EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT AND CONFLICT IN ORGANIZATION IN NIGERIA: COURSE, CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND RECOMMENDATION

INTRODUCTION

Employees occupy a very strategic place in an organization because of their centrality to the production process. They contribute a very indefinable role both in the achievement of various organization goals and objectives as well as the government economic programme. However, for employees to perform their crucial role effectively and efficiently there must exist a strong cordial relationship between the employer and employee of such organizations. Although conflict in an organization is inevitable, it must however be noted that friction between employer and the employee must be reduced through a vibrant collective bargaining process to ensure smooth operation in the business of the organization. Conflicts are inevitable in every organization. There will always be conflicts and disagreements between employers and employees, either on wages or on the general condition of service of the workers.

Conflict in Nigerian industries has become perennial and disturbing so much that it has hampered the growth of some organizations in Nigeria. In many organizations in Nigeria today, internal (intrapersonal) and interpersonal conflicts are consuming so much organizational time and attention that organizations are starting to look as though conflict is their primary business (Ojielo, 2002). This development is largely due to the inability of leaders in Nigerian work organizations to view the management of conflict as systematically as they view

information, human resources, and financial management systems. Instead, conflict is viewed and handled in piecemeal and is considered as local events. The inability to view and manage workplace conflicts systematically has therefore rendered conflict dysfunctional in some organizations. This is evidenced by the high frequency of strike action, unhealthy rivalry between and among sub-units and individuals within an organization, sabotage at workplace, slow work, labour turnover, absenteeism, lack of productivity, general inefficiency, high rate of industrial accident, low moral, withholding of vital knowledge and a host of others that are being perpetrated by workers in workplaces.

What is a Contract of Employment? As in every form of contract, the contract of employment is the central element in the structure of labour law. One could succinctly say that a contract of employment is that written document that governs the relationship between an employer and an employee. This will generally presuppose that there is someone who is in dire need of labour and another who is in dare need of wages.

Nature and Basic Elements of Contract of Employment As stated in the introductory part of this unit, a contract of employment, like all other contracts, is governed by the general law of contract. Therefore, all the essential features which characterize ordinary contracts must be present in a contract of employment before it can be said to be a valid contract of service. A contract of employment may be under seal, oral, in writing or inferred from the conduct of the parties thereto. The essential elements required

for the validity of contracts are; (a) offer; (b) acceptance; (c) consideration; (d) intention to create legal relations; (e) capacity to contract; (f) certainty; and (g) legality. Offer The offer is an expression of willingness to contract made with the intention (actual or apparent) that it shall become binding on the person making it as soon as it is accepted by the person to whom it is addressed. It may also be express or by conduct. In AGOMO V GUINNESS (NIG) LTD (1995)2 N.W.L.R (PT380) P.672 at 675, the Supreme Court defined an offer as A preposition put by one party (the offeror) to another in dire need of a means of survival in terms of a gainful employment. When these two meet, and there is a consensus as to the terms and conditions of service to be rendered by the employee for a fee, salary or wages mutually agreed by both parties, then it is 9 LAW231 LABOUR LAW said that a master/servant relationship exists between them. Therefore, the said employee becomes subservient to the dictates of the employer who is otherwise regarded as the master. In labour law however, there is a clear distinction between servants who are subject to the whims and caprices of their masters who chose, directs, monitors and controls the servant in respect of the jobs to be

performed by the servant. The master dictates what to do and what not to do. In such a situation, the contract of employment is said to be a contract to service. On the other hand, where the employer chooses, directs, monitors and controls the type of job to be performed for the master, such contract of employer is categorized as a contract of service. The employees in this category include professionals such as lawyers, doctors, architects, nurses, engineers and so on. This distinction shall be dealt with at the appropriate unit in this course. Acceptance While an offer is an expression of willingness to contract, an acceptance on the other hand is a final and unqualified expression of assent to the terms of an offer. In Lawal V U.B.N. Plc (1995) 2NWLR (pt. 378) 407 at 409 the Supreme Court defined acceptance as an unqualified assent to the terms of an offer. The Court further stated that for acceptance of an offer to constitute an agreement the acceptance must be made while the offer still subsisted, and was known to the offeree, and must be communicated to the offeror, or the requisite act required by the offeror must have been done. One could safely conclude that expression of interest to an offer clearly indicates an interest to accept the terms and condition of such an offer. CONSIDERATION Usually consideration takes the form of promises exchanged by the contractual parties, or the duty undertaken by one party on account of the promises of the other. In the famous English case of CURRIE V MISA (1875) L.R.10 Exch. 153 at 162, LUSH J. made a classical definition of the term consideration as follows;

A valuable consideration in the eye of the law may consist either in some right, interest, profit or benefit accruing to one party, or some forbearance, detriment, loss or responsibility, given, suffered or undertaken by the other. Thus consideration does not only consist of profit by one 10 LAW231 LABOUR LAW party but also exists where the other party abandons some legal right in the present, or limits his legal freedom of action in the future as an inducement for the promises of the first. In a contract of employment, the consideration for work is wages and the consideration for wages is work.

The terms of a Contract of Employment

By virtue of section 91 of the Labour Act, Cap 198, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, a contract of employment means any agreement, whether oral, written, express or implied, whereby one person agrees to employ another as a worker and that other person agrees to serve the employer as a worker. By the foregoing, it is clear that contractual terms consist of express and implied terms. Express terms comprise those orally agreed or reduced to writing. Section 7 of the Labour Act makes it mandatory for an employer, not later than three months after the commencement of a workers employment, to take the particulars of the employer, place and date of commencement of the engagement, the nature of the employment, duration of the contract, method of termination of contract, wages and the period of payment, hours of work, holidays, holiday pay and sick pay. Implied terms are those which the contractual parties have not expressed or made but which may yet form a part of their contract. Mi Awolowo ?????University Sources of implied terms include; (a) Common law (b) Collective agreements (c) Workplace notices and documents (d) Customs and practices (e) Terms imposed or assumed by the courts (f) Statutes

Managing conflict is critical for sustaining organizational efficiency and effectiveness (McCain & Galbriath, 1981). Growth in multinational companies and international alliances (Kanter & Corn, 1994), as well as increased diversity within a country's workforce (Jackson,Stone, & Alvarez, 1992), suggest that individuals from diverse backgrounds will be working together in organizations. An increase in diversity is often associated with an increase in conflict (e.g., Jehn, Northcraft, & Neale, 1999).

Industrial relations deals with the problem of employment, conditions of work, pay, security of employment and other issues such as labour grievances, trade disputes and their resolution within the frame work of rules and regulations, mutually to by employer and its employees. In the words of Marshall (1996), Industrial relations, (also known as labour relations) is the interdisciplinary and somewhat diffuse study of the institutions and rule-fixing processes of the labour. It's core subject-mater has always been collective bargaining between trade unions or analogous organisations on the other hand. The term "employee relation" found increasingly in management writing, was once a synonym for industrial relations.

The unpleasant side of industrial relation and on which the public often associate industrial union is strike. The strike shows a breakdown of cordial relationship between the employee represented by the labour union and employer or management. Strike are the most overt and significant aspect of industrial conflict but they are unfortunately only a part of the phenomenon of conflict. Most strikes involved attempts by either the union or management to change the bargaining power of the other party. When a strike is adequately

used for the demand of the employees, it can force employers to concede to the demands of the employees. It can impose exorbitant costs and thereby induce them to reach agreement. A strike may be used to effect a change in the structure of bargaining and to win substantive demand by workers. Collective bargaining can therefore be described as the industrial machinery for determining wages and conditions of employment with a view to improving the quality of work life of the employees. It encourages the power of the union to enter contract with management to determine the terms and conditions of service of its members as well as establish the procedure for handling disputes.

What is Industrial Relations? Industrial relations is the process and institution through which employment is managed, such as trade union and employers associations (Kuper and Kuper 1996). Cordova (1980) defines industrial relations as "the process of interest accommodation by which conditions of work are fixed; relations are regulated and power is shared in the field of labour". Yesufu (1984), on his part sees industrial relations as "the whole web of human interactions at work which is predicted upon and arises out of the employment contract". Both definitions recognized that industrial relations is concerned with the systems, rules and procedures used by union and employers to determine the reward for effort and other conditions of employment, to protect the interest of the employed and their employers and to regulate the ways in which employers treat their employees. Mgbe (1993) emphasized that the term industrial relations is relevant in and applies to the context within which modern society organises its various economic and production services.

Concept of conflict and industrial conflict Unions and management tend to have opposite views because of the divergence between the expectations of management and labour in organizations which often leads to conflicts. Conflict by nature is a constant phenomenon in any human organization. It is so ubiquitous in social life that it has been isolated by some as the basic unit for understanding social existence (Ajala, 2003; Alimba, 2010). The endemic nature of conflict in human grouping has been traced to the pursuit of divergent interests, goals and aspirations by individuals and/or groups in defined social and physical environment (Otite, 2001). Thus, conflict remains the most permanent feature that makes humanity convinced that growth and development are predicated on conflicts. Though conflict is generally perceived as something devastating, abnormal, dysfunctional and detestable, yet it could be a precursor of positive change if constructively handled (Edwards, 2002; Hammed & Ayantunji,2002). As a concept, conflict has been subjected to diverse definitions by various scholars based on the context and their understanding of the concept. For example, Lederach (1995) described conflict as an ongoing situation that is based on deep seated differences of values, ideologies, and goals. In support of this definition, Fisher et al (2004) defined conflict as a relationship between two or more parties (individuals or groups) who have or think they have incompatible goals. It therefore implies that conflict is a continuous interaction that span through lifetime of man and not just a one-off relationship. Also, one of the most quoted traditional definitions of conflict describes it as struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power and resources in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralize, injure, or eliminate their rivals (Coser,1956:8)

This description of conflict explains the reasons why workers are often ready to ground all economic or productive activities via strike in a bid to get their demands met. In corroboration with Cosers definition of conflict, Constantino etal(1995) described conflict as the process of expressing dissatisfaction, disagreement or unmet expectations with any organizational interchange. But in his contribution,Otite (2001) conceptualized conflict as a way of settling problems originating from opposing interests and from the continuity of society. Ajala (2003) succinctly summarises the discourse on conflict when he said conflict is the mechanism which keeps society going.

Conflicts are not occurring. Dahrandorf (1959) said that "conflict of interest is inevitable between employer and employee because an authority relationship in the aim of the two parties will at least lead to conflicts". Dahrandorf holds the view that there will always be conflicts between those in authority and those without authority, that is, the governing and the governed, because of divergent views on the basic employment relationship, which seems to make some degree of conflict inevitable at the work place. He observed that while the government wants to impose on the governed, the governed want to have a say in the imposition upon them. It is the absence of having a say that usually brew conflict. Yesufu (1984) said, "Conflict is a normal and inevitable part of everyday life. As it is destructive, so also, it is beneficial depending on the situation, circumstance and the issue at stake.

Usually conflict result in wasteful use of human and material resources leading to low productivity, retrenchment, dismissal, and alienation. Conflict can manifest itself in the form of unrest, work stoppage (strikes), sabotage, absenteeism, work to rule, lock out, and so on. The most common of the manifestation of conflict is strike.

This implies that conflict as a phenomenon can manifest in diverse ways such as strike, absenteeism sabotage, labour turnover, pilfering, restriction of output, lockout and a host of others. Ubeku (1983) opined that most conflicts are caused by motivational factors. He stated that an employee who feels aggrieved against a manager, a supervisor or against the company as a whole is unhappy employee and an unhappy employee cannot work effectively. The employee becomes very low; satisfaction at work in terms of all the circumstances that surround the job is the key to high morale. It does not matter how well paid and interesting a job may be unless the individual performing the job feels that he is being fairly treated his morale will be adversely affected. Folarin (1988) stated that individuals, group and organization or institution are naturally not in the state of harmony or equilibrium and that conflict is a natural and inevitable occurrence in human condition. He stated further that conflict is not invariably synonymous with a breakdown in communication but rather, it is a different type of communication, which may in fact be the ideal mode of expressing ideas. The most liable treatment is often conflict management rather than conflict resolution. He also pointed out that not all conflict is detrimental to the individual, group or organization. He stated that it is generally recognized that there can be no change without conflict and without change there can be no progress or development whether personal, social or scientific. Conclusively, conflict is defined within the context of work relationship as inevitable disagreements between and within any or all of the actors in the work place. The views of various writers on the concept of conflict and industrial conflicts have established that conflict is inevitable and that it is not inherently dysfunctional rather its outcome depends on how it is handled or responded to by the parties involved.

Whether conflict is seen as central or ancillary to the employment relationship, however, depends upon ones conceptualization or larger view of the origins, function and structure of this relationship. From one perspective, historically and contemporaneously reflected in the work of industrial relations scholars, the employment relationship is a pluralist, mixed motive relationship featuring two parties, labor and management, with opposing interests; hence, conflict is inevitable in this relationship.

CAUSES OF CONFLICT

Conflicts arise in organizations in two ways namely, internal and external. A. INTERNAL SOURCE This comprise of disagreements arising within the organisation. Conflict orientations within a work setting centres basically on the opposed nature of the interest of the employers and workers. The employer is seeking the greatest possible output at the least cost. The employer is constantly seeking to lower the wage rate, to lengthen the hours of work, to speed up the workers, to layoff and to discharge workers whenever it is temporarily economical. On the other hand, the union which represents the workgroup is seeking continuous employment for its members at the highest possible conditions in respect of hours of work, security and continuity,safety, comfort, sanitation, esteem and so on. In this relation, both the employers and the employees want the largest cut of the industrial cake that they both cannot get. Moreover, conflict arises because the needs of all three actors of industrial relations often conflict with one another. Therefore, according to Otobo (2000), internal sources of conflict would include: i. Style of management ii. Nature of physical environment of the work place

iii. Orientation or social consciousness of workers iv. Other conditions of service v. Efficacy or otherwise of the promotion system and vi. Cumbersomeness of grievance and disputes procedure.

B) EXTERNAL SOURCE These include government industrial and economic policies, the nature of labor legislation, unpatriotic and unethical behaviour of the political and economic classes, national economic mismanagement and general distribution of wealth and power in the society. The important thing to note about these factors is that both workers and management respond to them. Some of the external causes of conflict may however not directly instigate industrial conflict, but they do influence general social expectation.

Ojeli (1977) stated that the causes of industrial conflict in Nigeria is due to the lukewarm attitude of employers and government in responding to the demands of the workers or treating their demand with levity, and also, non recognition of the Nigerian Labour Congress [NLC] as an organ for harmonizing possible conflict between the employers of labor and employees. He also argued that most union leaders are politically motivated by making a big case out of nothing in order to obtain cheap popularity. More often than not, they cause confusion in their organization when they capitalize on trivial matters to blow their trumpets. However, there is a consensus that conflict is inevitable in all interactions of human beings. Organizations exemplify this by the way it is structured, because there are different individuals and groups, various departments, divisions, units, etc. These various groupings struggle to maintain their identities, missions and roles in carrying out their different functions which harbor abundant opportunities of conflict.

CONSEQUENCES OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT AND CONFLICT Consequences of breaking employment contract can be very severe for the parties who signed the contract. A contract of employment is a legal agreement between an employee and the employer. A breach of such a contract happens when either the employee or employer breaks a condition. If the employer does not give wages or the employee do not slog the agreed hours in the contract it gets terminated. Not all the conditions of a contract are written down. A breach can be of a verbally decided term or a written down term of a contract. An income has special protection and in certain situations the employer can be prevented from taking away money out of the payment even if that isnt breaching the agreement. If the employer suffers a monetary loss due to a breach, they can make a complaint for harm against the employee He would normally apply to a county court for a breach of agreement claim. The only method an employer would make a formal application to an Employment Court is in response to a breaking of contract claim made by the employee. Compensations are only given for financial loss. For instance, if the employee does not provide sufficient notice the company could make a claim for damages due to the extra price of hiring staff to do that work. The employee would get the right to salaries he earned prior to leaving plus pay for unclaimed statutory leave. The most general breaches of contract are when one quits without giving notice. The effects of conflict in the workplace are widespread and costly. Its prevalence, as indicated by three serious studies, shows that 24-60% of

management time and energy is spent dealing with anger. This leads to decreased productivity, increased stress among employees, hampered performance, high turnover rate, absenteeism and at its worst, violence and death. Conflict in the workplace is the result of a variety of factors. Perhaps the most significant cause is when someone feels taken advantage of. This might happen when a perfectionist boss demands the same dedication and commitment from employees as he or she exhibits, but does not compensate them for the late or weekend hours. Other scenarios include the employee having unrealistic expectations of what their job position really is, or of being misunderstood in the workplace. Conflict also arises because of values and goal differences in the company. The company may not have goals or not adequately express the goals and values to their employees. Conversely, the employee may have personal goals and values at odds with those of the company.

RECOMMENDATIONS There are four specific steps managers can take to reduce workplace conflict. The first is for managers to look at communication skills, both in terms of how they communicate and how theyre teaching their employees to communicate with each other. This, of course, includes using I statements instead of you language. Owning your own feelings and your own communication is a much more effective way to communicate and even more, teaching your employees to communicate that way with others, goes a long way toward reducing conflict. The second part of communication is for managers to beef up listening skills. Active listening involves things like actually trying to understand what the other

person is saying, and then communicating to the other person that you do indeed understand what theyre saying. The second way to decrease workplace conflict is to establish healthy boundaries. Without boundaries, there will be conflict and squabbles, power struggles and all kinds of circumstances that make for messy situations. You can be professional and be empathetic and compassionate toward your employees, without crossing the line of becoming their friend. This is especially important when theres a power difference between two people in an employment situation. The third factor to reducing conflict is a skill called emotional intelligence. There are many aspects and facets but it basically means developing skills to be more effective by teaching people to combine both intelligence and emotions in the workplace. Seeing and dealing with employees as human beings with real lives is often overlooked in the busy workplace. People with high emotional intelligence can do this in a professional manner, and maintain appropriate boundaries. Another aspect of EQ is knowing and being sensitive to how employees are experiencing you as a manager. Part of EQ is teaching managers to be sensitive to how theyre coming across to others. The fourth aspect of reducing workplace conflict is setting up behavioral consequences to be used with truly uncooperative employees who are unwilling to change. Despite using all these recommendations, there will be a few employees that just wont change because theyre unwilling or unable. That means a manager must explain a consequence, which is an action or sanction that states to the employee the likely outcome of continuing problematic

behavior. It will take skills from the three previous points to do this in a nonthreatening way. Is there ever a place for anger in the workplace? Yes. When people can say, Wait a minute. Im not happy with this; I dont like whats going on, and they turn that anger into a positive action, then the anger can be seen as a kind of motivator. Sometimes when were in a position where we recognize that we are upset about something, and we use that to our advantage, we can make that work for us, and in the long run, actually work for the company. As employees, the more we can learn to speak up, to be able to say what our needs and our wants are in a healthy way, and not let it fester to the point of rage or explosion, we can use our anger as a motivator to help us take action. Employees can also change their attitude toward their job while putting up with the unpleasant aspects of it. One way to reduce conflict and to be happier is to find a way to shift our perspective and our vision of why were there. In summary, 1 Organizations must always be prepared for the occurrences of conflict and be able to tolerate and contain them with reasonable bounds. 2 A proactive industrial relations policy should be put in place by employers to always anticipate and respond to economic changes that affect the welfare of workers. 3. Employers should desist from infringing upon the rights of employee. in the same vein, unions must respect managerial or employers prerogatives.

CONCLUSION This paper work has revealed the following facts; Definition of contract of employment both under the common law and under the Nigeria statutes regulating thereto. The nature of a contract of employment and the basic requirements needed for a valid employment contract. A discussion of the relevant statutes The distinctive features between the terms of contract. Where a contract of employment exists, it is necessary to put in place all the necessary machineries that will make it workable and compensatory to the adverse party in time of breach.

REFERENCES Ajala, E. M. (2003). The influence of peace education on labour-management relations in selected industries in Oyo State, Nigeria. Ph.D Thesis. Dept. of Adult Education, University of Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria. 17 Akanji, T. A. (2005). Perspective on workplace conflict management and new approaches for the twenty-first century. In I. O. Albert (eds.). Perspectives on peace and conflict in Africa. Ibadan: John Archers Publishers Ltd. Akanji, R. B. (2010). Peace education as a tool for effective conflict management in Nigerian work organisations. The Journal of International Social Research. Vol. 3, Issue 12, Summer 2010. Alimba, C. N. (2008). The place of peace education in achieving the Millenium Development Goals in Nigeria. Journal of Educational Research and Policies. Vol. 3, no.1, pp. 21-26. Constantino, O., Cathy, A., and Merchant, O. (1995). Conflict management systems design: A guide to creating healthy and productive organization. San Francisco: Jossey Books. Coser, L. (1956). The functions of social conflict. Glencoe: Free Press. Dahrendorf R. (1959). Class and class Conflict in Industrial Society.London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Edwards, P. K. (2000). Industrial conflict. In M. Poole and M. Warner (eds.). The Handbook of Human Resources Management. London: International Business

Press. Fajana, S. (2000). Industrial Relations in Nigeria. 2nd Edition. Lagos: Labofin and Company. Fasoyin, T. (1992). Industrial Relations in Nigeria. 2nd Edition. Lagos: Longman. Fasoyin.T. (1987).Collective bargaining in the Public Sector in Nigeria: Nigeria Macmillan. Fisher, R. and Ury, W. and Brett, O. (2004). Getting to Yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Hammed, T. A. and Ayantunji, O. A. (2002). The effect of Six thinking hats in enhancing the conflict-handling behaviour of selected trade union leaders in Lagos State. Nigerian Journal of Applied Psychology vol. 7, no.1, pp 19-26. Imberman, J. (1979). Strikes cost more than you think. Harvard Business Review. Vol. 57, No. 3, p. 13. Jackson, M. P. (1985). Industrial Relations. Buckingham, Groom Helm. Kornhauser, A, Dubin, A.D.& Ross, A.M. (1954). Industrial Conflict. NewYork: McGraw - Hill Book Company. 18 Lederach, J. P. (1995). Preparing for peace: conflict transformation across cultures. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. Marshall, G. (1996). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Sociology. Oxford University Press, New York. Newman, M. (2009). Labor Relations. Found at http://homework-expert.net

Ojeli, R.A. (1977). Industrial Relations in Nigeria.2nd Edition. Lagos: Labofin and Company. Ojielo, M. O. (2002). Managing organizational conflict: a system approach. Ibadan: John Archers (Publishers) Ltd. Olujide, J., Akindele, R.I., and Olorunleke, G. K. (2006). Influence of trade union on industrial management in Nigerian universities. Management Dynamics Contemporary Research vol. 15, no. 4. Onyeonoru, I. P. (2005). Industrial conflict in historical context: evolution, management and transformation. In I. O. Albert (ed). Perspectives on peace and conflict in Africa. Ibadan: John Archers (Publishers) Ltd. Otite, O. (2001). On conflicts, their resolutions, transformation and management. In O. Otite and I. O. Albert (eds). Community conflict in Nigeria: Management, Resolution and Transformation. Lagos: Spectrum Books Ltd. Otobo, D. (2000). Industrial Relations: Theory and Controversies. Lagos: Malthouse Press Ltd. Poole, M. P. (1980). Industrial Relations. London: Routledge and Keegan. Ubeku, A.K (1984). Personnel Management in Nigeria. Macmillan Publishers, Lagos, Nigeria. Yesufu T. M. (1985) An Introduction to Industrial Relations in Nigeria London: Oxford University Press.