Trade Unions in Nigeria and the Challenge of Internal Democracy

Trade Unions emerged from the efforts of workers to seek improvement on existing working conditions through collective actions. They function to provide social, economic, political and psychological benefits for their members as well as the platform for participation in managerial functions in the industry. Today’s unions are no more mere bargaining agents or lobbyists but rather transformed into a social movement through which the working class has promoted mass democracy. In the face of persistent agitation for participatory democracy in the larger polity , this paper examines the level of adherence to the tenets of democracy in the internal workings of five trade unions across south west Nigeria. A total of six hundred and forty workers in wage employment were selected for this study, using a multi-stage ramdom samplying technique. In-depth interviews were held to compliment the use of the questionaire administered. The research reviewed some literature and is hedged on the pluralist perspective. The findings revealed that these unions are yet to imbibe the tenets of democracy in their internal administration as, for example, female participation in their activities is only about 23 percent.The study therefore recommends appropriate measures to ameliorate the situation. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n6p97