Paradox of Human Assets Management and Labour Relations in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria has severally witnessed production stoppage due to labour conflicts. This paper analyses how management and human assets co-exist in Nigeria, and ways their co-existence responds to the philosophies of labour relations. Labour relations refer to the arrangements to create a fair workplace between management and human assets. Marxist conflict theory, which suggested that management and human assets co-existed within a perennial conflict situation, guided the study. Based on secondary data, the paper focuses on management-human assets co-existence in Nigeria, and argues that treating human assets as factor to be used and dumped rather than as key stakeholders implicate the practice of human assets management in Nigeria in such a way that ensuring harmonious workplace and meeting of organisational targets become a mirage. Relatedly, government plays ambiguous role by enthroning imbalanced labour relations in Nigeria through authoritarian responses to curb the collective solidarity and strength of labour unions and treating them not as stakeholders who convey the needs and interests of human assets. This has become a business not as usual given that management and human assets should see one another as partners to combine their efforts to productively and profitably achieve organisational set goals and objectives in a rapidly changing world of work. Addressing the paradox will require an approach that encourages dialogue to repair the management-human assets conflicts in Nigeria. The paper therefore concludes that labour relations are necessary approach for the solution to the labour conflicts in Nigeria.

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