Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Minimum Age (Underground Work) Convention, 1965 (No. 123) - Nigeria (Ratification: 1974)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

The Committee recalled that for a number of years, it had been requesting the Government to indicate measures taken to give effect to the Convention (Article 4(5)), under which the employer shall make available to the workers’ representatives, at their request, lists of the persons who are employed in work underground and who are less than two years older than the minimum age specified by the Government which is 16 years. The lists should contain the dates of birth of persons aged between 16 and 18 years and the dates at which they were employed or worked underground in the undertaking for the first time.

The Committee noted that under section 62 of the Labour Act, every employer is required to keep a register of all young persons in his employment with particulars of their ages, the date of employment and the conditions and nature of their employment and to produce the register for inspection when required by an authorized labour officer. The Committee further noted that under section 91(1) of the same Act, “young person” means a person under the age of 18 years and “industrial undertaking” includes mines, quarries and other works for the extraction of minerals from the earth. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that section 62 of the Labour Act is amended so that such registers may also be made available to workers’ representatives, at their request. The Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard in its next report.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the very near future.