UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

COURSE CODE:
IRP 301
Examine the growth and dwarfism of industrial
relations system in Nigerian Universities.
Suggest alternative dispute resolution to
persistent industrial actions by ASUU.

LECTURER:
DR. M.O ALIYU
MATRIC NO:

19/66RP090

02-02-2023

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION........................................................3

2.0 GROWTH AND DWARFISM OF INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS SYSTEM IN NIGERIA UNIVERSITIES........4

2.1 GROWTH OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SYSTEM

IN NIGERIA..................................................................5

2.2 IMPORTANCE OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS.....6

2.2 FACTORS OR CHALLENGES AFFECTING

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SYSTEM IN NIGERIAN
UNIVERSITIES............................................................8

3.0 ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION TO

PERSISTENT INDUSTRIAL ACTIONS BY ASUU..........11

4.0 CONCLUSION..........................................................13

REFERENCES................................................................15

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Two words are combined to create the phrase "Industrial Relations":

"Industry" and "Relations.""Industry" is defined as "any productive activity in
which a person or group of people is involved." Our focus here is on "industry-
specific" interactions between business owners and their employees.
Workers' and managers' interactions, both formal and informal, may be traced
back to the union-employer dynamic, which is what industrial relations seeks
to explain. It may also be used to describe the study of such associations,
often amongst labor unions.

Employer interests are represented by management, whereas worker

interests are represented by unions. Additionally, the government plays a role
by passing laws that are in the best interests of workers.

The terminology "industrial relations" has been defined in a variety of ways.

Industrial relations are "the complicated interrelations among management,

employees, and government agencies," as defined by J.T. Dunlop.

Management's interaction with labor unions for the purpose of negotiating and
then administering a collective bargaining agreement or labor contract is what
Dale Yoder calls "industrial relations."

There are essentially three protagonists. The first group consists of

employees and their unions, the second of employers and their groups, and
the third of government and its departments. Employers are responsible for
providing the raw materials, which includes human resources and money,
while employees and their trade unions are responsible for supplying the skills
essential for the creation of products and services. The government and its
departments are responsible for creating a favorable setting for the
manufacturing of products and services. Every one of these players carries
out its duties in the hopes of reaping some kind of benefit in return. Employers
and their associations expect good profits and other pecuniary returns on their

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investments in raw materials and other resources supplied by them for the
production of goods and services, while workers and their trade unions expect
generous salaries and other favorable employment conditions in exchange for
their labor. In exchange for creating an environment in which businesses may
produce products and services, the government and its agencies demand a
certain level of taxation and orderliness from those businesses.

2.0 GROWTH AND DWARFISM OF INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS SYSTEM IN NIGERIA UNIVERSITIES

Since Nigeria's independence, the country's industrial relations system has

been in a precarious place. Constant tension exists between the government
and the working class.

Some persistent problems have not only harmed productivity and growth, but
also harmed the harmonious connection that should exist between labor and
government. For instance, these difficulties explain why Nigeria's industrial
relations system is plagued by frequent labor conflicts including strikes,
lockouts, picketing, sit-ins, agitations, and demonstrations.

It seems like a few months go by and there is a new dispute between the
government and the labor movement over some unmet demand. This, in turn,
may spark protests or industrial strikes, both of which can have devastating
effects on the economy and the forex market. Since its inception, the Nigeria
Labour Congress (NLC) has often resorted to strike action, public rallies, and
other forms of protest to get its point through or to force the government to
change course.

These problems have been increasingly obvious in recent years, and they
show up often in the composition of regulatory frameworks, the authority and
behavior of law-making organizations, and the activities of players in the
Nigerian industrial relations system. The overarching goal of this study is to
analyze the Nigerian industrial relations system, including its regulatory

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framework, administrative bodies, and labor unions, and to address the
difficulties and challenges that arise from these components.

When discussing social and economic concerns like pay setting, working
hours, and working conditions, the term "Industrial Relations" encompasses
every interaction between employers and employees, whether on a national,
regional, or business level. Differences across nations' systems of labor
regulation may be traced back to the distinct influences of each country's
unique political, economic, and social history. Social dialogue is a crucial
aspect of industrial relations since it facilitates communication, information
sharing, dispute resolution, and problem solving in the workplace. Social
conversation has been shown to be useful in a number of contexts, including
as a means of promoting democratic leadership and citizen engagement,
fostering economic development and stability, and fostering harmonious
working conditions.

2.1 GROWTH OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SYSTEM IN

NIGERIA

Industrial connections in Nigeria date back to colonial and even pre-colonial

times, when the country developed official and semi-formal ties with the
British and other European countries. Wage work in an organized industrial
context arose as a direct result of such connections. The British were
successful in the 1884–1885 Berlin conference in formalizing their claims to
the Nigeria Basin, and the Royal Niger Company, led by Sir Taubman George
Goldie, was established to oversee the operations of some private
entrepreneurs (Ubeku, 1993:37).

The culture of power grab and interventionism fostered by the military and
inherited by the newly independent Nigerian government headed by Sir
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on October 1, 1960, gave rise to Nigeria's unique
kind of industrial relations.

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Meanwhile, the British took a series of administrative and political steps that
ultimately resulted in the merger of the Northern and Southern protectorates
in 1914, creating the modern nation of Nigeria. British colonial administrator
Lord Lugard ruled over this fledgling nation. The British colonial overlords
instituted a number of changes in the labor sector as the nation matured and
developed, laying the groundwork for the legislative frameworks governing
industrial relations to this day. The colonialists set up an industrial relations
system that was a hybrid of the Anglo-Saxon tripartism model (a system of
industrial relations based on interaction between employers, employees, and
government) and interventionism, which relies on the use of force to enforce
compliance and prevent industrial action. This study makes an effort to trace
the roots of Nigeria's current industrial relations issue back to the country's
complicated history of colonial control and military involvement. In other
words, it aims to demonstrate how Nigeria's current industrial relations
structure is essentially a product of its past. The paper concludes that an
understanding of Nigeria's modern labor-management relations system
necessitates at least a cursory investigation of the country's colonial past in
relation to its post-colonial military government and labour reforms, the latter
of which are intended primarily to establish the legal prescriptions and
proscriptions for labor activities, employee-employer relations, and labor
relations with the government and its regulatory agencies.

So, at the time of Nigeria's formal independence from Britain in 1960, the
model of industrial relations that was in place was primarily Anglo-Saxon.
Without the efforts of nationalist and labor agitators, these labor market
changes may not have occurred.

2.2 IMPORTANCE OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

One of the oldest and most perplexing issues facing contemporary industrial
civilization is industrial relations. Because people are unable to work together

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and get along, the industrial revolution will never advance. Accordingly, this
article also discusses the significance of industrial relations in human
resource management. However, it is in the best interest of all parties
involved to establish and preserve cordial ties between workers (labour) and
management (management in this example).

1. Promotes democracy:

Collective bargaining is at the heart of industrial relations, which is the

practice of mediating disputes between employers and employees. Collective
bargaining is often accomplished by compromise and collaboration among all
relevant stakeholders, including representative government, business, and
labor organizations. Industrial democracy may be established with this aid.
Therefore, it encourages the staff to give their all to the company's success.

2. Economic growth and development:

Improvements in industrial relations have been shown to boost economic

expansion and development. This relates to employees' economic situations
within the current structure of industrial management and political
governance. It is common knowledge that effective workplace relationships
boost productivity, and by extension, economic success. It's also crucial to
remember that this contributes to the country's overall economic growth.

3. Boosts employee morale

One of the most important aspects of human resource management is

fostering positive industrial relations, which may inspire employees to give
their all in their work, increase their output and pay, make them happier in
their positions, and boost their morale.

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4. Accountability and optimum use of scarce resources:

Good and harmonious industrial relations foster a feeling of community and

solidarity among employees and lead to fewer cases of workplace strife and
conflict. In this way, time and materials will be used efficiently, and waste of
any kind will be prevented.

5. Avoids conflicts between management and unions:

Reduced tensions between workers' unions and management are one of the
benefits of good industrial relations. This is due to the fact that the very nature
of industrial relations necessitates the establishment of binding agreements
between management and workers in order to address issues that arise. The
outcome is a reduction in potentially contentious activities between
management and labor unions.

6. It prompts the depiction of sound labor legislation:

Certain labor laws must be enacted to protect and promote the welfare of
labor and to preserve the interests of all parties against unfair methods or
practices in order to maintain peaceful and productive industrial relations.

7. Creates a setting conducive to alteration:

Cooperation, collaboration, performance, and productivity are all boosted by

positive industrial relations, which in turn allows for greater use of cutting-
edge scientific and technical developments. Workers benefit from this since
they are more able to adapt to new situations.

2.2 FACTORS OR CHALLENGES AFFECTING INDUSTRIAL

RELATIONS SYSTEM IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

Schools have long been seen as the pinnacle of formal education in most
societies. The learning process is structured in a cohesive manner to optimize

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learning and engagement in a communicative environment.. A growing
number of parents are facing the difficulty of accommodating their children's
diverse approaches to learning and methods of knowledge retention as they
raise their children in an increasingly complicated culture. The responsibility
for meeting the educational requirements of children is given to the
established institutions of schooling. The children are immersed in a setting
that prepares them to adopt the values, conventions, and perspectives of
adult society.

One of the foundations of society, schools provide instruction, guidance, and

role models for the next generation. All of these things are a part of schooling.
As the term suggests, the effects of the ASUU's strikes on Nigerian students'
grades and the country's economy are diametrically opposed.

The impact of the ASUU strike on student productivity and national progress
is analyzed here. Several academic reports have shown that interruptions to
the school year have a detrimental impact on kids' ability to study and
perform. The results of a research titled "Perception of Fairness Following a
Strike" are summarized below; in short, they found that pupils suffered in
several ways due to the disruption of the school year caused by the strike.

The impact of education happens when all parties play their parts well. So,
disagreements between those involved hinder education. A learning
environment that is not favorable to effective learning is created when
stakeholders fail to execute their needed responsibilities, infringe on the rights
of others, and disrupt the process. Positive interactions between educators
and their students are essential to everyone's success. Disruption to the
learning process and students' capacity to reach their full academic potential
are inevitable results of any disputes that arise in educational institutions.
Actions taken in the form of strikes have a direct impact on academic work.
the results of the study on the effects of the ASUU strikes were examined; the
study revealed that the strikes had a detrimental effect on the implementation
of universities' national curricula. Bello said that university curricula were only
partly implemented at the time of ASUU's strike action. Under these

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conditions, students will stop at nothing to get their diploma, regardless of the
costs involved. According to the research, the ASUU strike hampered the
implementation of the national curriculum at institutions. Bello's observation
that strike action disrupted university curricula was corroborated by this study.
This led to pupils focusing only on obtaining certifications rather than on
gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the real world.

The ASUU strike emphasized that, effective learning was continually

obstructed by lack of ability to effectively carry out curriculum of the syllabus
on time prior to examination administration because of the lack of academic
activity during strikes action; students are not in classes until the strike is
called off. They went on to say that any disruption to students' normal
academic timetables, such as a strike, would have a negative impact on their
learning, and that this would be true both in terms of the amount and quality of
their routine and their ability to work together with their peers and instructors.
Students were deterred from continuing their study habits because of program
disruptions.

Time wasted due to strikes that would have been employed in giving lectures
has already had an effect on the quality of graduates coming out of Nigerian
colleges, and this effect will not be reversed even if the ASUU strike is ended.
Graduates from Nigerian institutions suffered as a direct consequence of the
ASUU strike because of the missed instructional time and the resulting "half-
baked" goods. Although they acknowledged that the ASUU strike had a
negative effect on university education, they did agree with most conclusions
about the link between job satisfaction, need satisfaction, motivation, and
performance; they also hypothesized that teachers' performance in the
classroom would improve if they were more satisfied with their work.

There has to be a sincere commitment on all sides to use conflict resolution to

settle the ASUU issue with the government, notwithstanding the fact that
some efforts to do so have failed. The primary goal of the conflict resolution
mechanism or process would be to end the issue via dialogue with the help of
an impartial third party to mediate the talks. This would need the

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establishment of dispute resolution mechanisms and procedures. It would
also include legislative procedures of reconciliation, arbitration investigation
and judgment by the national industrial tribunals, and the use of a third party
in negotiating processes incorporating mediation.

Because to the ongoing conflict between the government and ASUU, several
institutions in the nation have been forced to close. The ASUU's stance
throughout this dispute has been that the federal government is to blame for
its refusal or inability to carry out a previously agreed upon agreement that
was signed by both sides. The federal government claimed that they were
limited in their ability to negotiate salaries for state university professors by the
opposition of state governments, which insisted that they were in a better
position to do so. As a result, the federal government refused to recognize
any agreement reached by the states, claiming that doing so would violate the
principles of collective bargaining. This article, however, examines the basis
for this claim in the context of international instruments to which Nigeria is a
signatory and the country's existing municipal legal regime, and comes to the
conclusion that collective bargaining is not only a normative mechanism for
harmonious labor relations, but that its adoption in the FG/ASUU renegotiation
process is consistent with the country's international obligations and the legal
regime in place.

3.0 ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION TO

PERSISTENT INDUSTRIAL ACTIONS BY ASUU

According to Nigeria's university planners, higher learning's ultimate goal is to

facilitate and adapt to societal and economic shifts in the intended directions
(Nigerian Universities Commission, 1982). In an ideal world, higher education
would serve to both elevate the human spirit and fill the voids created by a
flourishing economy via the provision of both broad and specialized training.
Goal-wise, it's all about helping kids learn the skills they'll need to be
successful adults in their chosen fields. It's easy to see why education-related
difficulties have sparked so much debate: the value of a good education rises

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in direct proportion to the degree to which it reduces social inequality,
intergenerational income gaps, and social standing. Differences in educational
attainment translate into disparities in high school graduation rates, college
enrollment and graduation rates, and, eventually, financial and social class
disparities that fuel our most pressing societal issues.

Ralf Darhendorf developed his theory of conflict by analyzing Karl Marx's

writings critically (Dahrendorf, 1959). According to Dahrendorf, Marx's 19th
century characterization of capitalism was mostly true. But he argued that it
was no longer relevant as a framework for understanding war in the twentieth
century. Darhendorf believed that "post-capitalist societies" like the United
States and the United Kingdom had undergone significant transformations.
Between the two major groups that Marx foresaw growing apart, a new middle
class arose, and Dahrendorf recognized this fact. This new group of
employees included those with some college education and professional
experience, such as secretaries, nurses, and teachers. After the government
took action, income and wealth gaps narrowed. A looser and finally broken
relationship between ownership and management of enterprises allowed
more people to rise in the social stratosphere. The means of production were
managed on a daily basis rather than owned. Marx's idea that conflict sprang
from unequal access to the tools of production was made moot by these
shifts. It was determined that the correlation between money and power was
ineffective since shareholders might possess a firm's wealth without having
the ability to exert tight control over the management inside the organization.
Due to these changes, Dahrendorf maintained, the traditional economic class
distinctions between Marx's two defined classes could no longer be the
primary basis for conflict. Dahrendorf described authority as being
preoccupied with conflict.

Using Darhendorf's theory of conflict, we may deduce that the Federal

Government's ability to make choices that go against the ASUU's interests is
a source of contention. These opposing viewpoints provide-breeding
environment for the animosity that has led to ASUU's complaints and
subsequent strikes.

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Because to the ongoing conflict between the government and ASUU, several
institutions in the nation have been forced to close. The ASUU's long-held
stance is that the Federal Government is to blame for the impasse since it has
refused or failed to execute a written agreement between the two sides.

The federal government has claimed that it is constrained by the opposition of

the state governments, which have insisted that they are in a better position to
negotiate the salaries of their lecturers in state universities. As a result, the
federal government has refused to recognize any agreement entered by the
states, claiming instead that it was forced upon them under the principles of
alternative dispute resolution.

4.0 CONCLUSION

The process of alternative dispute resolution is the method via which

management, representing the employer, and organized labor, representing
the union, come to a settlement of their disagreements and reach a
consensus. Management and labor are the two parties participating in
alternative dispute resolution since the problem at hand affects both of them
and may be resolved via discussion and negotiation between the two groups.
The processes of debate, prevalent agreement, wrangling, and bargaining
between management and labor unions are engaged in alternative conflict
resolution, which is dynamic in character and democratically binding on both
sides. The use of this approach in the management of issues impacting
management labor ensures industrial harmony. In spite of the many
unsuccessful efforts made to settle the disagreement between the ASUU and
the administration, there should be a sincere commitment on all sides to
resort to conflict resolution in order to put an end to this issue. The dispute will
be resolved by the use of a third party for the purpose of mediation throughout
the course of the negotiation, which will constitute the conflict resolution

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mechanism or process that will be utilized in order to accomplish the primary
aim.

Specifically, this entails the establishment of mechanisms and procedures

with the aim of settling disagreements. It requires the participation of a neutral
third party, as well as negotiation and mediation procedures, as well as
legislative processes of reconciliation, arbitration investigation, and judgment.
The process of negotiating consists of five different stages.

1. Organizing and collecting the necessary information for a successful

negotiation is a joint effort that takes place during the preparation and
planning phase.

2. Definition of ground rules - guidelines and processes are put up for the
proposed discussion.

3. Clarification and justification - Each side expresses their stance, using the
chance to educate one another on their respective positions in order to justify
their original request.

4. Negotiating and finding solutions to problems -. At this juncture, both sides

will engage in a process of giving and taking in the form of concessions.

5. Closure and implementation: This last phase formalizes the agreement that
has been reached and forms and procedures that are necessary for
implementation and monitoring. It also forms and procedures that are required
for closure and implementation. In light of these procedures, the Federal
Government of Nigeria and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
need to realign their dialogues when they are at odds with one another. Both
sides should work to reduce the number of conflicts that arise and instead
focus on having conversations that are more productive and conducive to
establishing trust.

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