Government -Labour relations particularly in the downstream of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria has not been short of conflicts. In the time past, the conflicts were largely between employers and employees. However, since the Fourth Republic a new trend has emerged that involves state governments and labour union in the industry. It must be said that the conflicts were a product of the reaction of the union against social, economic and political policies of the government. This new trend is best demonstrated in Lagos state, where the attempt by the state government to manage traffic led to clashes of interest between the state government and member of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG). The work examines the nature of conflict between Lagos state government and National of Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers. The work discussed the nature of the conflict, elaborated on the institutional process for industrial conflict resolution, explored how the conflict was managed, examined the role of bad governance in the conflict, discussed the impact and implication of the conflict and offers suggestion on how to improve conflict management in this particular case and in general. The work interviewed relevant authorities and individuals in the conflict: the officials of the Lagos state ministry of transport and its agency- the Lagos state transport management authority (LASTMA) and their counter part in NUPENG. Publications such as a newspapers, journals and books were also consulted. The collected data from the respondents and publications were analysed descriptively. The work argues that bad governance is the root of the conflict as successive government abandoned the infrastructural need of the nation in the sector which culminated in the dependency on imported refined crude oil products. This created it own problem of managing traffic as the major importation outlet is in Lagos and there is lack of parking lots to accommodate the inflows of unprecedented tanker vehicles. The work further argues that, the attitude of members of NUPENG also contributed to the conflict. Also, lack of communication which brews mistrust, lack of confidence and end up in conflict played a part
Keywords: Labour Relations, Nigeria, Oil and gas industry, Trends in Government
