Industrial Relations, Labour Productivity and National Development in Nigeria

Abstract

Since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999, Nigeria has witnessed incessant and prolonged labour disputes, especially in the health and education sectors of the economy. For instance, Oyeyemi (2014) asserts that between 1992 and 2013, ASUU had been on strike for three years and six months. The incessant strike actions are counter-productive and have adverse effects on productivity and national development. According to the World Bank Report (2009), labour productivity in Nigeria has been persistently low, with an average growth rate of 1.2% for the period 2000 to 2008 which is lower than 1.9% recorded for Sub- Saharan Africa. This is as a result of high unemployment and labour market maladjustment. The country’s labour force rose steadily from 32.2million in 1980 to 42.9 million in 1992, recording a growth rate of 33%. Thereafter, the labour force fell to 30.6 million in 1993 before recovering to 31.3 million in 2000 (Umoru and Yaqub, 2013). Although, friction and labour market mal-adjustments constitute the highly fluctuating trend in employment rates in the country, this is also blamed on bad economic planning and declining electricity power generation capacity. There has been a palpable concern that the nature of Nigeria’s productivity levels and national development are a reflection of disharmonious industrial relations. Without identifying and addressing the negative trends in the political economy of Nigeria, it would be difficult to enhance industrial relations, labour productivity and national development. The aim of this report is to evaluate industrial relations, labour productivity and national development in Nigeria with a view to making policy recommendations and proffering implementation strategies for addressing observed shortcomings. The research utilised data from primary and secondary sources. Primary sources of data were obtained, principally through interviews and interactive sessions with officials and key stakeholders of states, MDAs and strategic institutions in Nigeria and selected countries in Europe and Africa. The States are Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara. The foreign countries visited are Belgium, England, France, Ireland and Turkey, while African countries are Algeria, Ghana, Namibia, Senegal, and Zimbabwe. The National Institute also organised series of lectures, seminars, conferences, and interactive sessions with resource persons and government officials, such as Ministers, heads of parastatal, military and paramilitary chiefs. Visits were also conducted to some strategic institutions in the country from where relevant data were obtained. The institutions visited are Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Headquarters, Abuja, Trade Union Congress (TUC) Headquarters Abuja, National Industrial Court, Jos, National Productivity Centre, Abuja, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Abuja and Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Headquarters, Jos. Secondary sources of data comprised documents from the States and countries visited, books, journals, past research works and the internet. Data collected were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively and presented in descriptive form. The Nigerian industrial relations environment is thus today characterised by violations of negotiated agreements and incessant strikes, which impact negatively on industrial relations, labour productivity and national development. This calls for strengthening the existing industrial relations mechanisms to create a conducive environment for regular dialogue between government and labour unions. While government needs to improve the enabling environment for labour relations to thrive, workers on the other hand, need to see unionism as a functional vehicle for the enhancement of workers’ welfare necessary for improved productivity, economic growth and national development. It is important to note commitment by the government to boost economic growth, which has resulted in the country now ranked the biggest economy in Africa. However, the over reliance on crude oil revenue remains a major challenge, which underscores the need to sustain on-going efforts to diversify the country’s economy. Towards this end, more political will and commitment would be required to boost power generation, transportation, business climate and skill acquisition to effectively support the reforms in the agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing sectors. Work ethic and productivity in the civil service is also considered necessary for propelling economic growth and national development. The examination of the Civil Service revealed the need for a return to the basic tenets of the Service’s procedures and processes with recruitment based on merit. On the other hand, erring public officers must be identified and sanctioned in line with existing laws or regulations to serve as deterrence to others. It was established that poor implementation and loopholes in the labour laws are partly responsible for the prolonged strikes experienced across various sectors of the economy. For example, workers utilise the loopholes in Section 17(a) and (b) of the Trade Dispute Act to make strikes legal while Section 3(3) of the Act gives room for the Honourable Minister of Labour and Productivity to be a judge in his/her own matter. These Sections could be reviewed to minimise strikes and ensure timely resolution of industrial conflicts. A review of the STI for economic and national development in the country reveals the need for restructuring for greater coordination, communication and policy harmonisation to evolve a better and more coherent national strategy. It is important to note that realising the Millennium Development Goals and economic diversification are not achievable without the scientific, engineering and technical capacity. Effective science and technology partnership between the public and private sectors is also apt. There is also need to focus attention on research efforts and expenditure on the areas where the country has competitive advantage such as agriculture, petrochemicals, renewable energy, and mining. To this end, necessary mechanisms need to be evolved to improve the quality of equipment and facilities available for research and development at all levels. The report also emphasised the importance of the security environment for the promotion of industrial relations, labour productivity and national development. The upsurge of the Boko Haram insurgency in the north eastern states of Nigeria has complicated the tenuous security climate in the country. As a result, industrial and commercial activities have been grounded, particularly in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States. The prevailing situation has limited both internal trade and the inflow of foreign direct investment. The recent spirited efforts of the government to explore dialogue and equip the security forces with modern military soft and hardware equipment to counter the insurgents need to be sustained in order to further create favourable security environment for peace and labour productivity in the affected states. Furthermore, the amendment of legislation to facilitate the deliberate employment of professional military skills and resources in national development is also necessary. 8.2 Recommendations and Implementation Strategies In the light of the findings of Participants of Senior Executive Course (SEC) 36, 2014, on the study of industrial relations, labour productivity and national development.