FAPOHUNDA. T.M(Ph.D)fapomordam@yahoo.com

Department of Industrial RelationsAnd Personnel Management

Lagos State University Ojo. Nigeria

EFFECTIVE FEMALE PARTICIPATION IN THE NIGERIAN LABOUR- - ---'. --'. - - .- , . .

MOVEMENT: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

AbstractDevelopment is the process and result of improving the well being of people not acategonJ or

some categories of people, but all persons within the national economy, the totalihj of the citizens'women inclusive. The current level of women involvement in trade union activities is notcommensurate with the proportion offemale workers. 1111Sstudy examines the insii iuiional barriers togender equalitu of participation in trade unions as ioell as the relationship between the level ofmvarenessand enlightenment programmes and the level of female participation in trade unionism. This paperindicates the relationship between the level of awareness and enlightenment programmes and the level offemale participation in trade unionism. The paper also identifies the relationship between marital status

. and female participation in trade unionism. However, this concluded that the onus ofimprovingfemaleparticipation in unionism hotoeoer, lies with women themselves since no one understands thechallenges faced by women more than women themselves. Major issues peculiar to women, such as,maternibj expenses, 'women cooperative societies, and unjaoouraole tax systems, can be advanced. In

fact,Jh~ 'l.tl1101~"so~(etystqndsto,gc!.inaJotand thepace of deoelopment of the country is enhanced., 'C<, C--~;-;:/.,:.~>---,;.,:;<,,~:.~ :,~-/>-<, ,',,' "" - '-----\,.,:> ;" --~:-',. -.< ~ -- ,.. -. . - ..

.. -:-~-~~_~. C~~~.~'':'::1o~e~1999)reports that while worrier, COTL5:imt2 as 2-.1([. as: -; =;'':'~;:'=OT,and 15% of the total workforce, only 2.5% of then participate actively in

--','omen are not adequately represented in the leadership and policy making. Even::::D dominated occupations have their union leadership positions occupied by men.The current NLC national executive council of 14 members has no woman. Only 10 out

.the 281 accredited delegates at the 2002 .Nl.Cconference were females and in the February007 conference of 267 delegates only 23 were females. None of the General Secretaries oreputies is female. In reality, thepost of the Assistant General Secretary is the highest held by aemale and it is by appointment rather than by election. Consequently,at the national level,ramen are invisible in the union structure. It is interesting to note that the same patternbtains at mostindividual branch structures. Women have not been elected into the NLCxecutive, and those in the NLC mainstream .have not gone beyond assistant generalecretaries in industrial unions and in actual fact, until very recently, the women's department:the NLC was headed by a male.

This study investigates the reasons why the female group seems silent and why they:cupy little or no positions in the Nigerian Labour Congress especially at the top cadre.Jecifically, the study traces the causes of the institutional barriers to equality of participationl trade unions, as well as the magnitude and significance of their participation in tradenions. It also explores ways and means of creating awareness of the importance of traderions to women and encouraging greater women participation in trade union decision-.aking and administration. The problems relating to the unimpressive presence of women inbour organisations also highlights the specificity of female gender constraints in a general-cialsituation. •

rageLabour in Nigeria'The development, pattern, and tempo of trade unionism in any society are invariably

aped by a combination ofsocial, political, and economic factors in favour of or against the.velopment of wage employment. The practice of wage employment is relatively new inigeria. It was almost non-existence before the advent of the colonial masters. When it wastraduced in Nigeria, wage employment was initially rejected since it was equated withiveryor serfd:oIIl.Thecpl()nial administr~t()rsT~s,orted to the use of force to recruit labour for'projects.XTh}ls !Jlot oruywas wage :erriployment being .instituted, a civil service was also'inginaugu~ated.As;fhesphere of governinent' activities increased, so also did the size of the/ilservice.However, a m.ajor factor that-ledto the growth of public sector employment wase two World Wars. Fapohunda (1999), reports Yesufu (1972), as saying that the growth ofe wage earning population proceeded alongside the political, social and economic growth ofe country.

A resultantproblem of Nigeria's entry into wage employment was the constant call fortter pay and conditions of service. The working class found it necessary to organise a.isting force to exact and defend better terms ana conduums of service. Omole (2()(Jl)asserts.It the first organization along trade union lines can be traced to the formation of theuthern Nigeria Civil Service Union in 1912. Other attempts at organizing unions followedtween 1912 and 1938 and these led to the organization of two other trade unions thegerian Union of Teachers and the Railway Workers Union both in 1931. The unions had;al disabilities,which remained unti11938 when the Trade Union Ordinance, which gave;al backing to trade union activities in the country, was passed. The development of themomy again increased the size of the potential recruits into the unions. Omole (2001) againrorts that between 1940 and 1995, the unions had grown as indicated in Table 1 and before

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the restructuring exercise of 1976; there were almost 1000 trade unions. On completion of therestructuring, the almost 1000 registered trade unions were reduced to 70 with 4~ of them-under theNLC

Table 1: Years versus the Number of Unions and the Membership

Year 1940 1945 1950/51 1960/61 1970171 1980/81 1990/91 1995/96

:No of Unions 14 97 144 232 967 265 951 2170---_ ..,

Total 4,629 51340 144,358 274,126 705,712 881,198 1,134658 1,987234Membership

Source: Omole (2001)Female participation in the modern labour force increases their involvement in the

Nigerian Labour Movement. Dairep (2001) observes that industrialists found in women,cheap labour and an easier group of workers to dismiss at the slightest opportunity. However,with education, females were finally allowed into the modern sector in the forties though theywere employed in the secondary sector, which consisted of service-oriented occupations.

Female and TradeUnionismThe low participation of women in labour activities in the country constitutes a

problem since women constitute an important and increasing segment of the labour force andwage employment. In addition, the interests of women workers cannot be effectively handledalone by men. Consequently, continued low female participation in leadership and activitiesof the NLC continues to be retrogressive for social change and development at all levels.Basically, the labour movement has been regarded as the prerogative of men not because thelaw has made it so. Previously, women lacked education and consequently their involvement

( . . " '... . ". ". ".

"i~~ thelabourfgrcevyas,)Qyy.:Presently though, sta tistics indicate a large number of women in'r·W"~geeuW19ym~nt :~dtheneed therefore arises, for them to embrace the trade union

i'.;,m.ovement.'(I'p.e.involvementDf women in trade unionism is however, seen as a third:\~demariding jobforthernIwhether they are in the modern or traditional sectors of the labour

force), the first two being thecommon enemy of the double-burden of the horne and the field.Battling with two equally demanding and energy sapping professions is enough trouble forwomen to think of ad ding a third, which is not only time and energy consuming but toucheson their individual safety and job security.

Female participation in decision-making depends on the nature of their involvementandthe role of such women in the unions. If the woman is a professional trade unionist, thenshe is an employee of one of tha 4') industrial unions. Vlomcn trade unionists while not beingprofessionals can also participate at the domestic, local, 1 state or national levels. Thechallenges of female leadership are tremendous. Women in trade unions should aim for anunabridged opportunity to participate fully in creating a society more conducive for theindustrial growth of the union through the trade union. The lack of leadership role of womenin trade unionism and national development may not be in them but in factors that inhibitactive participation of women in labour movement. The attitude of most women furtherexacerbates the problem. Some like to be treated as special objects that feel shy of competing onequal terms with men while others refuse to participate in trade union elections in their officesin order not to incur the wrath of their male employers or bosses. Notwithstanding, somewomen have continued to assume leadership roles in trade unionism either as trade unionofficials or participants in trade union activities. Few have ventured into the exclusive

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.reserve of men as professional trade unionists. However! at the national leve. c: ~r.':::>~= ::-.-=story is completely different. No woman has been elected a member of the exeC'J.-=-':2~~':2::-.:"::-.

·,·{the Congress in Lagos State. TIle low lev.el of female participation and commitment car, ':-.~(' blamed on a number of complex and inter-related factors such as the socialization p:-xe33

preference of parents tor educatingboys, hostileattitudeof men to their wives I in';oh'e!:"le~-::..::-.trade unions. Low level of female involvement in the labour" movement is contingent u~·:::-.structural and cultural perspectives both of which are not mutually exclusive. A number ,:.:factors have been identified as being responsible for women's unequal opportunitv c...::-.=treatment. One of such is the problem of blocked opportunity, which often arises when ~.-;oI:'t-=::-.

-are concentrated in low job opportunity and Tow mobility jobs with few prospects ::::-advancement and few open pathways out and up.

Another problem has been identified as the lack of interest by women in trade unions .:::more elaborately, the labour movement because of the political nature of union participaticr:There is also the problem of powerlessness that results whenever the formal and inforrr.a,structures in place in the organization seek to undermine the decision and authority of "V;C:r:-1C::-.

in leadership positions. Attempts to integrate women's interest by the creation of womer. 3

wing or bureau have not been successful, when women's wings are established: thepresumably unplanned effect is usually to marginalize women leaders and exclude them Irel=-=-.the centre of union power.

The low participation of women in labour activities in the Nigerian context constitutes 2.

problem since women constitute an important and increasing segment of the labour force arc':'wage employment. Added to the foregoing is the powerlessness that results when the forma,and informal structures in place in the organization seek to undermine the decision anc.authority of women in leadership positions. Aremu (1999), noted that women's share in wori.;employment is said to be substantially on the increase with an estimated 41% of them in tr.eofficial labour force. However, worldwide, women still earn 30-40% less than men. They aremostly found in the service sector, part-time, temporary, and casual employment wherelobouI:practicesare,pr:carious and lesstover~d by labour legislation. In Nigeria, the Federa.

'()£fic~ pi StatistiC~'ir~p()1:tsthat atot~1'?f.~3~~tlW-0l11en -w-ereemployedin year 2000 and it·'increa~ed·to47T2:34ir17002 ..The 1991~ensllS,rfits the female population at about 49% of the

tn.tal population of the qjuntryafacfagain' reaffirmed by the 2006 Census. This shows womenas.a significant part ofthe labour force and one would have expected their active involvemen:in trade union affairs. The rate at which women join the unions is far below their numbers IT.the workforce. Statistics have not conferred an advantage on women. Most unions are no:»eriously addressing the issues of women's inequality and low participation.

They remain grossly underrepresented in the leadership position of the union. Few 0:::. lIP· women are presidents, general secretaries or even deputies of their unions. The N'LC,prod uced no single female official in the union. Evidences support the assertion that worrier.. ·nrl!~l1larginally represented. During the first congress in 1981, the NLC constitution review

('.11') rill} ttee in its proposal recommended the setting up of a women's affairs department with.theprimary objective of promoting effective participation of women in the labour movement.Till' congress directed the state councils to set up women's wings to be headed by women.lILl\vt~ver, up till the present, only three of the thirty-six states have done so. The setting up orIJI\'~;" wings has not been without problems and constraints. VYhile the objectives involve!. t\';lll ng awareness among women members of all industrial unions, focusing attention on the

··llnd.)\vrn of working women generally and on married females and as well as doing what it canI, ifjlrr'ngthen the NLC and all its affiliates, Okoronkwo (2003) suggests that some pessimistslinn'written off the wings as women liberation under the guise of trade unionism. It is also

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fJtnent to note that of the present 1:1members National Executive Council of the NLC nor.e{awoman. At the last NLC congress, only 10 of the 287 accredited delegates were \YOLle::-: 3:whom weredrawnfrornthenursos' union. Noneof.the general secretaries is a woman. ."',3

lajumoke (1999) reports, the highest position held by a woman is assistant general secretar.td this was by appointment and nol by election. The sincerity of the NLC in setting up theomen's wing is therefore questionable. The degree of women involvement in labour.ovement often indicates their appropriate positioning to take advantage of the opportunitiescisting before them. Women's forum and enlightenment seminar programmes constitute.eans of encouraging women to partici pate actively in union matters and activities.

For effective female participation in the Nigerian labour movement, there must be arm policy that will encourage positive actions on women participation. Such policy must orecessity incorporate gender perspectives and equality issues in areas like bargaining,'search education, union work, and information. The approach of a minimum of 30% femalearticipation at all levels of activities must be set (as obtains with both the ILO and the ICFTlJ)emale quotas of whatever levels need to be included in the electoral guidelines of unions.ivisive issues at the work place must be overcome by female workers in addition to buildingcoherent front to pursue their in tcrests within the union structure aimed at solid andnshakeable labour movement. More organisations as the Women in Nigeria (WIN), Nigeriaouncil of Women Societies (NeWS), and the National Association of Women LawyersJAWL) need to be established as a network for awakening and promoting models for success: the labour movement. Workshops, symposia, and conferences must aim at stimulatingomen to attain leading positions in policy making alongside the men folk, if not ahead ofrem.

Considering the fact that women are concentrated in the informal sector, the challenges'r union therefore lie in organizing C1 growing number of informal sector groups. In addition,le need arises for a change in old cultures, .cultural beliefs, and traditions throughllight'enIn~~t.,a:rtdedtiGGl¥o~.'.::11~¢~Cli-getshoUl~b~WQrnerL The teclu1iques. of such mustnpha$lseparticipatiolv'~~scussionsaIldrecollliIle.11dations rather than .'indoctrination. Askor0ITl<-wo(2003), observes, Wllilc men may beip.trigued by the Women who can hold theirwn reasonable argumentand logic, they would not let their wives do it. With the large.irnber of women in wage employment as indicated by statistics, there is a great need for them) embrace union movement. Aside from the National Association of Nigerian Nurses andIidwives (NANNM) and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) with predominantly womenrembership, none of the other industrial unions can be said to have a good proportion of.male members. Nevertheless, responses from seven industrial unions indicate that of a totaliembership Of 741,497 about 173,730 or 28 % are female. In one senior staff association, about5% of .total members are women. Just as .they are clustered in the lower cadres of therofession,due to the masculine procedures, so is their participation limited by the maleominance in trade unionism. The few women found in the decision-making category of thebour movement are only token representing women in the dormant posts. Since women are)beseen and not heard in most cases, they are backbenchers for fear of stigmatization by theotainable socialization process. If women were fully involved in labour movement at the.adership level and actually had a say in decision-making, then the conditions of service inie professions of the modern section should have changed for them. This, unfortunately, isot the case as women still pay more taxes than their male counterparts. As noted by Dadirep999), women still do not have rights to employers I accommodation when married and wherewoman is in the same employment with her husband, she forfeits her housing allowance,[lis is supported by the argument that, by living with her husband, she is automatically in

.unent accommodation. Consequently, the need arises for trade unions to readdress and.ev« women's participation by ensuring that their interests are fully represented.

iemale Role in the Labour MovementFemale involvement in the labour movement all over the takes different forms and are

shaped not only by the needs of the social and cultural milieu in which they are performed.Forces ofthe.market enterprise that is, capitalism and mode of technology today regulate themas employers put up concerted strategies to control not only women's work but their livesthrough export free zones, part-time work and home-working-Onadeko (1998)observes that alot ofwomen are injobs that are not unionized because a larger proportion of them work in thepublic sector than the private sector while the greater majorities are in occupations in theinformalsector. Yinusa (1998) observes that nine out of the twenty-two women employed inNigeria Tobacco Company (NTC), Zaria did not know that they belonged to a union, while

. one out of the twenty-two was sure she did.The challenges for female leadership are tremendous. It should be the objective of

women in trade unions to ask for an unabridged opportunity to participate fully in the processof creating, through the union, a society more conducive for the industrial growth of thecountry. The lack of leadership role of women in trade unionism and national developmentisusing the words of Shakespeare 'not in us but in our stars'. As Olajumoke (1999) pointed out,these stars are the factors that inhibit active participation of women in the labour movement.They include the tendency to regard certain jobs as either too sophisticated or too difficult forwomen.

Nevertheless some women have continued to assume leadership roles in tradeunionism either as professional trade union officials or participants in trade union activities.Some other group, though few, have ventured into the exclusive preserve of men asprofessional trade unionists. This is not to say that some women have not positively identifiedthemselves with the congress especially in Lagos state, but men are just not willing to yieldgroun9 on this. The low level of women participation in the labour movement may betraceable to the lack of available positions. Again those already in leadership (usually men),seldom relinquish their positions. Milkman (1990) puts forward that the number ofvacancies

,·narrow asmemperslB:p.aIHlwith it, the size of theorganization stabilizes. Obviously, men,have econonuca1lYlsociailYfandjdeologicallyopp~essed women. The triple identities ofwomen as mothers, workers and wives.promoted through socialization in childhood, madefeminists toarguethat female labour need not be submerged within the category oflabour butstudied as women work. Women's share in world employment is said to be substantially onthe increase. An estimated 41% of women are in the officiallabour force. However, as Aremu(1999) points out worldwide, women still earn 30-40%less than men. Women are mostlyfound in the service sector, part-time, temporary, and casual employment where labourpractices are precarious and less covered by labour legislation.

Conclusion and Policy RecommendationsWomen play an important role in society as procreators of the coming generation, as

well as producers of goods and services. However, in many communities, traditionalperceptions of women as inferior to,men continue to prevail as many people invoke thepreservation of African culture to justify the subordination of women. Advocates of genderequity have, in the recent years, lobbied for women's participation in management in allspheres. Education is one of the most effective means ofempowering women. It imparts skillsthat pave the way to formal employment, with the associated financial and economicbenefits.

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It also increases awareness of their rights. Unfortunately, women's education in requires:~heavy investment, which is beyond the incomes of most women and their parents or 'jguardians. . -r:

Traditionally, women have t~l1d~dto be home keepers and mothers. VVhentheyworked, such work was not expected to' take them away from the home. Societal and culturalpressures have conditioned females to adopt behavioural patterns in consonant with thesociety's expectations. The Nigerian cultural set up believes that while men should bedominant and aggressive, women should exhibit passive and dependent qualities. Howeversociety israpidly changing and a remarkable change is in the area of women emancipation,which involves the emergence of women from the seclusion of their homes to businessactivities outside the home. Females now need to manage the effects of role deviationespecially when they choose male oriented professions and jobs where they find it harder toget into, and remain, more than men do. The onus of improving female participation inunionism however, lies with women themselves. They must educate themselves and he wareof their rights and obligations. In order to register their impact, females must, be prepared totake up challenging jobs with trade unions and put in more than their male counterparts.Collective pressure must be applied by women to ensure that the proposed womencommission for working class women takes off.No one understands the challenges faced bywomen more than women themselves, therefore, to achieve stability for women at work, andimproved family life women need to participate actively in unionism. As a result of suchimproved female participation, major issues peculiar to women such as maternity expenses,women cooperative societies, and unfavorable tax systems, can be advanced. In fact the wholesociety stands to gain a lot and the pace of development of the country is enhanced. Womenhave been known to make meaningful use ofthe few opportunities and appointments given tothem.

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