Nigerian Labour laws are some of the best – Unionist, Owei Lakemfa says

International trade unionist, Owei Lakemfa has described Nigerian Labour laws as some of the best in the world.
Mr Lakemfa, a former Secretary General of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) stated this on Thursday in Ilorin where he was the Guest Speaker at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) 2024 Seminar Series.
In comparing the the labour laws in different countries, he said while Nigeria has ratified 44 Conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United States has ratified only 14 including just two of the eight Core Conventions.
Lakemfa who is also the President of the Society for International Relations Awareness, SIRA, noted that the labour laws in country have further reinforced fundamental human rights. He advised the trade unions to take advantage of these by ensuring their implementation at the workplace, market place and in the public space.
He further advised labour leaders to ensure the implementation of the ILO Decent Work Agenda which provides for “better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and, equality of opportunity and treatment for all”.
He stressed that under no circumstance should Nigerians allow their fundamental rights to be abridged pointing out that Section 40 of the constitution provides that: “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any association for the protection of his interests.”
Lakemfa also criticized the trend of casualization of staff which he said is illegal under the Labour Act. He attributed the rampant cases of casualization of permanent jobs to the corporate greed of same employers including their propensity to maximize profit in all ways and at all costs. Government he said, has a duty to check infringements of workers’ rights and ensure job protection and social protection which would lead to the delivery of quality work.
On the heels of the new N70,0000 National Minimum Wage bill passed by the National Assembly, Lakemfa said all tiers of government and the organised private sector must implement it once signed into law because failing to do so will amount to a violation of the law. He added that no such employer can individually or collectively pay less than the legal Minimum Wage.
The former Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC leader pointed out that the ILO defines the Minimum Wage as: “The minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay wage earners for the work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced by collective agreement or an individual contract.”
Lakemfa further reminded the audience that the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery Convention 26 was passed far back in 1928. So, it has universal applicability and is ‘National’ only to the extent that the exact minimum paid, is country-specific.”
The veteran labour leader posited that the Minimum Wage cannot meet all the needs of the worker because it is not a stand-alone policy. Rather, he said, wages are part of the social policies that must be combined with policies like availing the citizenry of basic needs such as food, healthcare, clothes, education and mass housing. These he said, are necessary and constitutionally sanctioned to reduce or eradicate poverty amongst the populace.
He added that countries, regardless of ideology, have nationally applicable National Minimum Wage irrespective of whether they are “federal, unitary or a confederacy.”