Foremost human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana SAN has said that the 3rd Alteration to the Constitution carried out by the national assembly in 2011 has vested the national industrial court with the jurisdiction and power to deal with any matter connected with or pertaining to the
application of any international convention, treaty or protocol ratified
by Nigeria with respect to labour, employment, workplace, industrial
relations or matters connected therewith as well as international labour standards.
This dislosure was made by Mr. Falana while delivering the 2019 annual
lecture of the Michael Imoudu National Institute of Labour Studies at
Ilorin, Kwara Srate last week Friday. The event which was chaired by
Justice Iyabode Kola-Olalere .who represented the President of the
National Industrial Court, Justice Benedict Kanyip was attended by the
Chairman of the Institute’s Governing Council, Comrade Frank Kokori,
General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Emmanuel
Okechukwu and the country representative of the Director of ILO Country Office, Mr Dennis Zulu.
Mr. Falana said that section 254 (C) of the Constitution has radically
amended and created a new labour law regime in Nigeria. He said that
section 12 of the Constitution which provides that treaties have no
force of law in Nigeria unless they are domesticated and enacted into
law by the national assembly has ceased to apply to ILO conventions and
other labour related treaties.
The human rights lawyer urged Nigerian workers to take advantage of the
revolutionary constitutional amendment to enforce their rights
guaranteed by the Constitution, African Charter on Human and Peoples
Rights, Univeral Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on
civil and political rights as well as International Covenant on social,
economic and cultural rights.
Mr. Falana lauded the judges of the national industrial court for
deciding labour matters in line with the provisions of the ILO
conventions and international best practices. He cited a number of cases
against sexual harassment, discrimination against women and other
unfair labour practices in which the rights of workers to dignity have
been upheld by the national industrial court.
Mr. Falana pointed out that the failure of any employer of labour to
pay the minimum wage of N30,000 minimum per month constitutes a criminal
offence punishable under the National Mininum Wage Act, 2019. Instead of
going to Abuja to beg for bailout to pay salaries, state governments
should demand for the immediate review of the Revenue Allocation Fornula
and the allocation of oil blocks to the federal and state governments
alone in line with section 44 of the Constitution which has vested the
mineral resources of the country in the Federal Government on behalf of
the Nigerian people.
