Globalization and the Future of Trade Unionism: In the Nigeria Public Service in Perspective

Trade unionism is part of workplace activities. It also guarantees industrial harmony if properly practiced. Trade unionism is one of the rights of workers to enable them channel whatever grievances they may have from time to time.  However, the era of globalization tends to impact negatively on trade unionism especially in the Nigerian public service.  Some of the jobs hitherto performed by civil servants have been given out to private organizations while others have been privatized.  Job lose have been the order of the day as a result of this.  The welfare of Nigerian civil servants is not quite guaranteed due to globalization.  The paper sees globalisation as focusing its attention on private businesses while it frowns at public businesses. In order to curb the negative effects of globalization on trade unionism in the Nigerian civil service, the paper recommends, amongst others, that the umbrella bodies of all trade unions in Nigeria should sensitise their members to align themselves to the dictates of globalization while new skills should be acquired so as to adapt to the new realities. Keywords : civil service, globalization, jobs, trade unionism, workers. DOI : 10.7176/RHSS/9-1-09


INTRODUCTION
Globalisation as a general concept came into focus in the early 1990s. The concept became more pronounced due to the influence of information and communication technology, privatization and deregulation of government businesses. It is truism to say that the world lives in an era of globalization. It is a much used and abused term in contemporary social science lexicon. Economically, globalization is used to deznote increased economic integration, that is, greater trade and financial flows across national boundaries (Murshed, 2004). It has transcended many aspects of human endeavour. Be it social, political, economic, and so forth. In the political front, globalization has enabled and enhanced political processes like democratic governance, electoral processes and so forth. Economically, globalization has not only transcended national boundaries, it has enhanced commerce and trade among the comity of nations. Globalization has equally contributed to reduction in the cost of doing business. Socially, human interactions have been greatly improved.
However, in spite of these improvements, globalization has its challenges. This is so because the various key ingredients of globalization like privatization, deregulation, and others have impacted negatively in the social and economic activities of modern human endeavour. In this regard, globalization has also impacted on the management of enterprises, organizations, industrial as well as government institutions, especially the civil service in the area of trade unionism and industrial relations.
Due to the influence of globalization, industrial relations, especially trade unionism, has been affected in the Nigeria public service. Some of the functions of the civil service are being given out to private sector organizations; while some have been privatized. All these have led to job lose in many agencies of government. On the other hand, some of the jobs which required manual man-hours have been affected by automation or technology, like computers, G.S.M. and so on. Consequently, the future of trade unionism in the public service is bleak.

1.
To what extent has globalization affected trade unionism in the Nigerian public service? 2.
What is the prospect of the future of trade unionism in the Nigerian public service considering the influence of globalization? 3.
Is the welfare of Nigeria workers in the public service guaranteed considering the influence of globalization on trade unionism?
To find out the extent which globalization has affected trade unionism in Nigeria public service.

2.
To ascertain the prospects of the future of trade unionism in the Nigeria public service taking into consideration, the influence of globalization.

3.
To find out if the welfare of Nigeria public servants are guaranteed considering the influence of globalization on trade unionism.

Nigeria Public Service
The Nigerian public service has come of age since the colonial era. The position of civil service in any country or nation is determined by the following key factors: the historical traditions, political philosophies, and ideologies, cultural patterns and so forth (Hyden, Jackson, and Okumu, 1970). The Nigerian public service is synonymous or intertwined with the political transformation of the country since 1861. It was established mainly for the maintenance of the British colonial objectives. It was set up as a governmental machinery to maintain law and order, facilitation of commerce and as well as protect the interests of the colonial masters (Etuk, 1992). In order to ensure the enhancement of their welfare, the employees in the public service, that is, civil servants, formed many trade unions through which they engage the management of their various ministries, departments and agencies for improved conditions of services. However, globalization is fast affecting or impacting on trade unionism in the public service of the country. In Nigeria, all the trade unions in the public service belong to either the Nigeria Labour Congress or the Trade Union Congress. The latter came into existence in 2003 during the regime of President Obasanjo.

Trade Unionism
Trade unionism is the activities of labour or workers' unions in relation to the welfare of the workers with their organizations or place of work. The organization or workplace could be a private concern or public enterprise or institution. It could also be public or civil service.
A trade union is "an association of wage or salary earners formed with the objective of safeguarding and improving the wage and employment conditions of its members and raise members' social status and standard of living in the community" (Fajana, 2006). The Nigeria Trade Union Act 1973 defines a trade union as "any combination or workers or employers, whether temporary or permanent, the principal objectives of which under its constitution are the regulation of the terms and conditions of employment of workers, whether the combination in question would or would not, apart from this Act, be an unlawful combination by reason of any of its purposes being in restraint of trade, and whether its purposes do or do not include the provision of benefits for its members". A trade union has a certificate, an office called a secretariat, structures, constitution and other visible paraphernalia which identifies them (Fajana, 2006).
According to the British Trade Union and Labour Relations Consideration Act of 1992 a trade union is "an organization whose principal purposes are the regulation of relationships between workers and employers or between workers and employers associations". Yesufu (1984), sees a trade union as the association of employees for the enhancement, advancement and defence of the terms and conditions of employment of their members including their standard of living. Technology: Globalisation equally deals with the development and spread of technologies, especially in areas of information and telecommunication technologies which permits easy access to information all over the world. It also helps to connect with the production, distribution and knowledge networks (World Bank, 2008). In addition, technology has influenced changes on the organisation of production and work at enterprises/organisational level that provides a good example of the factors encouraging and supporting globalization. In terms of organization of production, new technologies have increased the scope for greater flexibility in the processes of production. It is also solving information or coordination difficulties which earlier limited the capacity for production by organizations. Improved technology has made it possible to produce the same level of output with fewer workers. As a result, there is great emphasis on workers (labour) to possess higher value capacities and skills to perform a variety of jobs.

International Conventions of International
In the Nigeria public service, information and communication technology (ICT) has been introduced to increase efficiency, effectiveness and more output. For example, due to the introduction of computers, typewriters have been wiped out of the civil service and this has increased the efficiency and effectiveness of the typists who hitherto have been trained on computer usage.
The introduction, similarly, of GSM telephones has reduced the number of personnel (manpower) which are sent errands (messages). Where there is need to go long distances to deliver mails, motorcycles are now used to send one person to deliver mails to several places. The job which ten persons (workers) perform are now performed by less than five persons with the use of machines. (iii) Privatisation: The effect of globalization on labour and trade unionism in Nigeria started during the Obasanjo administration. The privatization exercise that was carried out in the sea ports reduced the numerical strength of labour by 300,000 occasioned by job lose (Ishola, n.d.). Many public enterprises that were privatized retrenched a lot of labour force. For example, many workers were laid off in the privatisation exercise that was carried out in the power sector in November 2013. (iv) Public-Private Partnership: Similar to privatization is public-private partnership (PPP). This is the coming together of government and private organizations to establish or manage an enterprise to the satisfaction of clients and for the purpose of profit. This also has constrained trade unionism in the public service. Public-Private Partnership is business-like and client-focused in its operations. Other areas of PPP which are also connected to globalization are: (a) Concession: This also falls within the purview of privatization. A concession makes the private sector operator (called concessionaire) responsible for the full delivery of services in a specified area. These include operation, maintenance, collection, management and construction and rehabilitation of the system. Also, the operator will be responsible for all capital investment. An example is the recent concession of the Nigeria railway transportation system to General Electric of USA by the federal government.

(b)
Contracting: This is another aspect of PPP. Under a service contract, the government hires a private company to carry out one or more tasks or services for a period. The government pays the private firm a predetermined fee for the service. The payment may be based on a one-time fee, or other basis. In the public service, many services have been contracted out to private operators. This is to ensure prudent management of resources and client-oriented in terms of service delivery. In the process, many jobs will be lost while trade unionism will equally fizzle out. (c) Joint Venture: It is the process whereby government having a joint contract agreement to jointly operate an enterprise together for the purpose of profit and client satisfaction. Joint ventures are alternatives to full privatization. In this case, the infrastructure is co-owned and operated by the government or public sector and private operators. Because a joint venture is meant to operate as a business concern, the civil service rules will not be applicable in the operations of the concern. The manpower will be reduced. The issue of trade unionism is never pronounced. (d) Contributing Pension Scheme: This scheme was introduced in 2004 by the Obasanjo administration. It is a scheme which compels the public servants and their employers or government to contribute equal per cent monthly to an appointed and legalized organization known as Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) who will be in custody of the money till the employee retires from service. The Scheme has neutralized the affected pensioners or retirees as they can no longer come together under one umbrella to agitate for their rights or welfare, unlike the previous scheme.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This paper is hinged on the System Theory postulated by Professor John T. Dunlop (1958). The theory states that industrial relations system is a sub-system of the larger society. The industrial relations system comprised of certain actors, certain contexts, and ideology, which binds the industrial relations together. It also comprised of a body of rules which are used to govern the actors in the workplace and the entire work community. There are three sets of independent variables in the theory. These are the actors, the contexts, and the ideology. The contexts or determinants of the system are very important hence they go a long way in determining the direction or behaviour of the work environment. The significant parts of the environment in which the three actors operate or interact are (a) the technology of the workplace and work community, (b) the market or budgetary constraints, (c) a complex of rules, and (d) the locus and distribution of power in the larger society. The larger society also operates in many environments like economic, political, cultural, social, and technological. An organization, be it public or private must be affected by the dictates of the industrial environment. Consequently, the Nigeria public service is not an exemption. Hence the trade unions in the Nigeria public service are not immune to globalization. The trade unions in the public service must condition themselves and their members to the dictates of globalization.
As globalization has come to stay, trade unionism and industrial relations must of necessity operate within its ambit. The environment of globalization includes technology, economic, market, privatization, deregulation, and so forth. In the system theory, technology is one of the cardinal determinants of industrial relations as it dictates the type and span of management control including the number of personnel (workers) to be engaged for work (Fajana, 2006, Nnamdi 2013. The constraints in the market environment are two, these are product market and labour market. The product market constraint determines how and the ease with which products or services can be sold; while the labour market constraint affects or determines the bargaining power of and mobility of labour (Fajana, 2006, Nnamdi 2013. Consequently, the environments in which all the actors in the industrial relations operate have a lot to do in determining their mode of operation. Globalisation has cut across almost all areas of human endeavour. In the public service, automation or technology is fact taking over most of the work or activities of labour. The computer and Global System of Telecommunication (GSM) have improved the services and output of personnel in the public service. Besides, they have reduced cost of doing businesses in the public and private sectors, hence efficiency has been tremendously ensured.
In the era of government quest to reduce the costs of governance, globalization has given fillip to the activities of public service. Globalization has been entrenched in the governance of nations and corporations in the form of I.C.T. and E-governance.

OBJECTIVES OF TRADE UNIONS
One of the very important aspects of trade union activity is the welfare of the members, like pension schemes, retirement benefits, homes and others. Many unions also take part in national politics. Other objectives of trade unions, according to Babajide (2001), are: (a) The promotion of efficiency in the services of members; (b) The promotion and protection of the interest of members both individually and collectively; (c) The improvement of the social and economic wellbeing of members; (d) The regulation of relations between members and their employers; and (e) The provision of financial assistance to members who lose their jobs on the basis of strong participation in the politics of the unions.

FUNCTIONS OF TRADE UNIONS
Three main functions of trade unions have been identified. These are: 1. Economic functions: the primary concern of a trade union is the terms and conditions of work. The major function is to ensure that the rates of pay of its members reflect good living standards. Also, the union must ensure that the pay is comparable with the rates and scales of pay of workers in similar organizations or industry. It must also ensure there is job security.

2.
Social and Educational Function: as an association which comprises of persons who are exposed to social experiences, trade unions provide convenient and essential platform for the exchange of experiences and ideas and opportunity for mutual assistance and cooperation. In terms of education, trade unions often times organize yearly, district and local conferences so as to learn the state of current industrial relations as well as specific problems of the conditions of national and global economy and the industry as a whole. Also, the unions from time to time publish newsletters and bulletins so as to keep their members abreast of the union activities, including organizational, political, social and economic development.

3.
Political Function: Trade unions are involved in political affairs of the state, especially when it affects their wellbeing. The major reason which compels the state to interfere in industrial relations, also explains the need for trade unions to participate actively in politics. Some of the areas which precipitate or ginger trade unions in political activities are the principles and policies on labour laws; the need for