Introduction It is not unusual to come across a scenario where laws conflict with ethical values. This is often pronounced on disciplines that study standards of conduct, such as philosophy, theology, law psychology, or sociology, Resnik (2011). To understand the major conflicts that may arise between law and ethics, a clear definition of the two terms is of great importance. Resnik further defines ethics as “norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior”. In relation to disciplinary studies, Resnik further asserts that ethics can be defined as “a method, procedure, or perspective for deciding how to act and for analyzing complex problems and issues”. On the other hand, law can be defined as a set of rules that guide man’s conduct in a society and are enforceable through public agencies (Gates, n.d., para. 2). The underlying phrase in ethics and law is thus ‘acceptability by the populace’. The two are thus an expression of norms or rules in a society, either defined or expressive. Laws and ethics are the guiding principles of people’s behavior and ways of life in a society. They are often adhered to because they are either perceived to be right or in the course of one’s endeavor to seek approval from others. However, when the rules are too serious, that is, enacted through a judicial mechanism, the enforcer and custodian become the government. In this case, a mere approval/disapproval is not satisfactory. Ethics vs. the Law: A General View First, it is imperative to note that the conflicts that often arise between law and ethics are experienced in many disciplines and professions. The focus and study should be widespread and not confined to bio-medical studies only. The police force is one such profession that normally experiences a conflict between the law and ethics. The police often go into the record for various wrong reasons e.g. violating a rule or procedure; overstepping their powers in the course of crime investigation and an utter breakage of the law. This is usually against the officers’ or the public’s ethical values. According to (Crowley & Larsen, 2010), although some universal moral principles are violated with apparent impunity, moral principles serve to provide an external morality guide to the police. The other emotive situation in as far as the aspect of conflict between the law and ethics is concerned is public sector strike (industrial action) by the nurses. An example is the South African industrial action that led to the wage negotiation of 2010. According to (Rensburg & Rensburg, 2013), there was a general unethical behavior on the part of the nurses that warranted a further exploration. Rensburg & Rensburg clarifies that the unethical behavior was majorly evident from the media coverage of the events. Such industrial actions are often regulated by laws and policies. The professionals (nurses included) are always expected to be guided by the stipulated laws, policies and provisional codes of conduct. These codes are often formulated by the labor organizations and the trade unions. This ensures, a good representation of all the stake holders in the in the process of policy formulation. The main issue to analyze from the nurses action is whether or not they behave unethically in the course of the strike. This can be looked at by analyzing Lo