Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Nigeria (Ratification: 1960)

In its previous observation, the Committee requested the Government to provide a detailed reply on allegations of denial of the right to join trade unions, massive dismissals for trying to join trade unions, mass persecution and arrests of union members and other violations made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in 2015 and 2016, as well as allegations of arrests, reprisals and dismissals against union leaders and members made by the ITUC and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in 2017. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there will be further consultations with the affected social partners, after which a response will be forwarded to the ILO. Regretting the lack of concrete information received in spite of the time elapsed since these serious allegations were brought to its attention, the Committee expects that the consultations referred to above will be held shortly, and urges the Government to provide its detailed comments on each specific allegation made by the ITUC and the NLC in its next report.

The Committee also takes note of the observations of the ITUC received on 1 September 2021, which allege massive dismissals for trying to join trade unions, acts of anti-union violence during strike actions, arrests of union members, suspensions of union leaders, and a general anti-union climate in the country. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on these new serious allegations.

Civil liberties. The Committee recalls that it had previously requested the Government to provide detailed information on the results of the judicial proceedings regarding the prosecution of the eight suspects arrested in connection with the assassination of Mr Alhaji Saula Saka, the Lagos Zonal Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers. While having noted the Government’s indication that the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment had requested the Inspector General of Police for an update and was awaiting the reply, the Committee deeply regretted that no resolution had been reached regarding the events occurred in 2010. The Committee notes with regret that the Government does not provide any update on this matter in its report. The Committee firmly urges the Government to provide detailed information on the results of the judicial proceedings, and, in the case of conviction, on the nature and implementation of the sentence.

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of workers to join organizations of their own choosing. The Committee previously took note of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) judgment of 2016 with regard to the allegation that teachers in federal educational institutions have been coerced to join the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) and denied the right to belong to the professional union of their own choice. The NICN judgment concluded that teachers at the 104 Unity Colleges of Nigeria are employed by the Federal Civil Service Commission and, as civil servants, they are automatically members of the ASCSN, but specified that any worker who wishes to disassociate from the ASCSN could do so by writing to the employer. The Government had further indicated that according to section 12(4) of the Trade Unions Act and sections 9(6) and 5(3) of the Labour Act: (i) membership of a trade union by employees shall be voluntary; (ii) no employee shall be forced to join any trade union or be victimized for refusing to join or remain a member; (iii) no contract shall make it a condition of employment that a worker shall or shall not join a trade union; and (iv) the workers have the right to opt out of a trade union in writing. The Committee had requested the Government to continue to provide information on the practical application of the abovementioned provisions, indicating in particular whether teachers of the federal educational institutions continue to be automatically affiliated to the ASCSN. The Committee notes that the Government, in its report, limits itself to stating that the purpose of the provisions of the said laws is to bring order and good administrative structure to trade unionism in Nigeria. The Committee recalls that it is important for workers to be able to change trade union or to establish a new union for reasons of independence, effectiveness or ideological choice and that trade union unity imposed directly or indirectly by law is contrary to the Convention (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 92). The Committee once again requests the Government to specify whether teachers of the federal educational institutions continue to be automatically affiliated to the ASCSN, and if so to indicate on what legal grounds such automatic affiliation comports with the principle of voluntary affiliation set out in the Trade Unions Act and Labour Code.

Freedom of association in export processing zones (EPZs). The Committee recalls that its previous comments referred to issues of unionization and entry for inspection in the EPZs, as well as to the fact that certain provisions of the EPZ Authority Decree, 1992, make it difficult for workers to join trade unions as it is almost impossible for worker representatives to gain access to the EPZs. It had noted the establishment of a tripartite committee to review and update the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity Guidelines on Labour Administration and Issues in Contract Staffing/Outsourcing in the Oil and Gas Sector and to incorporate emerging trends in the world of work. The Committee requested the Government to provide, without delay, information on the review and update of the ministerial guidelines, and to provide statistics on the number of trade unions operating in EPZs and the membership thereof. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is currently working towards adopting sectorial guidelines and that EPZs would be included in one of them. It further notes that the Government reports that there are six trade unions already operating in the EPZs. Expecting that significant progress will be made in the very near future to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to continue to inform on any developments regarding the review and update of the ministerial guidelines. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information and statistics on the particular trade unions operating in the EPZs.

Articles 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. In its previous comments, the Committee had requested the Government to amend the following provisions:

• – section 3(1) of the Trade Unions Act, which requires a minimum of 50 workers to establish a trade union, so as to explicitly indicate that the minimum membership requirement of 50 workers does not apply to the establishment of trade unions at the enterprise level (while this minimum membership would be permissible for industry trade unions, it could have the effect of hindering the establishment of enterprise organizations, particularly in small enterprises);
• – section 7(9) of the Trade Unions Act, which provides that the Minister may revoke the certificate of registration of any trade union, by repealing the broad authority of the Minister to cancel the registration;
• – sections 30 and 42 of the Trade Unions Act, which impose compulsory arbitration, require a majority of all registered union members for calling a strike, define “essential services” in an overly broad manner, contain restrictions relating to the objectives of strike action, impose penal sanctions including imprisonment for illegal strikes and outlaw gatherings or strikes that prevent aircraft from flying or obstruct public highways, institutions or other premises, so as to lift these restrictions on the exercise of the right to strike; and
• – sections 39 and 40 of the Trade Unions Act, which grant broad powers to the registrar to supervise the union accounts at any time, so as to limit this power to the obligation of submitting periodic financial reports, or in order to investigate a complaint.

The Committee welcomed the Government’s indication that it had established a Tripartite Technical Committee (TTC) for the purpose of bringing into conformity the relevant sections of the Labour Standards Bill (LSB), Collective Labour Relations Bill (CLRB), Labour Institutions Bill (LIB) and Occupational Safety and Health Bill (OSH Bill) with international labour standards. It noted the Government’s indication that the proposed review of the LSB would give the opportunity to the social partners to consider the amendments to the aforementioned provisions of the Trade Unions Act. The Committee notes that the Government states that the Labour Bills will be provided when enacted. The Committee expects that the abovementioned laws will be enacted shortly and that sections 3(1), 7(9), 30, 39, 40 and 42 of the Trade Unions Act will be brought into line with the Convention as part of the ongoing legislative review. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress achieved in this regard.

The Committee previously noted that there were no proposals to amend the following legislative provisions, which it also requested the Government to modify:

• – section 3(2) of the Trade Unions Act, which restricts the possibility of other trade unions from being registered where a trade union already exists (workers should be able to change trade union or to establish a new union; trade union unity imposed directly or indirectly by law is contrary to the Convention);
• – section 11 of the Trade Unions Act, which denies the right to organize to employees in the Customs and Excise Department, the Immigration Department, the prison services, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and Nigeria Telecommunications (all workers, without distinction whatsoever, should have the right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing; the only authorized exception are the members of the police and the armed forces); and
• – section 34(1)(b) and (g) of the Trade Unions Act (as amended by section 8(a) of the Trade Unions (Amendment) Act 2005), which requires federations to consist of 12 or more trade unions in order to be registered (the number of affiliated trade unions necessary should be lowered) and section 1 of the 1996 Trade Unions (International Affiliation) Act, which provides that the application of a trade union for international affiliation shall be submitted to the Minister for approval (the international affiliation of trade unions should not require the Government’s permission).

The Committee notes that the Government states that the social partners are comfortable with the number of trade unions affiliated to federations and reiterates previous observations indicating that the purpose of section 3(2) of the Trade Unions Act is to bring order and good administrative structure to trade unionism in Nigeria and that for security reasons, section 11 of the Trade Unions Act has not been modified but a subsection has been added to create Joint Consultative Committees in the establishments concerned. The Committee refers to its preceding comments in this regard, recalling in particular that the establishment of joint consultative committees cannot be considered as a substitute for the right to organize under the Convention. Noting that the above provisions have been the subject of its comments for many years, the Committee urges the Government to take all necessary measures to make the appropriate amendments without delay in order to ensure their conformity with the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this respect.

The Committee reminds the Government that it may seek the technical assistance of the Office in connection with the revision of the laws and regulations referred above and relating to the application of the Convention.