Abstract
The aim of this paper is to present detailed contextual understanding of employment relations, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and collective conciliation in Nigeria. This contextual understanding is important in order to comprehend the specific evolution of ADR and collective conciliation in Nigeria, the particular configuration of employment relations institutions and the role of different stakeholders such as trade unions and employers’ associations. The outcomes of this study, affirms the significance of the roles and responsibilities of the actors (employer, trade union, state and conciliator) and highlights the procedures inherent in the dispute resolution mechanism hence, revealing how the weakness of state machinery tends to frustrate the process of conciliation in practice. Additionally, this study offers a reflection of what previous studies have presented, concerning the perceptions of users about the outcomes of collective conciliation within the Nigerian context.
Highlights
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is referred to by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as being a substitute for the court system, namely: a set of processes that comprise of negotiation, conciliation, mediation and arbitration (ILO, 1997)
This attitude of the state is usually opposed with resistance among trade unions in the form of strike action (Badejo, 2011; Damachi and Fashoyin, 1986; Trevoedjre, 1969). These studies assert that a nation’s economic growth cannot be realized without the activities of profit-making private companies and whenever trade unions seek improvement in their terms and conditions of employment they are seen as a threat by the state (Geary, 1985; Otobo, 1983). This is because the state wants to minimize disruption to production, eliminate threats to investment and ensure a buoyant economy, especially when members of Nigeria’s ruling parties and elite system are the investors that own the private companies operating in Nigeria
This paper reveals that prior to the colonial era paternalist employment relations practice was in operation in Nigeria, but during colonialism voluntary employment relations practice was introduced and later replaced with state interventionism
Summary
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is referred to by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as being a substitute for the court system, namely: a set of processes that comprise of negotiation, conciliation, mediation and arbitration (ILO, 1997) This description includes a set of approaches to settling disputes which in practice vary significantly in terms of their nature and use from one institutional context to another. Section four presents a reflection on ADR mechanisms in Nigeria It examines the nature and context of ADR, forms of ADR that are operational in Nigeria and key dispute resolution institutions, notably the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. It highlights the procedures inherent in the dispute resolution mechanism and reveals how the weakness of state machinery tends to frustrate the process of conciliation in practice. It offers a reflection of what previous studies have presented, concerning the perceptions of users about the outcomes of collective conciliation in Nigeria, and conclude
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