The Federal Government has faulted the irregular practice in which some states government establish ministries and departments of Labour and implementing parallel guidelines and policies to those developed at the federal level.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Miss Kachallom Daju, criticised this trend while declaring open the 2023 session of the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) taking place in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
She said NLAC would discuss the emerging trend, which if left unchecked, could destabilise the already challenged Labour administration system in Nigeria.
Miss Daju described the practice as counter-productive, and pointed out that it went against Section 34 of the Second Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, which placed labour matters on the Exclusive List, thereby reserving the power to legislate on labour-related matters exclusively to the Federal Government.
According to Miss Daju, another crucial item for discussion by the Council will be the need for state governments to embrace a uniform implementation of the Minimum Wage Act, 2019.
She stressed the need to align the minimum wage with the current economic realities, as well as the International Labour Standards that serve as the bedrock of legal framework for labour administration in Nigeria.
The Permanent Secretary maintained that Nigeria needed to develop strategies to bridge the gaps identified by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations on the application of Conventions No. 26 on Wage Fixing Machinery, 1928; and No. 95 on Protection of Wages, 1949.
The membership of the Nigeria Labour Advisory Council comprises the Federal, the thirty-six states, Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association NECA, the country representative of International Labour Organisation, and other stakeholders.
RN
