What happens when the power of collective bargaining and trade unionism meets the era of social media, gig work, AI agents, and self-managed careers?
We are witnessing not just a decline in traditional Industrial Relations (IR) and arguably, conventional Employee Relations as we know it, but the birth of something new: agile, digital, and possibly more equitable.
Note: This article is a personal reflection on the evolution of work and worker representation in Nigeria, readers outside the country may not relate to the local references.
A Personal Beginning: For the Love of IR
I was fortunate to discover Industrial Relations early. As a teenager, I devoured books and articles by the likes of Abel Ubeku and Tayo Fashoyin; and various publications on the Nigerian Labour and accompanying Acts while still in secondary school. I fell in love with the science and soul of IR and unionism. So, when a spirited discussion recently unfolded in a WhatsApp group of senior HR professionals this week, it felt like a long-overdue family reunion.
Back in the day, IR wasn’t just an administrative function domiciled in HR, it was the heartbeat of labour progress and economic emancipation for many. Today, however, I believe we are witnessing the final chapter of IR as we once knew it. And perhaps not only because of some of the reasons shared during that WhatsApp exchange, like corruption, contracting-in clauses, and others, but also because of changes tied to the overall evolution of work.
Allow me to offer a different lens shaped by my equal love for Technology and Digital Transformation.
1. Social Media Is the New Collective Bargaining Power
At the peak of the effectiveness of the Unions, meaningful, industry-wide change in employment conditions required the collective strength of a union. Today, well-timed social media campaigns can drive seismic shifts in employment conditions without the traditional collective bargaining channels. Consider the global response to the sweatshops in India and other locations. Documentaries and digital activism sparked international outrage, forcing boardrooms in Paris and London to address contract worker welfare, something even the largest union might not have achieved so quickly or broadly.
Social storytelling now wields transformative power. It is fast, far-reaching, and often more inclusive than traditional union channels.
2. Gig Work and Fractional Employment Have Redefined the Employee Contract
In Nigeria and beyond, we now see widespread use of project-based, skill-specific contracts with employers increasingly prioritizing access to time and expertise over full-time employment.
I recall pitching the idea of hiring a fractional engineer to a CEO during the peak of the DevOps talent crunch years ago. Why pay millions monthly for someone available only an hour a day? While concerns around security and responsiveness made it a tough sell, we eventually built in guardrails and successfully onboarded expert engineers at a fraction of the cost, contracting only for the service. Today, the fractional talent model has spread to other functions with normalized contracting for fractional CFOs, CPOs, and other executive functions
But how does someone with multiple contracts across industries join a union in Nigeria today? According to current models, the same professional might be considered a senior staff member in Industry A, a junior staffer in Industry B, and unclassified in Industry C, all while managing their own terms, clients, and employment conditions. These workers are essentially their own HR departments and find little value in collective engagements.
3. Automation Has Shifted the Labour Landscape
Some of the more prominent unions in Nigeria today are across the Food and Beverage industry and the Oil and Gas industry, but the nature of work in these sectors has drastically changed. Today’s factories often operate with more machines than human hands, with fully automated lines managed by engineers, not operators.
With automation replacing one of the primary categories of workers that unions once represented, traditional collective bargaining models have begun to falter.
So, Is IR and Unionism Dead?
I don’t believe so, particularly in our environment. But it must evolve—or risk becoming irrelevant.
Many employees remain in unions not because of tangible benefits, but because they have little to lose. Check-off dues are low, and there’s always the hope that union membership might prove useful someday.
That logic, however, is unlikely to hold for long.
We’re moving toward a world where:
- The employee is their own representative.
- The employer is often a platform or several.
- Labour laws are influenced by jurisdictional complexity and global standards.
International frameworks guiding the tripartite relationship, like ILO conventions, will remain relevant, but companies will adopt them not just because they are ratified by governments, but to remain globally competitive employers, meet compliance requirements in various operating jurisdictions, and drive a minimum standard in employee practices across distributed teams.
A Farewell (and a Hope)
IR, as we once knew it, is transforming.
And yes, that gives me pause. I truly loved Industrial Relations. I still do. I remember the pride I felt when my final-year project, which explored The Trade Union Amendment Act 2005, was published in a globally respected journal years ago.
Interestingly even though some HR colleagues reach out for advice when they find themselves in a dilemma with Unions, my dreams of advocating at the heart of the tripartite relationship and following in the footsteps of the ILO greats like Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, the highest-ranking Nigerian (I know of) who served at the ILO and Tayo Fashoyin have taken a back seat to driving business performance leveraging my version of the corporate tripartite – People, Execution Excellence and Strategy.
All good things must evolve. As I have, and so must IR.
The future of worker representation may not resemble the past. It may be more digital, more decentralized, and more self-directed. But it also provides an opportunity to be more agile, inclusive, and hopefully, provide a better representation for employees who would ordinarily have been marginalized.
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