Right to Strike and Right to Fire: Balancing of Conflicting Interest under National and International Law

The conflict in industrial relation is almost inevitable because of the divergent interest and aspirations of the two parties in the relationship, which are the employer and employee. Oftentimes, this is necessitated by the demand for increase in wage or salary and welfare packages generally but it is important to also note that the terms of contract of employment can also act as a restricting factor, in that parties to contract of employment are bound by it particularly when it is in written form and this could give the employer the right to fire when this is breached, however where the required notices are jettisoned by the employer, then his action or power to fire could be null and void. This work seeks to address the right of workers to strike and employers’ right to fire and to also make recommendations as to how we can resolve the conflicting interest of the parties involved in this relationship. A critical examination of the relevant legislations in Nigeria shows that there are too many stringent conditions which have almost denied the worker his right to strike. This paper recommends that these conditions be relaxed, particularly those giving wide powers to the employer to terminate the employee for breach of contract or deny him his other statutory benefits and it is part of my recommendation that dialogue should be employed at all levels to resolve labour-related matters and strike should be seen as the last resort to press home their demand.