Global Journal of Business Management

Global Journal of Business Management ISSN 6731-4538 Vol. 1 (1), pp. 001-009, December, 2007. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Unity and division: The dialectics of the Nigerian trade union movement

Funmi Adewumi

Department of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management, University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected].

Accepted 19 October, 2007

Abstract

This paper takes cursory look at the development of the Nigerian trade union movement. Using the historical approach, it is argued that a combination of ideological, political, structural and personal factors has made it virtually impossible for the movement to attain a level of unity needed to secure concessions from the Nigerian state and the owners of capitalist industry. The paper then concludes that given the unfolding developments within the global and local economies which continue to confer advantages on capital, the Nigerian trade union movement needs to overcome internal divisions and confront the prevailing situation as a class for itself.