Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), has sounded a grim warning that Nigeria’s industrial relations system (IRS) is heading toward collapse unless urgent and far-reaching reforms are implemented to restore institutional authority, enforce the rule of law, and modernize outdated labour policies.

In a policy statement titled “Nigeria’s Industrial Relations System: A Snapshot and Call to Action,” Oyerinde said the nation’s labour framework, once modeled after the British tripartite system of cooperation between government, employers, and workers, has degenerated into a chaotic environment marked by mistrust, weak enforcement, and rising conflict.

“The Nigerian Industrial Relations System is currently floundering due to institutional erosion and economic strain,” Oyerinde declared. “Its trajectory points toward greater conflict and instability unless there is an immediate reassertion of the rule of law and enforcement of the authority of labour institutions.”

He Identified the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP), and the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) as the key institutions whose authority has been “visibly weakened” by disregard from all social partners, government, employers, and labour.

“There is a visible trend among these partners to bypass statutory dispute-resolution processes and even disobey rulings of the IAP and NICN,” he lamented. “This culture of impunity promotes self-help and transforms manageable disputes into national crises.”

The NECA chief criticised the government for failing to adequately fund and professionalize the Ministry of Labour, describing it as “ill-equipped to effectively manage the nation’s industrial ecosystem.” He also noted that the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC), the apex body for labour policy dialogue, remains “comatose,” thereby depriving the country of a credible platform for consensus-building.

Oyerinde did not spare the legislature either. He called it “an indictment on the Federal Government” that the long-reviewed Labour and Employment Bills, which were jointly developed by social partners, have not yet been passed into law. “This delay reflects a disturbing lack of seriousness about stabilizing the industrial relations system,” he said.

On the economic front, Oyerinde linked the growing instability in the labour sector to Nigeria’s current economic strain following the removal of fuel subsidies, spiraling inflation, and the erosion of workers’ purchasing power. These pressures, he argued, have pushed trade unions toward more confrontational, and sometimes politically charged, activism.

“Rather than engage in enterprise-level collective bargaining, unions are now more focused on national economic protests, blurring the line between industrial relations and political agitation,” he observed.

To restore sanity and balance, Oyerinde urged the government to demonstrate “unwavering political will” to enforce NICN rulings, strengthen conciliation mechanisms, and ensure that disputes are resolved swiftly through mediation before escalating into strikes. He also advocated a shift from cost-of-living-based wage negotiations to productivity-linked bargaining, saying it would make wage growth sustainable for employers while rewarding genuine productivity gains.

The NECA Director-General further pressed for an urgent legal review to incorporate the realities of the digital and gig economies into Nigeria’s labour laws, arguing that the country’s current legal framework is outdated and blind to new forms of work.

“While we impede the evolution of our industrial relations system, the world has moved ahead with future-ready labour laws that address remote work, platform jobs, and non-standard employment contracts,” he stated.

Oyerinde warned that Nigeria’s standing in the international labour community is at risk. “Having ratified 44 International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, including the ten fundamental ones, Nigeria walks precariously on the path of ridicule if it continues to disregard its own labour standards and institutions,” he said.

He concluded with a stark reminder: “The future of Nigeria’s economy depends not only on sound fiscal policy but also on a fair, predictable, and inclusive industrial relations framework. Without institutional respect and economic stability, there will be no decent jobs, no productivity, and no growth.” (Daily Independent)