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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Nigeria (Ratification: 1974)

Articles 1(b) and 2 of the Convention. Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee previously noted the Government’s repeated statement that a provision covering the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value has been incorporated in the Labour Standards Bill (section 11.2) which has been pending since 2006. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that the National Labour Advisory Council has been reconvened and that the Bill will be forwarded to the National Assembly for adoption. The Committee urges again the Government to speed up the adoption of the Labour Standards Bill that should fully reflect the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of “equal value” in its provisions, allowing for the comparison not only of equal, the same or similar work but also of work of an entirely different nature.

Gender wage gap. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes that, in the 2021 Global Gender Gap Report from the World Economic Forum, the gender wage gap for Nigeria was estimated at 37.3 per cent (it was 35 per cent in 2018), the country being ranked at the 139th place out of 156 countries assessed (11 places lost between 2020 and 2021). Noting that the government does not provide information in this regard, and in light of the absence of legislation that fully reflects the principle of the Convention and the persistence of a significant gender wage gap, the Committee urges once again the Government to strengthen its efforts to take proactive measures to raise awareness and promote the application of the provisions of the Convention in practice, in particular among workers, employers, their respective organizations and law enforcement officials. It further asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to: (i) address the underlying causes of the persistent gender wage gap, identified in its report under the national-level review of implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 1995 (Beijing+25); (ii) promote women’s access to a wider range of jobs with career prospects and higher pay; (iii) indicate the concrete measures adopted to promote women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship, as well as the results thereof; and (iv) provide updated statistical information on the earnings of men and women, disaggregated by economic sector and professional category.