers the period within 2009-2013.

• Limitation of Study

This research faced certain limitations in the course of carrying out the research. Some of the limitations include; lack of time on the part of the respondents in answering questionnaires and questions during interview sessions, fear of being identified as respondents to certain questions in the questionnaires issued out to them and personal bias as regards their stance in the use of effects of strike action to improve performance.

In view of the aforementioned limitations, the researcher made attempts to overcome some of the hinderances by issuing out questionnaires on time thereby allowing the respondents to have enough period of time to fill them out before collection, calling some of the respondents through the telephone to ascertain their free periods for the interview sessions, promising anonymity to the respondents with regards to their response to questions issued out in the questionnaire and because of the dynamic nature of man, tried as much as possible to reduce stereotype and personal bias from respondents through the use of group interview sessions.

• Definition of Terms and Acronyms

• Industrial Relation; a network of social relationship between the employees and their unions, employers and their association and government and their agencies in an attempt to regulate terms and conditions of employment and perform other functions that directly or indirectly concern the initiation and sustenance of peaceful and purposeful labour management relations.Anugwom(2007)
• Strike; a form of industrial conflict defined as dispute of interest between employers and employees connected with employment or unemployment. Strike is workers’ refusal to work as protest for inadequate service or poor condition. ubi(2013)
• Organization; The coming together of a group of individuals working together in a system to accomplish the goals of both the individuals and the organization. Muo(2014)
• Management; The personnel having overall planning, directing and coordinating responsibilities of the material, human, financial and informational resources. Management is the process of combining and utilizing or allocating an organizations input(men materials and money)by planning, organizing, directing and controlling for the purpose of producing outputs (goods and services or whatever the objects are) desired by customers so that organizational objectives are accomplished. Agwu(1990)
• Employee; A person or worker who is hired to perform a job I,mn exchange for payment of labour or services.
• Employer; A person who employs an employee to perform a job.
• Performance; The amount of useful work accomplished in shorter time and or using less resources towards achieving organizational goal.
• ASUU; Academic Staff Union Of University Workers
• NAU: Nnamdi Azikiwe University
• JUHESO; joint union of health society
• NLC: Nigerian labour congress
• NMA; Nigerian medical association
• TUC; Trade union congress.

Effects of strike action on organizational performance: (ASUU; Nnamdi Azikiwe university Awka chapter)

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