Abstract

Labour is the most important in all the factors of production. The relationship that exists between labour and management determines the kind of industrial climate that may prevail in an organisation. Towards this end, this study aimed at finding out the impact of labour-management relations on industrial harmony and productivity of workers in selected organisations in public and private sectors in Nigeria. Specific objectives include: to examine relationship that exists between labour and management in the sectors; determine whether or not that relationship engenders industrial harmony and workers’ productivity; find out the influence of management style on industrial peace; establish the impact of the posture of trade unions on industrial harmony and productivity of workers; and find out the perception of customers on productivity of the selected organisations. Survey research design was utilized in the study. Four hundred and fifty respondents (450) from both public and private sectors represented by education and manufacturing, participated in the study. The statistical instruments employed were: frequency count, percentage, product moment correlation and t test statistics. All the results were decided at .05 level of confidence with appropriate degree of freedom. Findings revealed as follows: majority of the respondents (68%) opined that the relation that existed between labour and management in the public sector was not satisfactory, while respondents(72%) in the private sector stated it was satisfactory ;there is significant relationship between satisfactory labour-mangement relations and industrial peace and increased productivity of workers; trade unions’ hard-line posture was found to precipitate industrial disharmony in public sector as against economic/productivity approach in the private sector which engender industrial peace; and customers from both sectors(public, 57% and private 75%) reported that they were productive, and productivity in the private sector was higher. Based on these findings, it is recommended that labour and management should employ dialogue in resolving conflict rather than work stoppages or picketing; both actors in the industry are enjoined to be concerned with the attainment of organisations’ goals through cooperation, economic/productivity means; and it is high time that government institutionalised the issue of salaries and wages in both sectors in order to engender industrial peace and maximum utilization of capacity of men and material resources in the sectors