A Review of Industrial Relations Systems in Various Countries

Originally, the Nigerian industrial relations system was based on the Anglo-Saxon model with its emphasis on voluntarism. The adoption of this model had been necessitated by the fact that Nigeria was, for the period 1914–60, under British rule. The colonial power had imposed the models of its institutions on its colonial territories including Nigeria. However, after independence and following the upheavals caused by the army coup of 1966, the civil war that followed (1967–70) and the military administration which lasted for thirteen years, radical changes occurred in the socioeconomic and political spheres. Many established traditions and institutions were changed in the process. It was during this period that Nigeria moved away from the voluntary ethic in industrial relations into one of government involvement and intervention.