Strategies For Improving Management Labour Relationship In An Academic Institution

INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Labour management is a strategic part of human resources management. The idea of labour management relations is not devoid of disagreement, but it is one which conflict resolving mechanism are integrated on a number of important case that center a labour management relations.
And one of the inbuilt conflicts resolving mechanism in a work place is negotiation. But due to breakdown or absence of conflict resolving mechanism, there have strained labour relation in Nigeria.
According to Yusuf (1962) the term labourer management has been noted to be a very wide one covering collective bargaining and relations of all types of between workers and employers and between workers and workers, personnel administration, worker, supervisory training, atmosphere and climate of the work place.
The process of reaching agreement between labour and management for a period of time, over the condition of work such as wages, holiday, layoffs, break periods, over time is known as collective bargaining (A.U Ohiri 2006:108).
Labour management relations in public education have a history fraught with tension and grievances. However, contributions have changed in the industry and the created political and policy climate has created powerful incentives for academic managers and unions to collaborate more effectively on reforming systems of teaching and learning. Real opportunities exist to address limiting stagnant labour management relations by fundamentally changing adult relationship and re-orienting the educational enterprise by placing student learning at its core.
Much of labour management in the state sector is reactive, with little or no planning involved. Labour and management spend much time and effort reacting to each other, but spend less time trying to develop effective approaches to conducting labour management relation to achieve the goals of the agency and the union. A labour management strategic plan is an effort to do just that to identify the goals, and to develop the action needed to allow the parties to move await from simply reacting to each other, towards an approach where they have a clear understanding of the mission of the agency and achieve their labour management goals.
A strategic plan can be useful not just for parties who are having problems in the conduct of labour relations, but also for parties with a successful relationship who wish to jointly plan further enhancement in their relation. Labour management relation emphasized the importance of human factor in the search for growth and efficiency. It focuses on the nature of relationship which exists between employers and the workers.
According to Howard (1967) labour management relation in public institution is concerned with trade union organizations, employers associations, the government department involved in labour matters, international labour courts, tribunals and labour laws.
In terms of principles, management and labour is concerned with consultations, grievance procedure etc in terms of activities, it is concreted with minimizing conflicts, strikes lockouts labour management relations exist whether there is trade union or not. It is noted that labour management relations practice becomes dynamic where trade union exist. This is because the union of an organized body that represents the workers interest.
Strategies allow labour management to develop ways to conduct their relationship to effectively deal with each other so as to most meet their respective needs. Even the development of a joint strategic plan should be preceded and management of an understanding of what opinions are available for strategies and what strategy best fits their needs. In determining whether there is a need for a labour management relations strategic plan, labour and management should ask themselves the following questions.
a. Are we satisfied with the present labour management relation at the agency?
b. If we are conducting traditional adversarial labour relations, are we being successful in other words, we are winning often enough?
c. Are we spending more time dealing with significant workplace issues than we spend reaching to actions by other side?
d. Are we satisfied with the results of our labour management partnership council?
e. Is there a clear understanding of what the union and its agency want to achieve in its conduct of labour relations?
When this questions are been answered then labour management relation strategy does not change the way the law is written but it many give greater opportunities for labor management to be successful in enforcing its right under the status.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
1. Labour management relation has not been without impediment. Unhealthy labour management relations are characterized by incident of strike, violence, lock outs, picketing others.
2. Different between labour management more often create labour dissatisfaction which ultimately affect effectiveness and efficiency in labour output and profit.
3. The relationship between management and labour unions are like buyers and sellers and adopting for a better bargain, while management is pre-occupied with profit maximization even at the expense of labour which see as cost, and employee perceiving management ignorance and managing the right perspective making decision which affect them.
4. No advanced training on collective bargaining and other statutory subjects for labour relations professionals, including key labour management relations specialists and key union stewards and officials.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is as follows:
1. To make an attempt to invest the economic or market environment under which management and labour operate in tertiary institutions.
2. To ascertain the strategies to improve labour and management relationship.
3. To identify the problems in labour management relations.
4. To determine the basis of the labour management relations.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What are the factors that can improve labour management relations?
2. What are the causes of breakdown in relationship between management and labour?
3. How is the conflict between labour and management resolved?
4. What are the factors responsible for industrial conflicts or problems in academic institutions?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
Hypothesis I
Ho: Staff training has no effect on improving labour management relationship.
HA: Staff training has significant and positive effects on labour management relationship.
Ho: Effective communication does not resolve conflict between labour and management.
HA: Effective communication resolves conflict between labour and management.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research work will be unavoidable and useful guide for future strategies or planners and it will serve as a bench work for future research students in academic field, especially in Imo State University, Owerri. It will also help mostly in deciding on the strategies to use in order to improve management labour relations in the organization.
Management will benefit from this research work because the findings of the study will help them to improve in the study. The employee such as senior-workers and junior workers, whether academic or non-academic staff of institution will benefit from this study, because it will help them to know how to either relate or communicate to each other in the organization, to enhance effective which will lead to achievement of the organizational objectives. As well as benefiting the academicians and the community.
The research work mostly will direct the future research scholars to carry out their research work easily on issues or problems.
ll aspect of labour management relationship in an academic environment, their method of operation, pattern of communication and bargaining system how to resolve conflict between labour and management improvement of supervisor employee relations, reducing productivity and efficiency as well as stronger goals in academic institutions like Imo State University.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This research work is an indebt study of the strategies for improving labour management relationship in an academic institution with a case study of Imo State University Owerri. In the case of researching of this study, it was limited to the management of Imo State University and the staff only.
The results obtainable can be use to make generalizations about what is obtainable in other interviews. Information used is gotten from interviews conducted with academic staff of Imo State University Owerri and also some research conducted by the researcher.

1.8 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
Conflict: This may defined as a struggle or contest between people with opposing needs, ideas, beliefs, values or goals. Conflict can also be defined as a disagreement through which the parties involved perceive a threat to their needs, interest or concerns
Conflict Management: This is the practice of recognizing and dealing with disputes in a rational, balanced and effective way.
Conflict Management Techniques: This according to Nnanna C.E. (2015) is the different process and methods employed by the manager in order to put an end to organizational conflict which exist among employees in the organization.
So many techniques may be employed by the manager in order to settle disputes among employee and how efficient this is will determine how effective an organization will be.
Higher Education Sub-Sector: This is a sector which falls under the higher educational system. This sector may include: universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education. There are some regulatory bodies which play a role in regulating the subsector like in Nigeria we have NUC, ASUP and COEASU.

1.9 BRIEF HISTORY OF IMO STATE UNIVERSITY
The Imo State University was established in 1981 through law No. 4 passed by the Imo State House of Assembly Owerri. This was amended House of Assembly Owerri. This was amended by edict 27 of 1985, another in 1986 and finally for the relocation by the law no, 2 of 1992. Academic activities commenced at the temporary site located at the former Madonna High School, Ihitte with decision to establish a state university arose when the absence of a federal university was greatly left by the people of Imo State whose major industry is educative the state had so many qualified candidates who could not be admitted by the existing universities for and obtained the approval of the federal government for the establishment of Imo State University as a liberal studied tertiary institution in the state.
Initially the university was designed as a multi-campus structure with one college to be located in each senatorial district of the Imo State with its main campus located at Etiti in the Okigwe senatorial zone while the Aba campus, in Aba zone, housed the college of business and legal studies. The multi-campus structure was phased out because of logistics. The university was then relocated to Okigwe in one campus. The government of Chief Evan Enwerem, in April 1991 did not waste time in filling the vacuum by re-establishing the university in Owerri.