The Role of Arbitration in Resolving Collective Labour Disputes: A Comparative Study of Public and Private Sectors

This paper aims at analysing how arbitration is used to solve collective labour relations by evaluating the application and results in both the public and the private sectors. This paper aims at assessing the effectiveness of arbitration as one of the ADR methods in dealing with disputes, in the two sectors. In the course of the study, the research compares arbitration with a view to identifying its effectiveness in sustaining industrial peace and reducing strikes. Employing a qualitative research design, data was collected from literature, case analyses and works from labour organisations. The results show that arbitration really works in both sectors, though the process is dependent on the legal and institutional frameworks. Arbitration is much more structured in the public sector because of legislation than it does in the private sector where flexibility results in swift outcomes. This paper concludes by identifying the policy significance of these findings for labour policy reform and exploring future research directions.