Nigeria Must Uphold Trade Union Rights, Employers Warn
The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has issued a stark warning to the Federal Government over its handling of trade union rights, insisting that any attempt to proscribe unions would set a dangerous precedent and violate international labour standards.
Speaking at a press briefing ahead of the Labour Adjudication and Arbitration Forum, set to begin in Abuja on February 13, NECA’s Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, voiced concerns over what he described as government actions that undermine the fundamental rights of workers’ organisations.
“To what issue was the government threatening to proscribe trade unions?” he asked. “If the government can proscribe unions today, what stops it from irrationally moving against employers’ federations tomorrow? These organisations are protected by International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, and the government must respect those conventions.”
Oyerinde further lamented the stagnation of Nigeria’s labour law reforms, questioning the whereabouts of proposed legislative updates. “The issue of Nigerian labour law reform has been pending for a while now. No one seems to know whether it is stuck in the Labour Minister’s office or gathering dust in the Ministry of Justice,” he remarked.
The NECA chief urged the government to engage constructively with key stakeholders and leverage international influence to accelerate much-needed labour reforms. He expressed hope that the presence of ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo at the forum would serve as a catalyst for meaningful discussions on labour rights and social justice.
“We hope his influence will facilitate these conversations with the government and reinforce the need to uphold ILO conventions,” he added.
Beyond trade union concerns, Oyerinde also criticised the growing burden of levies and regulatory charges imposed on businesses, arguing that such financial pressures are crippling job creation and economic growth.
“Everywhere you turn, new levies and fees are being introduced for the private sector to pay, yet the same private sector is expected to create jobs and remain competitive. It doesn’t work like that,” he said.
He called for a more nuanced approach to revenue collection, urging policymakers to consider the economic trade-offs of their fiscal measures.
“How many jobs are lost for every revenue an agency generates? If an agency declares ₦10 billion in revenue, how many businesses had to scale down or shut down entirely to accommodate that cost?” he asked.
Also speaking at the event, Vanessa Phala-Moyo, the Country Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, reiterated the ILO’s commitment to social justice and international labour standards.
Referencing the Abidjan Declaration—a framework designed to align Africa’s labour policies with the ILO’s Global Coordination on the Future of Work—Phala-Moyo emphasised the need for a broader coalition to tackle labour rights issues beyond traditional government and employer-worker relations.
“The global coalition for social justice is meant to ensure fairness in labour practices by incorporating the perspectives of academics, UN agencies, and other organisations,” she stated.
She urged Nigeria to actively engage with the ILO’s global coalition, stressing that the country must determine what social justice means within its own economic and political context.
“This is an opportunity for Nigeria to listen to global perspectives, but more importantly, to define how it can work collaboratively with stakeholders to address the persistent challenges of inequality and unfair labour practices,” she said.
As debates over trade union rights and economic policies continue, the challenge for the Nigerian government will be balancing fiscal pressures with its commitments to international labour standards and social justice.
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