AN APPRAISAL OF THE EFFECT OF STRIKE OF PUBLIC SERVICE PROVIDERS ON THE GENERAL PUBLIC

Abstract

In recent years, countries around the world have witnessed a number of industrial conflicts due to the competing interests that permanently exist in industrial establishments varying in their forms and enormity. Nigeria has been no exception, having suffered its fair share of these industrial conflicts. Labour management conflicts have assumed unprecedented proportion. Public policy designed to deal with conflict situation in employment became more interventionist and revolutionary. This article adopted the doctrinal research method as it examined the various legislations and legal journals on the effect of strike action of service providers on the general public with comparative reference to other jurisdictions. The central aim of this paper is an appraisal of the impact strike actions had on the public with specific focus on service providers. This article recommends that there should be a clear-cut dispute resolution mechanism in organisation (both public and private) to always endeavour to nip strike actions in the bud to minimize the agonies of the general public. Furthermore, all collective agreement should be formally registered with the Ministry of Employment labour and Productivity after the necessary approval, and finally, there is need to consistently and considerably reduce the time-lag for the final resolution of trade dispute which by nature requires speed as the law currently stands.