NIGERIA’S COMPLIANCE WITH RATIFIED INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO) CONVENTIONS: AN EXAMINATION

Abstract

Since joining the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1960 at independence, Nigeria has ratified 26 ILO Conventions. The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)is an organ of the ILO comprising of eminent jurists and scholars in the field of international and domestic labour law, human rights and sundry matters and their responsibility includes rendering reports on the level of compliance of member states to ratified ILO Instruments. Every member state is profiled and a comprehensive report is rendered as a form of score card. It was discovered in this work, that Nigeria’s scorecard is a mixed grill. While Nigeria elicited some praise from the Committee in some instances, in others, the Committee’s remarks were damning. It is therefore recommended that Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity should set up a core group of respected, eminent and qualified people with expansive knowledge and practice in the area of labour jurisprudence. This core group should comprise people from both the public and private sectors drawn from the academia, private legal practitioners, jurists, trade unions, employers’ representatives etc. This core group will serve in both advisory and policy roles to the government as regards ILO Instruments requiring response from Nigeria. Also, the Nigerian government should show greater level of will (political, social and economic) in the application of ILO Conventions in Nigeria.