Benue State University, Makurdi

Collective agreements and their Legal Status in Nigeria: The Current Trends.

E.A. Kenen *

Abstract

Collective agreements in a work place are meant to foster industrial peace and harmony. They are usually concluded between an employer or employers’ association on one hand and workers’ organisation or organisations (trade union(s)) on the other hand. But what is the legal status of these collective agreements? Are they binding on the parties or they are binding in honour only? At common law, collective agreements are held to be gentlemen’s agreements and therefore devoid of sanctions. This common law position has been upheld by the Supreme Court in Nigeria in a number of cases which are discussed in the body of the work. There have been statutory interventions to cushion this rigid common law position, albeit unsatisfactorily. This culminated in the Third Alteration to the 1999 Constitution which seems to have settled the issue of the enforceability of collective agreements. From the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, collective agreements are now no longer binding in honour only but are enforceable by the National Industrial Court (NIC) thereby making collective agreements to be binding on the parties concerned. This position by the NIC is indeed commendable and a welcome development. It is recommended that our appellate courts, particularly the Court of Appeal should uphold the position of the NIC thereby laying to rest the controversy surrounding the legal status of collective agreements in Nigeria.

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