Lagos: The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the National Assembly not to heed calls to remove labour provisions from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List in the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution. The Lagos State NLC Chairman, Mrs. Funmi Sessi, made the call on Saturday while making the union’s presentation at the Senate’s South-West Zonal Public Hearing on the Review of the 1999 Constitution in Lagos.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the public hearing held simultaneously in all the six geo-political zones of the country. Sessi highlighted that there are ‘attempts by some clandestine interests working with some legislators’ to remove labour provisions in Schedule 1, Item 34 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List. She warned that this move could lead to the deregulation of Nigeria’s labour laws, resulting in the establishment of ‘slave labour camps’ across the country.
Sessi emphasized that the removal of labour provisions would undermine the national minimum wage system, which Nigeria committed to by ratifying the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention No. 026 on June 16, 1961. She expressed concerns that this change would pave the way for state governors to institutionalize the abuse of workers’ rights by offering substandard wages.
She also mentioned that several state governments have already shown tendencies to undermine trade unions, despite their inclusion in the exclusive list. The potential transfer of labour provisions to the concurrent list is viewed by Nigerian workers as an existential threat to trade unions and fair industrial relations.
Sessi called for comprehensive electoral reforms, urging for the implementation of the recommendations made by the Late Justice Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee. She stressed the need for non-politicization and democratization of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure its independence from partisan influences.
Furthermore, Sessi advocated for the establishment of an Electoral Offences Commission to hold perpetrators of electoral malpractices accountable. She also proposed the unbundling of INEC into specialized agencies to address electoral challenges effectively. The adoption of electronic and diaspora voting was also recommended.
On broader socio-economic, cultural, and political issues, Sessi underscored the importance of making Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution justiciable to restore citizen-focused and accountable governance. She called for reforms to achieve gender equity, improve public revenue management, strengthen security, and ensure the independence of oversight institutions.
Deputy Senate President, Sen. Jubrin Barau, represented by Senate Leader Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, assured that the labour demands would receive serious consideration from the Senate. He emphasized the Senate’s commitment to listening to the concerns raised by the people of Nigeria during the public hearings.
Several organizations, including youth, student, and women groups, also made presentations at the public hearing.
