Harnessing the Potentials of Trade Unions as Partners for National Development

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HARNESSING THE POTENTIALS OF TRADE UNIONS AS PARTNERS FOR

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

BY

Comrade Hyginus Chika Onuegbu*JP, ACTI, FCA

STATE CHAIRMAN

TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF NIGERIA (TUC)

RIVERS STATE COUNCIL

Presented to the distinguished guests, participants and organisers of the

2013 Rivers State Civil Service Week

VENUE: Main Bowl, DATE: 16th July, 2013

Alfred Diete-Spiff Sports Complex,

Civic Centre, Port Harcourt.

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Abstract

Trade Unions are major stakeholders in the production process,national development and transformation. They are key agents of social change and are still playing active roles as representatives of not just the workers but of the ordinary people, in nation-building and transformation of nations. The importance of their partnership with nationalists like Dr.Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo etc in bringing about Nigeria’s independence cannot be overemphasised. In fact, without the Trade unions involvement, the independence struggles of most African Countries would have ended as a disaster. Trade Unions also partnered with civil society groups and provided a platform for the resistance to the Military dictatorships and for the emergence of democratic rule in Nigeria. Since May 29 1999 trade Unions have continued to provide a ‘voice’ for the ordinary people and ‘shocking’ the Government into ‘shape’ whenever the need arose. Clearly therefore, these antecedents of trade unions have broadened their roles from that of traditional collective bargaining agents to more developmental and transformational roles. It has also demonstrated that Trade unions have great potentials that can be harnessed for national development and transformation by government at all levels, Capital and other development agents in Nigeria. However, these potentials can only be harnessed through a genuine partnership that is built on mutual trust and mutual respect. Keywords: Labour union, Potential, Partners, Mutual Trust. *Comrade Hyginus Chika Onuegbu JP, FCA, is the State Chairman, Trade Union Congress

of Nigeria (TUC) Rivers State and the National Industrial Relations Officer of Petroleum &

Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). He is a member of the

International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA)and a Justice of the Peace

(JP). He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and an

associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria(CITN) trained by the now Akintola

Williams Deloitte(Chartered Accountants) and holds an M.Sc Economics degree. He can be

reached on: Tel 08037404222/ Email: [email protected]/

[email protected]. Please note that opinions and comments expressed in this paper

are strictly made in my capacity as State Chairman, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC)

Rivers State and should be construed as such. For more information on TUC Rivers State,

please visit our website: www.tucrivers.org

http://www.tucrivers.org/

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PROTOCOLS!

“Government, employers and workers have realized mutual gains over the years as a

result of constructive tripartite relations, the labour movement’s participation in

national development, and a proactive approach to labour-management relations.

Externally driven challenges will continue to provide strong impetus for cooperation

among the tripartite partners and the wider community.As a partner in national

development, the role and contribution of the labour movement will continue to

widen, beyondeconomic and employmentpolicy”(Wong, 2000, p. 12)1

1. Introduction

I want to thank the leadership of the Rivers State Civil Service and the organisers of this

programme for giving me this opportunity to share with us my thought on this very

important topic. This topic is very significant especially as we celebrate100 years of Port

Harcourt, 100 years of Nigeria and 100 years of Trade union movement in Nigeria.The

topic I was asked to discuss today is “Harnessing the potentials of trade unionism for

national development”. However after several thoughts, I decided, and I hope you will

bear with me, to make a minor but very functionally critical adjustment to the topic. So I

decided to change the topic by adding the phrase ‘as partners’ to the original topic and

replacing ‘trade unionism’ with ‘trade unions’. So the topic we will be discussing today is

“Harnessing The Potentials Of Trade Unions As Partners For National Development”.

I had to replace ‘trade unionism’ with ‘trade unions’ because ‘trade unionism’ is the

principles,theory,ideals and philosophy of trade unions . Trade unionism therefore is

essentially the ideological consciousness and construct built around the needs,

expectations and expressions of workers both for themselves, their unions and for the

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larger society. It is the basic underlying assumptions of trade unions and consists of the

unconscious , taken for granted beliefs and deeply held values shared by members of a

trade union.It is upon these ideals, consciousness , philosophy , deeply held values and

principles that trade unions emerge. It is therefore the spiritual or motive force that gave

impulse to the emergence trade unions in and around the globe.

Trade Unions( as labour unions) on the other hand is basically the organisations of

workers for the furtherance of their collective interest.

It is my considered view that the intention of the organisers is to have us share thoughts

on how to harness the potentials of these organisation of workers( i.e trade unions) for

national development rather than their philosophy, ideologies and theories.

Nevertheless, let me also quickly point that it is always very difficult to separate the two (

trade unionism and trade unions) as what ought to be is often seen from the prism of what

is. The unseen often made manifest in the things that are seen!

Also I had to add the phrase ‘as partners’ to properly situate the role of trade unions in

national development. Government at all levels through their policies, actions and

programmes remains the major drivers of national development in any country. The trade

unions are essentially key non-state actors and agents of social change. Their basic

interest remains the protection of workers rights and priviledges, improvement in the

welfare of workers and the advancement of the socio- economic and political interest of

workers and ordinary citizens generally .

However you will recall that trade unions in Nigeria and Africa generally, since colonial

times, have done more than being mere medium for bargaining for the improvement of

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the welfare of their members. They have whenever the need arose provided a platform

for workers and ordinary citizens to resist oppression and obnoxious policies of

government.This is in furtherance of the role of trade unions in the advancement of the

socio-economic and political interest of their members and ordinary citizens, as well as

social justice generally. In doing so, our members and those of our civil society allies have

had to even pay the ultimate price.

In Nigeria, as in many African countries, this role was foisted on us by the ordinary people

because of their genuine believe in the capacity of the trade union movement as true

agents of social change. Moreso, the weakness of institutions of governance in the post

independence Nigeria has meant that trade unions will continue to be vanguards of the

Nigerian people. Unfortunately these secondary roles has placed trade unions in the

difficult position where people sometimes inadvertently see them as active

‘opposition to the government in power’ or even ‘alternative government’.

This actually, all things being equal, should not be so! Afterall trade unions are

representatives of the employees of government and other employers. As

employees and representatives of the employees, they are expected to work

together with their employers (government and other employers) for the

betterment of the employing organisations.

Trade unions are therefore stakeholders and partners for National development

and their support or otherwise of the programmes, activities and policies of

government and other employers will to a very large extent determine the success

or otherwise of those programmes, activities and policies. This morethan anything

else underscore the need for genuine partnership between the government, other

employers and the trade unions.

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Moreover partnership can provide a framework within which a more positive

working relationship can develop. It will also improve communication and co-operative

relationship between the government, employers and trade unions thereby enhancing

mutual trust and perceptions of fairness. Partnership is viewed as representing a

‘positive-sum game’ where both parties ‘win’. Underlying the notion of partnership is the

idea of social partnership. Social partnership reflects the stakeholder ethos which

underpins certain models of employee relations where employer and employee groups

and government are considered social partners charged with considering the needs of all

parties in determining social and economic policies thereby leading to industrial harmony.

Agarwal (1982)2argues that:“industrial harmony is inextricably linked with economic

progress of the country”.Industrial Harmony brings about greater co-operation between

workers and government/management which ultimately results in better production that

leads to the economic progress and prosperity of the country. In similar vein, Minket al

(1993:p82)3buttressed that:“corollary partnership with the union leadership must be

formed” to create the most successful partnership with represented employees.Some

advocate transformation from an adversarial to a partnership relationship as a basis for

labour/management co-operation on product quality and other issues that shape the

enterprise or nationally realised strategy, while others argue for the creation of

labour/government partnership as a strategy for achieving national economic success

(Ferguson, 1980, p72 and Tichy and Devanna, 1986:p77)4,5.

One thing that many agree however,is that the shift from adversarial labour-

government/management relationship to genuine partnership-driven labour-

government/management relationship is more beneficial to both labour,government ,

managementand by extension, the national economy.

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It is however important to point out that empirical evidence has shown that the

philosophy of the union, its history, and membership pressure,

management’s/government’s pattern of dealing with the union, the leadership

characteristics and political objectives of the Union leadership could determine the

strategy employed by the unions in the pursuit of its goals and objectives(Fashoyin,

1992)6. These could also support or hinder the adoption of the partnership approach.

Nevertheless, it is important to approach any study of unions based on the ideological

perspectives as an organisation formed by workers to protect their interests and improve

their working conditions (Dankert, 1948)7.

Yet, with the changes that have occurred in the socio-economic and political structure in

Nigeria and the transformation of the Nigerian trade unions, especially the labour centres,

labour unions are steadily emerging as active and powerful non state actors with the

capacity to truncate or propel any transformation effort. It is therefore expected that

policy makers should begin to undertake studies on how these potentials can be

harnessed for the overall good of the nation. Such studies should not be limited to the

traditional roles of labour unions but must be creative and innovative, taking due

cognisance of the changing role of labour unions. This is because an innovative approach

would build on the achievements of traditional conflict theory and industrial relations

traditions, yet extend beyond these confines by exploring less adversarial strategies while

also investigating the relationship between organised labour ,the informal sector and the

civil society organisations (Thomas, 1998)8.

Fortunately, recent studies are unravelling the potential for greater cooperation between

workers, employers and government. For instance, in Britain, the TUC on behalf of trade

union movement embraced the concept of partnership:

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“The TUC has argued for the partnership industrial relations because we believe that it

is the best way to achieve what our members tell us they want. Our members want

good pay and conditions obviously. But they are also looking for interesting jobs, more

secure and fulfilling working lives, and a chance to make a real contribution to the

success of the organization they work for. Most of our members want their employers

to be successful. That is hardly a surprise, some will say. After all, their jobs depend on

the success. And union activist will want employers who recognize unions to look good

compared with those who do not” (TUC quoted in Ewing, 2005, p10)9.

In similar vein, Onuegbu (2010:p9)10agreed that:

“without the enterprise, there would be no management, no workers and therefore

no labour (Union)... both parties i.e. labour and management (should) focus on

increasing the cake(value added) to be shared rather than concentrating only on how

to get more from the existing cake, then, each party will have more to take home. This

means that both parties (labour and management) actually have areas of mutually

beneficial common interest. Emphasis should therefore be placed more on those areas

of common interest rather than the areas of conflicting interest”

You may also recall that in my paper entitled “Labour Unions and Enterprise Strategic

Business Plan”presented during the 10th anniversary celebration of the PENGASSAN

Nigeria LNG Limited Branch in 2010, l highlighted the findings of a research at Harvard

University on labour union and productivity which states that unions can contribute to

increasing productivity by giving workers a “voice” at the workplace and “shocking”

management into better practices. Challenged by these results, the Policy Studies Institute

of Westminster University also sought to understand the relationship between labour

unions and enterprise productivity and so undertook its own study. Research findings

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from the Policy Studies Institute threw a new light on what unions do in those British

workplaces where they continue to have a presence. According to the report:

“Unions emerge as an important, and positive, influence not only for the employees they

represent, but also in cooperating with management's priorities...additionally; workplaces

with a union presence are much more likely to have a range of "high performance work

systems", which are at the centre of firms' drive to increase productivity and customer

service. These systems include two-way communications, team-working, staff incentives,

interchangeable employees, and continuous training and development. While apparently

supporting management's agenda, unions are also continuing to deliver a superior range of

benefits for employees” (Gregg et al, 1993)11.

Permit me at this point to remind us that our main focus in this paper is how the

government could harness the potentials of trade unions for national development

and transformation. To achieve this aim, the paper adopts a Descriptive Approach and

Content Analysis. The data used in this study were gathered through secondary sources

which include newspapers, magazines, texts and electronic media. And also my empirical

observation and participation in trade union activities as the Zonal Industrial Relations

Officer of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN)

PortHarcourt Zone - which covers the former Eastern region (2008 April -2011 May),

National Industrial Relations Officer of PENGASSAN (2011 June – Date) and State

Chairman, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria TUC Rivers State Council(2009-date).

2. Conceptual Clarification:

The paper makes use of certain concepts, which require explanation. The definition will

therefore remove ambiguity and make room for easy comprehension of the study. Some of

these concepts explained are: trade unions, potential, partner and national development.

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2.1 Trade Unions:

It is important to inform us that the term ‘trade unions’ under the Nigerian law includes

not only association of workers( i.e labour unions) but also that of employers(i.e

employers association), therefore it is broader. In this paper,however, the term ‘trade

unions’ should be read as ‘labour unions’( i.e association of workers). Consequently

both terms – ‘trade unions’ and ‘labour unions’ will be used interchangeably as they

mean one and the same thing in this paper .Nevertheless, it is important to point out

that the preference for the word ‘trade unions’ over ‘labour unions’ in reference to the

association of workers is essentially because it emphasizes the dynamic nature of the

movement.Especially, when used as ‘trade union movement.’

Yet, Marxist theorists still perceive this type of association of workers in capitalist society

as merely superficial. They argue that the unions might be too exclusively bent upon the

local and immediate struggles with capitalism and become too preoccupied with

furthering the interests of their particular members. This may make them lose sight of the

overall struggle between capital and labour. Modern Marxists like Miliband, Allen, Hyman

and so on are of the view that the institutionalization of industrial conflict has merely

dampened the more violent expressions of conflict between the proletariats and the

bourgeoisies.

In any case, Trade unions (as labour unions only)can be defined ,taking a cue from Section

1(1) of the Trade Unions Act CAP 437 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990, as:

Any combination of workers, whether temporary or permanent the purpose of which

is to regulate the terms and conditions of employment of workers, whether the

combination in question would or would not, apart from the provisions of theTrade

Unions Act, be an unlawful combination by reason of any of its purposes ‘being in

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restraint of trade’ and whether its purposes do or do not include the provision of

benefits for its members.

Onuegbu( op cit p.4)19 prefers this definition because it fits into a working definition for

our empirical analysis, has legal support and correctly reflects the nature and dynamics of

the organisations referred popularly to as labour unions (or trade unions) in Nigeria.

Nevetheless, permit me to add that some researchers like Wong (2000;p9)20 have

suggested the need for the modernisation of trade unions and broadening their

roles beyond collective bargaining on terms and conditions at the workplace to that

of a socio-economic movement contributing to workers’ well-being in the wider

community. The objective was to provide services which private businesses were not

offering to lower-income workers, and to give workers a stake in the ownership and

management of business ventures.

To this end, Trade Unions can , for instance, leverage on their numerical strength to

negotiate and obtain discounted rates from airlines, insurance and shops etc for their

members. They can also form strategic partnership with banks and other organisations to

deliver value adding services and cost lower costs to their members. Trade Unions

therefore need to be innovative and go beyond the traditional collective bargaining roles.

For instance the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) recently rolled out its fleet of 150

buses, while PENGASSAN is also working on delivering over 650 housing units in Abuja

comprised of Bungalows and duplexes at very competitive prices to its members who

subscribed to the project.

Let me however quickly add that these additional roles, while being welcomed, are

secondary to the primary duties of labour unions. The fact remains that the basic and

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primary duty of labour unions are as stated in our adopted definition and it is doubtful if

members of a union will be satisfied with their unions if they neglect their basic duties for

those additional services.

2.2 Potential: is an unrealized or unused ability or attribute. For instance, human

potentials for an individual are abilities that can be developed into valuable or beneficial

activities, or a professional career. The labour union possesses that which it has always

used to achieve set objectives. Such potentials can be harnessed by government ,any

institution including industrial organizationsto make positive impact.See:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_potential#ixzz1x0xKrc6P21

2.3 Partner: Partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance

their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals,

businesses, interest-based organisations, schools, governments, and varied combinations

thereof, have always been and remain commonplace. Within organisations, the term can

correctly describe a collaborative endeavour between managers and employees, such as

over skills training and health and safety etc (Munro and Rainbird, 2000)22. But to be

considered a ‘partnership organisation’ surely involves significantly, more than

demonstrating temporary, calculative co-operation over one or a handful of

workplace matters. Indeed, it is important to rescue the potency of the idea of a

partnership organisation from it’s almost associations with patently unequal and

even exploitative work situations or, more commonly, with only modest joint

consultative efforts or cynically-manufactured union recognition deals (Wray,

2001)23. Partners are individuals or organisations who are members or involved in a

partnership.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_potential#ixzz1x0xKrc6P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_animal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_entity

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Interest-based_organization&action=edit&redlink=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government

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2.4 National development:

When development is mentioned, what readily comes to mind is progress; a movement

forward from the status quo and an advancement upwards from the previous position.

National development is an attempt to describe the dynamics of a nation in terms of its ability

to provide for its citizenry: providing security of lives and properties; granting access to quality

and affordable educational system; good health care; an overarching need for a greater access

to food and affordable housing; the provisioning of both emotive, psychological and spiritual

needs of the citizenry in a sustainable way.Essentially it is the general and sustained

improvement in all aspect of a nation and her people.

The quest of every nation is to attain a position where it is constantly able to provide for its

citizens at all times both now and in the future.

Development Economics and social analysts have created many constructs to attempt to

capture and quantify the development index of any nation. In essence many indices have been

put forward to explain at a glance the outlook of a nation’s development effort. Some of these

indices are; the Gross Domestic Product, Gross National Income, National Productivity index,

the National manufacturing index, the gni - coefficient, the Poverty index and other macro and

micro indicators.

3. Historical Background to Trade Unions Partnership Concept in Nigeria:

“The Ghana Trade Union Movement also played a great role in the struggle for

Ghana’s independence. It is in appreciation of this, that the Government of OsagyfoDr.

Kwame Nkrumah built a massive 6 storey building, “Hall of Trade Unions” in the

Centre of Accra, for the Ghana Trades Union Congress”Sunmonu(2007, p2) 49.

The concept of trade unions as development partners in Nigeria, and indeed Africa is

deeply rooted in the Unions’ contributions to the political, social and economic history of

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Nigeria and Africa. To this end, it will be very helpful for us to review the antecedent of

trade unions as social and transformational partners alongside other actors inNigeria.

Organised labour was not only perceived to be aggressive, but also as having some

credible potentials which could be harnessed for the successful transformation of

societies. During the colonial era, the nationalist leaders realised this fact and collaborated

with labour unions in the struggle for Nigeria’s political independence. For instance,

nationalists like the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo was noted to be active in trade union

issues as far back as 1937, while Azikwe’s:

“Brand of combative nationalist agitation and aggressive journalism... focused public

attention on the various forms of colonial exploitation(including the exploitation of

Nigeria labour) and inspired confidence among many Nigerians in their ability to end

colonial rule through the intensification of activist political and working class

agitations”(Ananaba,1969;p92)12 .

Consequently, the emergence in the early thirties of Chief Michael Imoudu on the labour

movement scene was to serve as a catalyst for radicalism in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s,60’s

until his pre-mature retirement from trade union activities by the military junta in

1977(Darah,1986;p87)13. Among these struggles, the most celebrated, the most successful,

and most effective in impact was the General Strike of 1945, which led the colonial state to

set up the Tudor Davies Commission whose report among others, upheld the grievances of

the workers against the high cost of living, awarded increases in the cost of living

allowance (COLA) and made other recommendations. In the circumstances of increased

tempo of trade unionism, the number of registered unions steadily rose from 14 in 1940

to 347 in 1959/60; with membership also rising from 4,629 in 1940 to 259,072 in

1959/60 (ibid)14.

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The interest of organized labour in the decolonization politics was premised on the belief

that the termination of colonial rule was a necessity since workers had come to view their

low wages, poor working conditions and indignities in the hands of the white employers,

both public and private, as arising directly from the colonial situation (Offiong, 1983)15. It

was realised that the workers’ predicament was not as a result of bad management alone,

but also due to the nature of colonial administration. The facts remain that the labour

unions were catalytic to the realization of political independence in Nigeria.

The labour unions were also involved as partners in the eradication of military

dictatorship in Nigeria.Trade unions partnered with other civil society groups

andenforced a change of regime from military dictatorship to democratic governance. For

example, in 1992, there was widespread discontent in the country as citizens were

harassed, repressed and ... (Akinyanju, 1997; p65)16. Labour stood its ground with other

civil society organisations to challenge the oppressive regime.

The experience of the struggle towards revalidation of the annulled June 12, 1993

presidential election is another instance of workers’ struggle during the military

era. The struggle was led by workers’ union in the oil sector, namely, National Union of

Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior

Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and other civil society organisations. While the

strike was effective with regards to full participation of a large number of members, it

failed to achieve its goal of reversing the annulment of the election, but propelled General

Ibrahim Babangida to ‘Step Aside’. Above all, the strike further strengthened the

unions and made members conscious that they could achieve a lot by remaining

steadfast with their unions. During General Babangida’s regime (1986 – 1993) labour

unions partnered with other civil society groups, mobilizing their members to protest

against the negative effects of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the

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government. The protest led to the introduction of some relief measures meant to caution

the effect of economic policy on the citizens.Obasi (1986)17 observed that SAP has led to

economic deprivation of workers, thereby heightening their consciousness which in turn,

led to increased militancy on their part. Such actions on the part of workers through their

unions have forced government to adopt some relief measures especially, in the areas of

wages and salaries increment.

Labour Unions have also provided a platform for popular agitation against

obnoxious policies of government. They have in partnership with their civil society

partners, embarked on several struggle especially, in the areas that have to do with

poverty reduction, bad governance, resisting unpopular policies, reforms in the public

sectors, anti- corruption crusade etc. Their leadership of such struggles even at the risk of

their lives and means of livelihood have been known to be effective and hence the

continued reliance on the Nigerian labour movement by the Nigerian people. For instance:

“...When the nationwide strike and protest against the removal was suspended,

there were widespread fears that the economy and social life of Nigerians were

on the verge of a deeper, scary plunge. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior

Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, which, in solidarity with labour,

threatened to shut down crude oil production, exacerbated the fear. Although

PENGASSAN did not make good its threat President Goodluck Jonathan, in

apparent move to calm frayed nerves, yielded to pressure and announced the

reduction of the pump price of petrol from N141 per litre to N97, the implication

of the threat was not a loss to the government, the Nigeria Labour Congress,

Trade Union Congress TUC, Civil Society Groups and Nigeria in general” (Tell,

January 30th,2012;p28)18.

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The aftermath of the fuel subsidy nationwide strike is the Fuel Subsidy Report produced

by the Adhoc Committee of the House of Representatives, National Assembly, Abuja led by

Honourable Farouk Lawal. Subsequently, President Goodluck Jonathan ordered the

Federal Ministry of Justice to commence the probe of those indicted in the Report. The rest

is now painfully history.Nevertheless, Nigerians should not give up hope but continue

to insist on the prosecution of all those found wanting.

4. Theoretical Consideration: Having clarified the concepts, I shall proceed to adopt a framework for this

study.Although there are several theories that attempt to explain social relations in

industries and polity, we shall for our purpose in this paper, consider the Partnership

Approach based on the internal dynamics of partnership relation at workplace and in the

polity.

According to Haynes and Allen(2001:p169)24``Partnership’’ as a mode of union-

government/management co-operation contains certain elements in common with a

series of historical initiatives promoting union-management co-operation on a formal

basis,whether at workplace, enterprise or national level. The current notion of workplace

partnership should be seen as the latest incarnation of the former tradition, but also as

consistent with the less formal patterns of engagement.

Cooke (1990)25 provides a theoretical framework to guide analysis of decisions to

participate in and maintain co-operative relations. Generally, the participation of all

parties is contingent on their expectations being met (as perceived by the parties

themselves) in such away that the benefits of participation outweigh the costs

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relative to alternative approaches. Given the joint interest in national development and

transformation , one party seeking to facilitate positive change through national

development and transformation and the other to influence it, union-government

partnerships are closely associated with efforts to improve performance and good

governance, especially through the fundamental reorganisation of work practices and

relationship(Peterson& Tracy, 1992; Nissen, 1997)26,27.

Clearly, the expectations of the parties are critical. They limit the otherparty’s room to

manoeuvre, while disappointed expectations, particularly of the other party’s behaviour,

may result in withdrawal from cooperation (Hammer & Stern, 1986)28. The critical clash

of expectations in union-management/government partnership revolves around the scope

for the union to pursue those of its members’ interests that it identifies as important but

which are not necessarilyreconcilable with those of the government/employer, as

identified by management, and vice-versa.

Although conflict is not totally eliminated by engaging in partnership relations

(Woodworth & Meek, 1995; Cohen-Rosenthal & Burton, 1993)29,30, the partnership

approach however provides an agreeable platform for the swift and sustainable

resolution of industrial conflicts.This is an important advantage of the partnership

approach and greatly underscores its adoption as a framework for sustainable labour and

employment relations practices.

5. Trade Unions , Nation building and National Development in Nigeria:

“An alliance of trade unions, civil society groupings and the citizens is a progressive

platform for the articulation, propagation and affirmation of popular political,

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economic and social causes and ideals essential for the egalitarian transformation of

Nigeria. The concept of the apoliticality of trade unions is an ideological weapon used

by the ruling elite to shut out the unions from a decisive involvement and participation

in the processes that shape the destiny of the nation. This must be resisted. The trade

unions, civil society bodies and the general citizens must take a collective stand in all

matters that affect the destiny of the people” (Udenta,2013, p.34)31

Again, on a special note, l would have preferred if the title is ‘nation building’ rather

‘national development’ because of the challenges of unity and considering the hetrogenous

nature of our country - morethan 250 ethnic nationalities. Generally speaking, it would be

difficult to convince the ordinary Nigerian that Nigeria is indeed a nation.

Empirical evidence seems to suggest that Nigeria is more or less a forced collection

of ethnic groups. This is made worse by the fact that the citizens are first and foremost

loyal to their ethnic groups. Loyalty to the country seems to be secondary, where it even

exists! This essentially kills patriotism and nationalism which are essential ingredients for

nation-building. It also explains why national development continues to lag

behind.Virtually every good ideology for building the Nigerian nation has been

killed on the altar of ethnicity.For instance, the much talked about fight against

corruption has become imbelicised because of ethnicity, and corruption is now on a

freeway in Nigeria. And as Udenta has observed and I agree with him, the

“Nigerian nation-building project will remain incoherent and unrealizable in the

absence of a national ideology. Our unity in diversity theme is too generalized and

fluid to serve as a national ideology (ibid,p.29)32.”

Udenta seem to be even diplomatic in painting the true picture. Unity in diversity would

seem to suggest that there is some form of unity of purpose, thought and values by the

different ethnic groups that make up the country. The reality however, and which can be

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attested by the headlines on our national dailies is that each ethnic group in their daily

activities are more focused on promoting our diversity than our unity .It is therefore a

mockery of sort to talk about national development in Nigeria when in actual fact

the people that make up the country think in terms of the development of their

various ethnic nationalities. The focus therefore in Nigeria should be on nation

building since that is the foundation for any sustenable national development.

Nation building requires patriotism and cooperation by all to develop the economic, social,

cultural and political status of the country and all her peoples. It must be anchored and

rooted in a strong ideology that promotes the interest of all Nigerians without exception

and that places national interest above personal, sectional, ethnic, religious and every

other interest. The ideology must ensure that loyalty is first and foremost to the

nation (i.e Nigeria) and not to the government, political office holders, religious

groups nor ethnic nationalities. Nation building also requires that the views and

interests of the people, their trade unions and civil society organisations are given priority

consideration.

This has also been canvassed by Udenta when he said that:

“ in building a modern Nigerian state we should be mindful about which ideology we

want to promote. Is it the ideology of the political elite, most of who hide under the

cover of representative democracy to exploit the people, oppress them and loot their

collective wealth, or the ideology of the working people, their trade unions and their

civil society platforms striving to make Nigeria an egalitarian, compassionate and just

society? It is my contention that only a pro-people political, economic and social order

can engender a national ideology that will serve not only the people’s best interests

but, more decisively, will guarantee the collective empowerment of the Nigerian state

to great heights of affirmation” (ibid)33.

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Also, closely related to the concept of nation building is the idea of national development

which is one of the concepts in this paper. I have done the conceptual clarification earlier

in this paper, nevertheless, l will still make further illumination for proper understanding.

Development is a multi dimensional concept which involves physical and mental aspects.

By national development, we refer to the sum total of the results of the functional

relationship between manual and intellectual labour of a nation in the struggle for self

sustenance. It involves everything that is done within a nation with a view to uplifting the

standard of men and materials (Uduigwomen and Ogbinaka, 1991:18)34.

National development is examined on the grounds of how well we approximate the

attainment of our national objectives. Obviously there is no doubt that we have

failed as a nation in meeting our national objectives even as contained in each of

our national development plans. It is very painful and disapointing that all the national

development plans made in this country since independence including the more recent 7-

point agenda , vision 20:20:20, NEEDs, and the transformation agenda ended up as

illusion and mere

“Sloganeering by our leaders on the grand themes of reconstruction, renovation and

transformation and the debasing and imbecilized material circumstances of the

average person”( Udenta, op cit, p.22)35.

This will continue to happen unless we first and foremost address squarely the issues of

nation building, as the foundation for progressive and sustainable national development.

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6. What are the imperatives of the potentials of trade unions

Why is there a need for the harnessing of the potentials of the movement for national

development? Why is it important to a nation like ours especially when we have found

ourselves at the crossroads? These questions find answer in the general position that

Nigeria is presently in search of viable, credible and vibrant alternatives to the

present developmental frameworks that have largely remained dysfunctional.

These are as a result of some of these factors;

• Inadequate Levels of Political and Economic Participation by the citizenry

• Paucity of Vibrant Opposition

• Existing Main Parties Built On Objectives Other Than That of the People

• Need for Alternative Platforms for Development

• Incoherent Structures for Popular Mobilisation of the People

Absence of strong and veritable nation building ideology and core values

Loyalty to ethnic groups and individuals over loyalty to the nation

The prevalence of some of these variables poses serious challenges to the development

agenda of the nation. It thus calls for platforms that would be deployed in confronting and

resolving them adequately to ensure that the nation experiences development within its

structures that would eventually crystallise into national development.

7. The Potential roles of Trade unions in National Development

Again permit to go back to the foundation of trade unions, which is trade unionism. As I

have previously explained, trade unionism is the conscious framework and philosophy

upon which trade unions were founded. It is replete with various ideologies that any

serious nation can tap into to add impetus to the overall quest for national development.

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For instance ideologies like “injury to one is injury to all” and “solidarity forever”

underscores the value of brotherhood. It ensures that the strong protect the weak and that

the bond of brotherhood is everlasting. Also ideologies like “forward ever backward

never” reminds the people that development must be progressive and that they should

resist any attempt to for retrogression.

These ideologies have helped build the trade union movement from the gathering of

view men unhappy with the then statusquo to a great and glorious movement. It can

also help Nigeria! The trade unions remain a strategic partner that is positioned to play

critical roles in releasing developmental impulses upon the different structures of the

society.

However, it should be noted these potentials may atrophy if they are not consciously

activated and channelled towards the attainment of national development objectives.

Some of the readily identifiable potentials of the movement for national development are:

• MOBILISATION PLATFORM FOR CITIZEN ACTION:

The people remain the most critical resources available to any nation in its drive to

national development. Without the people, no serious conscious development effort will

be possible. They do not only provide the workforce, they also provide the

entrepreneurship and the patriotism that is needed to propel development.

These masses must therefore be mobilised and their disparate energies aggregated for

specific actions that would drive national development. The Chinese built massive

infrastructure by mass mobilisation of the citizenry and this can also be replicated in our

clime.

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Trade unionism offers a credible platform for mobilising citizens for development actions.

Since it is already a mass – based organisation, it not only lends itself as a platform for

citizen action but also allows the wider society to key into its framework to take positive

action for national development.

Historically during the struggle for independence, the movement provided the cover to

nationalists in their quest for independent Nigeria. It is still providing a vibrant base for

Nigerians to engage in Governance processes giving direction and support for successful

developmental efforts.

• POSSESSES INNATE SOLIDARITIES:

The trade union movement consists of innate organic, wide and inclusive solidarities

which create the necessary bonding needed for building a cohesive and progressive

nation. Its bonds are built across ethnic lines and cuts across religious cleavages thus

could be used for the forging of a strong and patriotic citizenry thus a strong nation state.

A strong nationhood which Nigeria is yet to attain is one of the basic drivers for national

development. You cannot truly talk about national development without talking about

nationhood first. The movement possesses the intrinsic qualities needed for building a

cohesive and vibrant nationality.

• GROUNDS FOR ARTICULATION AND PROJECTION OF POPULAR AND PROGRESSIVE

VIEWS:

Being a popular movement, trade unionism provides for the polity a credible crucible for

the articulation and expression of progressive views from all corners of the country over

any issue. It creates a ferment of views from across a wide spectrum of the society thus

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enabling the national issues to be thoroughly debated and diverse views from across the

different divides expressed and collated.

This provides opportunity for dark areas to be illuminated and strong areas reinforced

allowing the nation the opportunity to march forward with boldness and greater

assurance of success.

• GENERATOR OF ORIGINAL AND CRITICAL IDEAS CENTRAL FOR DEVELOPMENT:

The movement is replete with critical thinkers who have sharpened their skills over the

years through the ever robust debates that keep going on within the movement. Being a

negotiating platform, its processes are driven by severe thought processes with increasing

depth which makes it imperative that participants within its processes become original

thinkers on their own right.

With this deposit of original thinkers, it becomes easier for the movement to constantly be

on the look- out for issues that may adversely affect its membership and truly interrogate

it laying its dynamics bare so that inherent danger to the nation may be exposed

This somehow explains why most of the time, positions taken by the movement on critical

national issues have at the end of the day proven to be the wisest course of action that

should have been taken.

• STRATEGIC PARTNERS FOR POLICY GENERATION:

The movement offers to the polity a productive partnership in generating policies to drive

Governance in all sectors of the socio-polity. It is a fountain of diverse and deep

knowledge in every sphere of endeavour at a very critical level as its membership cuts

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across all skills, knowledge, profession and indeed a very wide spectrum of the nation’s

key sectors.

It also provides a pool of well-trained strategists with global experience and best practices

and these can readily be brought into the service of the nation whenever demanded or

needed. They are the men and women in the field and have acquired wide experiences not

just theoretical but hands-on and are always willing to avail themselves to the quest for

critical policy directions to turn the key sectors of the economy around.

• KEY PARTNER FOR IMPLEMENTING NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES,

POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES

The same way the movement is awash with skills to generate policies and programmes

that may be crucial for national development, it also has deep capacities and capabilities

for guaranteeing the implementation of these policies and programmes.

Its natural structures offer the nation, a spread that is crucial for delivering programmes

and projects very fast and equitably to all facets both geographical and social within the

polity. This is available and could be mobilised anytime for national development.

• MOBILISING CRITICAL INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC AGENDA

The nation’s development effort can easily be boosted when the movement musters its

international partners to support the projects and programmes. The international arm of

the movement can not only mobilise resources for national use in development but can

also bring pressures to bear on Government actors domestically to act appropriately to

ensure development. They can also bring pressure to bear on international multilateral

agencies and creditors to scale down demands made on national economies on debt

repayments which will free resources for domestic projects and programmes.

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The international labour movement was at the vanguard of the crusade for cancellation of

the debt owed to creditor nations and bodies by third world countries. The campaign was

largely successful as many nations including Nigeria benefitted either through reduction

or outright cancellation of such debts. When this happens, more resources are freed for

investment in capital projects domestically that may spur national development.

• TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR CITIZENSHIP AWARENESS

The movement through its activities and programmes offers its structures, intellectual

depth and reach for continuous education both for its wide membership but for the

populace. A trained and educated citizenry is a huge resource waiting to be marshalled for

national development.

• CRUCIBLE FOR CULTURING PROGRESSIVE LEADERS THAT WILL LEAD THE DRIVE

FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The ferment of ideas and the structures of the movement have meant that leaders at all

levels have to go through rigorous experiences as they move through the ladder of the

movement’s leadership. They are grilled and exposed to ideals and practices all over the

world and also are exposed to the diverse dynamics in people management and general

leadership. There is indeed no union leader especially at the States and national level that

has not become fully equipped to lead the society.

It is not just providing leaders but leaders with progressive thoughts that are anchored on

the needs and desires of their peoples and community – men with conscience and

integrity. I would not want to mention names but when we look around Nigeria today, we

would see the difference being made by our people in various leadership positions.

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• RESOURCE MOBILISATION PLATFORMS FOR MICRO SEGMENTS OF THE SOCIETY:

Micro segments of the society are very critical to overall national development. They

constitute the informal sector and when they are mobilised for production, service and

civic duty, a critical mass is often generated that would create multipliers within the

polity.

The movement is very crucial in the mobilisation of this segment using its structures.

When the artisans, Waste pickers, Bone crackers, rock breakers, sand carriers, day-

labourers, domestic workers etc are mobilised, they form a huge force that will be

channelled towards national transformation.

• AS A STABILISING INFLUENCE IN THE POLITY:

When other sectors of the polity fail, the movement will remain one of the only standing

sectors as it is not driven by religion, politics, tribe and other primordial considerations.

As a result of this stability within its ranks, it serves as a stabilising factor in times of

turbulence within the polity.

It could become a moral authority that other actors within the polity would defer to when

a nation goes through crisis. Within its ranks, voices across the different expressions and

divides could find a common ground to converse which provides the springboard that

could be used for resolving the entire national crisis.

A platform that can therefore act as a rudder in times of upheavals is paramount to

national development. Without stability, a nation will flounder and disintegrate

eventually.

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8. Harnessing The Potentials Of Trade Unions As Partners For National Development

The full potential of trade unions as partners for national development or nation-building

can only be harnessed when government and trade unions work together transparently

in an environment of salubrious relationship based on mutual trust and mutual

respect.In such circumstances, the trade unions will support transformation and change

programmes(Gyes, 2003:p64)36.Onuegbu, op cit a:p1337 agrees that such environment of

will deepen the mutual trust between the government and the trade unions, improve

communication by erasing the barriers to honest communication, increase productivity,

win the ‘hearts and minds’ of workers,erase some old-fashioned stereotypes about labour

unions as strike agents, reduce the fear of some workers, regarding joining the

union/participating in union activities as well as change completely, the erroneous

perception by some government officials that union leaders are averagely unproductive

persons who should not be trusted with high value creating responsibilities in the

workplace.

It is therefore clear that in a climate of mutual trust between trade unions and

government, the unions help rally workers to co-operate with programmes (Beisheim, von

Eckardstein and Müller, 1993 quoted in Gyes, 2003:p74)38. Quirke (1995)39 agrees that a

climate of trust has considerable impact on how communication is received, and that it is

hardest to establish this during times of transformational change.

It is however important to note that trust in regards to partnership in the workplace can

be viewed from three set based on relationship’s structures and parameters. First, trust is

mutuality or reciprocal principle (Fox, 1974: p67)40; it requires at least two parties.

Second, trust must exist in a context of risk; it “cannot exist without the possibility of

being in error” (Bhattacharya et al, 1998: p462)41. Trust is of trivial value if one enjoys

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certain knowledge about the other’s intentions and actions. Relatedly, all parties should be

vulnerable to actions from the other; all parties should be in a position to damage the

other’s interests, and to have recourse to mechanisms for enforcing trust, and for coping

with any fall-out, including the freedom to withdraw from the relationship if necessary.

This “mutual dependence” and shared vulnerability distinguishes trust from other

approaches employed in securing co-operation, such as coercion. Third, trust is

necessarily incremental; it can only emerge in any credible form “through repeated

exchanges of benefits between parties” (Whitener et al, 1998: p515)42.However, the

attitudes and behaviours exhibited by parties to a relationship develop the quality, or

otherwise, of trust, not institutional constraints.

Whitener et al further identified five categories of behaviour required for

“managerial trustworthiness”. They are:

1. Behavioural consistency. This means: reliability and to some extent, predictability of

actions.

2. Behavioural integrity. This involves telling the truth and keeping promises: “the

consistency between what [someone] says and what he or she does”.

3. Sharing and delegation of control. This mean: shared input into decision-making at a

variety of organisational levels.

4. Communication. Information needs to be shared openly, it needs to be accurate and

timely, and it also should be explained in its proper context.

5. Demonstration of concern. This means “showing consideration and sensitivity for

[each party’s] needs and interests; acting in a way that protects [each party’s] interests,

and refraining from exploiting others for the benefit of one’s interests”.

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Dietz (2004)43 concluded that the highest level of trust is one based on unity of

purpose, where each party can represent the other’s interests with their full

confidence. That is, allowing for greater shared input into decisions reflectmanagers’

trust in employees and a willingness to be trusted in return . . . in particular; it helps

employees render the factors affecting their working lives subject to some influence

(ibid)44.

9. Challenges of Trade unions as partners for national development:

Giving the imbalance of power in the employment relationship, government and other

employersare morelikely to define the terms of a partnership agreement and retaina

greater degree of power, even where trade unions are strongly entrenched.Moreover,

Ackers and Payne (1998: 530)45 suggest that partnership could combine seductive

rhetoric with ambiguous and shifting meaning. In particular, questions arise over

partnership as a viable long-term model for the relationship for government/employer

and employees, particularly in an employee relations climate of historic distrust and

antagonism. To a large extent, the disquiet over partnership agreement lies in their true

representation of redistribution of power as implied by the use of the word ‘partnership’.

Onuegbu op cit.p946argues therefore warns that:

“True Labour- Management Partnership will not be achieved when meetings are

devoted primarily to management(or government) expressing its final views on issues

and where management(or government) is unwilling to alter, modify, or improve

those views as a result of their partners’ (labour) input. Good and quality Labour-

Management relation should also mean that management(or government) does not

search for legal justifications to avoid addressing issues that their Union partners feel

are important to employees. Such an approach dooms partnership to failure. In

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addition, senior management(senior government officials)should not avoid contact

with the Labour Unions when contentious issues are on the table, by delegating such

onerous duties to subordinate staff, which typically lacks the authority to resolve the

issues

Furthermore, he argued:

“....that without credible elections and good governance, Labour-Management

Relations in Nigeria will continue to have more than proportionate challenges when

compared with what obtains in other countries. This is because Labour-management

relations do not exist in a vacuum and are in fact regulated by the laws made by the

government and the general disposition of government towards enthroning an

atmosphere of industrial peace and harmony. Moreover, empirical evidence has

shown that when those in government are truly elected by thepeople (rather than

imposed on the people)they will embark on people oriented projects, review the laws

that affect workers, including those that will impact on labour-management relations,

as well put in place policies that will tackle poverty and unemployment and ensure

that in line with Section 17 (3) (b and c ) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal

Republic of Nigeria the conditions of work are just and humane”(ibid)47.

Nonetheless, the continuationof the agreement relies on managerial/government

adherence and commitment to itsterms. Furthermore, this positionmight be challenged in

hard times or where government/managementfeels that it is not in its interest to continue

with the partnership agreement.Thegovernment/management may be inclined to

continue to prioritise its ‘needs’ over those of employees (Martinez Lucio and Stuart,

2002)48.

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Partnership may also face challenges within the trade union.Especially,if within the

trade union itself, some unionists feel that unions who enter into partnership

agreements compromise their positions as ‘adversaries’ of government, surrendering the

independence necessary to effectively defend the rights of their members. Secondly, there

might be concern that union officials may lose touch with their members and become the

agents of government, making greater efforts to rationalise and explain the government

position rather than representing their interests.It is imperative to note that even in the

United Kingdom where partnership was legalised based on Employment Relation

Act, 1999, the Trade union still suffers oppression.

10. Conclusion: Trade unions remain veritable and ready partners for national development and

transformation of any country. They possess great potentials which can be harnessed for

national development and nation-building by the government, communities, civil

societies, citizens and even the trade union movement itself! And genuine partnership

anchored on mutual trust and mutual respect remains the best route to harnessing these

potentials.

Thank you.

Reference [1]Wong, E. S. (2000)Partnership of trade unions in national development programmes and in

promotion of labour mobility in Singapore (p. 12). Geneva: International Institute for labour

studies [2]Agrawal, D.V.(1982) Industrial Relations and Collective Bargaining, Deep and Deep Publication, New Delhi.

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[3]Mink, O.G; Esterhuysen, P.W; Mink, B.P. and Owen, K.Q.(1993) Change at Work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, p. 82. [4]Ferguson,M.(1980) The Aquarian Conspiracy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, p. 72 [5]Tichy,N.M. and Devanna,M.A.(1986) The Transformational Leader. New York: Wiley, p. [6]Fashoyin,T.(1992) Industrial Relations in Nigeria. Longman.Lagos, Nigeria.p.114 [7]Dankert, C. E. (1948) Contemporary Unionism. New York: Pretice Hall. [8]Thomas, H. (1998) Trade unions and development, Paper for IILS Conference on Organized Labour

[9]TUC quoted in Ewing, 2005, p10) [10]Onuegbu,C.H. (2010) Labour unions and enterprise strategic business plan. A paper presented at the 10th anniversary lecture of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association(PENGASSAN) Nigeria LNG Limited Branch, Rivers State,Friday 11th December [11]Gregg P., S. Machin and D. Metcalf (1993) “Signals and cycles: productivity growth and changes in union status in British companies, 1984-1989”, Economic Journal, Vol.103, pp.894-907. [12]Ananaba,W.(1969) The Trade Union Movement in Nigeria. Benin City: Ethiope Pub. [13]Darah,G.G.(1986)”Imoudu and the Labour Movement”, journal of African Maxists,

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[14]Ibid [15]Offiong, D.A.(1983)Organized labour and Political Development in Nigeria, Calabar,Centaur Press [16]Akinyanju, P.(1997)“Trade unions and Democratic struggle” in CDHR Nigeria, Nongovernmental organization and Democracy: Lagos CDHR Pp.65-88.

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[17]Obasi,C.(1989)” State-Labour Relations Under a Structural Adjustment Programme(SAP) in Nigeria. Lessions for the future, in Nigeria Journal of Indutrial Relation 3: 26.

[18]Tell (2012) A Revolution Postponed. January 30th,p28

[19]Onuegbu, op cit p.4 [20]Wong,op cit

[21]See: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_potential#ixzz1x0xKrc6P [22]Munro, A. and Rainbird, H. (2000) ‘New unionism and new bargaining agreements: UNISON-Employer partnerships on workplace learning in Britain’. British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol.38, No.2, pp243-240

[23]Wray, D. (2001) ‘working a partnership: a case study’. A paper presented at the ‘Assessing partnership’ Conference, May 2001, Leeds [24] Haynes,P and Allen,M.(2001)Partnership as union strategy: A preliminary evaluation. Employee Relations,Vol. 23 No. 2, 2001, pp. 164-187.# MCB University Press, 0142-5455 [25] Cooke, W.N. (1990), Labor-Management Cooperation: New Partnerships or Going in Circles?

[26]Peterson, R.B. and Tracy, L. (1992), ``Assessing effectiveness of joint committees in a labor management Cooperation program’’, Human Relations, Vol. 45 No. 5, pp. 467-89.

[27]Nissen, B. (1997), ``Unions and workplace reorganisation’’, in Nissen, B. (Ed.), Unions and Workplace Reorganisation, Wayne State University Press,Detroit, MI.

[28]Hammer, M. and Champy, J. (1993) Reengineering the corporation: a manifesto for

business revolution, London: Nicholas Brearly

[29]Woodworth, W.P. and Meek, C.B. (1995), Creating Labor-Management Partnerships, Addison-Wesley Reading, MA

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_potential#ixzz1x0xKrc6P

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[30]Cohen-Rosenthal, E. and Burton, C.E. (1993), Mutual Gains: A Guide to Union-Management Cooperation, 2nd ed., ILR Press, Ithaca, NY. [31]Udenta, I. U.(2013) Idealism, Politics and Nation Building. Owerri:Assumpta Press [32]ibid, p29 [33]ibid [34] Uduiugwomen, A.F and Ogbinaka, K.(1991) Philosophy and Education. Ikeja:Obaroh and Ogbinaka Pub. [35]Udenta, op cit, p.22 [36]Gyes,V.G.( 2003)Industrial relations as a key to strengthening innovation in Europe.Leuven: KatholiekeUniversiteit Leuven Belgium. Innovation papers No 36 (http://europa.eu.int)ndustrial [37]Onuegbu, op cit: p13 [38]Beisheim, von Eckardstein and Müller, 1993 quoted in Gyes, 2003:p74 [39]Quirke, B. (1995) Communicating change. Maidenhead, Berkshire:McGraw Hill. [40]Fox, A. (1974), Beyond Contract: Work, Power and Trust Relations, Faber and Faber,London [41]Bhattacharya R., Devinney T.M. and Pillutla, M.M (1998)‘A formal model of trust based on outcomes’. Academy of Management Review, Vol.23, no.3, pp459-472 [42]Whitener E.M., Brodt S.E., Korsgaard M.A., and Werner, J.M (1998) ‘Managers as initiators of trust: an exchange relationship framework for understanding managerial trustworthy behaviour’. Academy of Management Review, Vol.23, No.3, pp513-530 [43]Dietz, G. (2004) Partnership and the development of trust in British workplaces’,

Human Resource Management Journal, 14 (10,), 5 – 24, at 5

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[44]Ibid [45]Ackers, P. and Payne, J (1998) ‘British trade unions and social partnership: rhetoric, reality and strategy’. International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol.9, No.3, pp529-550.

[46]Onuegbu op cit .p9

[47]Ibid

[48]MartínezLucio, M. and Stuart, M. (2002) "Assessing the principles of partnership." Employee Relations 24(3): 305-320. [49]Sunmonu, Hassan A(2007) “Harnessing African Trade Unions’ Contribution To Political, Social And Economic Initiatives Of The African Union: Past, Present And Future”. Oatuu’s Paper Presented To The African Union/OATUU Partnership Forum, OATUU Conference Hall, Accra, Ghana, 3 – 5 April, 2007

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