An Evaluation of role of industrial union in managing employee grievances in the organization a case study of ministry of works in Enugu State.
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are;
- To determine the nature of employee grievances
- To determine the causes and effect of employee grievances
- To determine the nature and role of industrial union in managing employee grievance in the Enugu state civil service
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Employees Grievance Procedure
Grievance refers to any genuine or imaginary feeling of dissatisfaction or injustice which an employee experiences about his job and its nature, about the management policies and procedures which are expressed by the employee and brought to the notice of the management and the organization (Juneja, 2018). Rose (2004) defines grievance as any dissatisfaction regarding work and workplace expressed by employee in a formal way to his immediate supervisor. Grievances are indications of dissatisfaction of individual member with the ways things are playing out in their workplaces. Thus, employee grievance refers to any act of employee dissatisfaction cause by his immediate supervisor as regarding his work and workplace (Rose, 2004). Grievance also refers to a matter raised by employee to express dissatisfaction with management behaviour and is an attempt to bring out changes (D’Cruz, 1999). It is any discontent dissatisfaction, expressed or not, and whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected with the organization which the employee thinks, believed, or even feels is unfair, unjust or inequitable that he has suffered (Dwivedi, 2009).Due to various changes taken place in organizations, and also because of differences in the ways people behaves and perceive thing, there are chances that complaints and disputes must exist at workplaces. A grievance therefore could arise out of poorly or wrongly interpretation, administration or alleged violation of the general or specific terms of the collective agreement between managements and labour, and when employees’ expectations are not fulfilled from the organization as a result of which a feeling of discontentment and dissatisfaction arises. Grievance is usually filled by an employee when he or she feels that his rights has been violated or that aspect of work agreement he entered with an organization either personally or through collective agreement of union or relevant agencies has been altered. Bean (1994) believes that grievances are usually associated with dissatisfaction felt by an employee with his/her working conditions and procedures Employee grievance represents a feeling of dissatisfaction or discontent on the part of a worker resulting from the actions or decision of supervisors or top management. It is any real or imagined feeling of personal injustice which an employee has concerning his employment relation. Hardeman (2004) defines grievance procedure as a method through which employees make their voice known about management practices and/or decisions, in order to have them properly resolved. Jones and Gorge (2000) posit that disagreements are always an inevitable part of organizational life. However, management always put in place some processes and procedures which can be followed to ensure that every of such conflicts and grievance are resolved. These processes are known as employee grievance procedures, and are much in line with the principle of “due process” (Mante-Meija and Enid (1991) which guarantees the application of procedural of justice and ethical decision making in organization. Arvey and Jones (1985) see grievance procedure as a process through which an employee can bring workplace concerns to upper levels of management. These definitions entails that a well formulated grievances procedure can enhance positive organizational outcomes and contribute to the effectiveness of management, as well as creation of a harmonious management-labour relations. The process is more formal and requires that it be followed strictly.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to an evaluation of role of industrial union in managing employee grievances in the organization
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain an evaluation of role of industrial union in managing employee grievances in the organization
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of an industrial union in managing employee grievances in the organization
Summary
This study was on an evaluation of role of industrial union in managing employee grievances in the organization. Three objectives were raised which included: To determine the nature of employee grievances, to determine the causes and effect of employee grievances and to determine the nature and role of industrial union in managing employee grievance in the Enugu state civil service. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of ministry of works in Enugu state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up directors, administrative staff, senior staff and junior staff were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
A grievance procedure is an effective tool used for resolving matters raised by workers, with the aim of promoting procedural justice, particularly in a unionised organization. The issues of concern should arise within the workplace. Handling grievances in an efficient and effective manner can improve the employer-employee relationship, as well as organizational productivity.
Recommendation
Trade union should create a level playground for all members to take part in the decision making machinery of the unions. They must present a strong united front since multiple unions dilutes the power of unions and reduces their effectiveness. In this regard, trade unions should come together in order to present a strong united voice in matters affecting their members and the general society. In addition, freedom should be given to members to freely participate in all union programmes and in all important decision. It is when the society sees and realizes that there are true democratic processes in trade union activities that the unions will be taken seriously
Organizations should ensure that those in-charges of employees grievance management should be well trained to enable them acquire the requisite human relations skills, and knowledge of the country’s labour and industrial laws to increase their capacity in grievance and conflict handling.
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