The Role of National Industrial Court in the Settlement of Labour Disputes in Nigeria

Abstract

In the field of industrial relations, a trade or labor dispute refers to a disagreement between an employer and an employee over the terms of their working relationship. There can be no doubt that labor disputes severely hamper the development and steadiness of any nation's economy. The unique legal considerations accorded to it in different parts of the world likely reflected this. Established in 1976, the Nigerian Industrial and Commerce Court (NICN) is charged with resolving commercial and labor issues throughout the country. Prior to the formation of the NICN, the ordinary courts, which were already overburdened with other responsibilities, were the ones in charge of mediating labor conflicts. This created insurmountable difficulties for workers who brought lawsuits against their employers, as getting a fair trial was significantly slowed down. Another problem was that traditional court procedures were too lengthy and complicated for a country that aspired to rapid industrialization and social and economic progress. Since it wasn't a superior court of record when it was established, the NICN had trouble getting its rulings enforced. Although the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) was formed by the National Industrial Act of 2016, which ostensibly recognized the NICN as a superior court of record, this did not remedy the situation because the NICN's legitimacy as a superior court of record had not been codified in the constitution at the time. On March 4, 2011, a new day had dawned for the NICN as President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria signed the country's new constitution into law (third alteration). The change allowed the NICN to better fulfill its mission of preserving industrial harmony and equilibrium. The extent to which the NICN has been able to alter critical issues stemming from the employer-employee relationship, such as wrongful dismissal, remedy of reinstatement, and unfair labor practices, is a subject the researcher endeavors to discuss. The researcher uses a methodology based on the deductive reasoning of statutes, case laws, scholarly publications, textbooks, and online resources. At the end of the study, the researcher came to the conclusion that the lack of essential labor provisions, the inability to ratify relevant ILO conventions, and some amount of positivism in labour judiciary have significantly hindered the efficiency of the NICN in positively effecting the relationship between employers and employees. The study concludes that changes should be made to our labor regulations to bring them in line with ILO standards, and that the government should move quickly to ratify all ILO agreements that have a favorable effect on the relationship between employers and employees