ENFORCEMENT OF COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT IN NIGERIA: AN EXAMINATION

Abstract

Conflicts, unarguably, exist in every sphere of human life, domestically, politically, economically and in the employer and employee relationship. The reason may not be far from the quest to individually protect one’s interest against another. The issue of employees/employers conflict often scholarly referred to as industrial conflict has necessitated serious interventions aimed at regulating industrial/labour management relations through the use of “collective bargaining” where parties involved could “negotiate” with the view of reaching an agreement (often referred to as collective agreement), Collective agreement represents the agreements reached during the process of bargaining which has been reduced into writing. It is a product of collective bargaining and sets rules on how workers should be treated, to ensure that management decisions concerning workers meet the demands of justice and fairness. This work appraises, examines and evaluates collective agreements with respect to collective bargaining, the position of the law on its enforceability in Nigeria and some other. In achieving this aim, the researcher adopted doctrinal research method relying on primary and secondary sources of law. It is found that collective agreements are unenforceable due to the absence of intention to create legal relations and the principle of privity of contract. With the growing importance of collective agreement globally, it is recommended that there is the need for the amendment of various legislations to expressly support the enforcement of collective agreement legislation. The need to incorporate sanctions or fines for non compliance with collective agreements reached amongst parties is also recommended.