Towards A Harmonious Labour and Industrial Relations in Nigeria’s School System: Challenges and Prospects

ABSTRACT: Management and employees relationship in the school system is very fundamental to the wellbeing of educational institutions. It provides a structured framework for effective and harmonious coexistence between workers and school management. Harmonious relationship between workers school management minimises conflicts that often times arise in work organisations. This study therefore explores the essence of harmonious relationship between workers and school managements, with the aim of finding possible solutions to minimise incessant industrial conflicts, which often times arise between workers’ unions and school managements. The study was anchored on the Industrial Relations System Model, which provides a structured framework for understanding how labour relations operate within an organisation such as the school system. The study explored the causes and effects of labour and industrial disputes in schools and the various machineries for resolving disputes between workers’ and school managements. The study argued that lack of knowledge of labour laws, poor or delayed implementation of collective agreements, politicisation of industrial relations, disunity among workers’ unions, and conflict entrepreneurship are some of the challenges to labour and industrial relations in Nigeria’s school system. In view of the foregoing, promotion of industrial harmony culture, participatory management, and capacity building in labour relations among others were however suggested as ways of ensuring a harmonious labour and industrial relations in Nigeria’s school system.

KEYWORDS: Labour relations, Industrial conflicts, Industrial harmony, School system, Challenges, Prospects