Journal of Human Resources Management and Labor Studies

Characteristics of Industrial Labour among Small Scale Manufacturing Enterprises in Ondo State
Afolabi Francis Fatusin

Abstract
The structure of Industrial labour is crucial to success of enterprises in that it has considerable impact on the volume and pattern of productivity. This paper explores this topic in relation to small scale industrial enterprises in Ondo state of Nigeria. By taking a sample of 353 enterprises out of which 2 workers were interviewed in each firm making 706 in all, results were presented using simple tables and graphs. The study discovered that small scale industries have tremendous capacities to generate employment especially among categories of enterprises which employ between 1 to 5 people, which constitute over 51% of enterprises sampled It also established that agro based enterprises and consumer product enterprises employed majority of workers with 35% and 22% of all the workers sampled with minor differences across the three regions of the state – Ondo North, Ondo Central and Ondo South. The structure of the labour force also revealed that, apprentices accounted for 32.3%, casual labourers accounted for 31.3%, while permanent workers constituted 20.5% of the total labour supply. Labour migration pattern revealed that majority of workers (61.6%) were indigenes in the area their plants were located, received their salaries monthly (62.5%) and picked food as their major area of expenditure (77%). The study concluded by advocating improved support to small scale industries to ensure improved workers productivity.

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