Labor Union Leadership And Career Advancement In Major Nigerian Oil Companies

Abstract

Labor related issues in the upstream sector of the Nigerian oil industry started to emerge soon after the discovery of petroleum in commercial quantities within the Niger Delta area mid- 1950s (Shell, 2000). Different groups within and outside the oil industry formed opinions about union leaders in the most strategic industry in the country. This was in part the case because the work force became better educated than their predecessors. One group among the industrys stakeholders believe labor union leaders have been ill treated, penalized, and stagnated, over the years by their managements. Supervisors and managers, it is alleged, act repulsively and harassingly towards union leaders in order to suppress their activities. Others believe the union leaders have been pampered and favorably treated by the managements of these companies in order to maintain peace. This study sets out to discover whether or not these notions about labor union leaders in the major oil companies in Nigeria are true. In this regard, ten null hypotheses were tested to accept or reject the notion that union leaders are not favored, are not educationally qualified, are not productive, are not militant, are not loyal, are not penalized for holding labor union leadership positions, cannot progress beyond executive status and cannot score more than 70 percentile on the researchers charismatic and superior leadership scale. One of the hypotheses was tested using ANOVA, two were tested using Kruskal-Wallis, and seven were tested using Chi-Square. The research findings highlighted some areas that the management of major oil companies and the federal government of Nigeria need to look into. Management of these companies need to look into the issue of the small group of managers and supervisors in the companies who still view labor unionism in negative light and consider labor union leaders as mere loafers and trouble makers. Training programs in labor unionism need to be carried out on regular basis for union leaders, managers, and supervisors in these companies. Further, the federal government of Nigeria needs to look into the perennial labor-related conflicts between the major oil companies and their host communities.