An investigation into the social process of collective conciliation in Nigeria

• Main Author: Ige, Adejoke Yemisi
• Other Authors: Forde, Christopher ; Ian, Greenwood
• Published: University of Leeds 2017
• Subjects: 331.89
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.714291

This thesis investigates the social process of collective conciliation in Nigeria. The dominant approaches to understanding Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and collective conciliation have adopted a relatively narrow approach, considering ADR in terms of authority, knowledge and the formal institutionally constituted roles of the key actors. This thesis offers a broader understanding that allows the examination of the ‘social process’ of collective conciliation. It considers the collective forms of interaction that take place between trade unions and management, with the assistance of an independent third party, during the resolution of collective employment disputes, hence revealing how this is shaped and conditioned by a broader set of institutional, political and organisational arrangements. This approach pays attention to a much wider set of relational factors that shape collective conciliation, with three particular sets of factors: information-sharing and communication between the parties; regulations, legislation and the politically contingent actions of state actors; and the historically evolving relations between trade unions and management, which are played out in specific disputes in the workplace being considered in detail. This thesis presents a study of collective conciliation in Nigeria; it builds upon interviews with key stakeholders and offers an analysis of three specific case studies of conciliation to shed new light on the social process of collective conciliation. The study highlights the key role of the Nigerian state and the Ministry of Labour in shaping employment relations and collective conciliation processes and end results, through a mixture of formal policies and legislation, a dominant elitist and conservative ideology, and politically motivated appointments to key labour relations ministerial roles. These have had a profound effect on the perception by trade unions and management of the impartiality of the dispute resolution process. The study also highlights how the collective forms of interaction that take place among trade unions and management during negotiations influence the manner in which they share information with each other. It reveals the perception of the actors and confirms their willingness to negotiate compromise and attain resolution. Overall, this study offers a fuller, more nuanced approach to the study of collective conciliation by highlighting the significance of communication and information sharing, union and management relations and the role of the state in relation to conciliation processes and outcomes.