THE greatest problemwe have today is lack of en-forcement of agreement in industrial relations and disputes. This disclosure was made during the inplant workshop on Trade Union Practice In A Changing World, organised by the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin, Kwara State, for members of the Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWU), the director general of the institute, Dr John Olanrewaju, said people representing government, employers and workers in trade disputes must be knowledgeable in industrial relations, saying “if one party is not knowledgeable, you are bound to have friction in industerial relations and negotiations”.

“While union leaders spend so much to train their members, the government must also ensure that people who represent them in agreement must have some knowledge of industrial relations, international labour standards so that both parties can speak at same level because the work place is becoming more complex and dynamic and industrial relations is a specialised field, different from general management or administration”, he said.

The labour expert, who said strike is not a win-win situation, added that both groups in trade disputes must lose something and that strike is not the best option in industrial dispute.

He said parties must always strive to exhaust all options to resolve disputes, but lamented that, “what happens is that one party is in a hurry and thus takes action that compounds the situation”.  

Dr. Olanrewaju, who said that statutory positions to employ in trade disputes include national arbitration and national industrial courts, added that parties do not always exhaust the options before taking actions.

“Nigeria comes from the background of military government and there is carry over that things can be done by force from parties (union, government and employers). But we are in democracy now and industrial relations and democracy have dialogue as main feature. We should not be tired of talking”, he said.