The Nigerian Senate, on Tuesday, moved to strengthen labour institutions in the country as it began the process of considering the Labour Institutions (Establishment) Bill, 2021.
The bill which passed second reading on the floor during yesterday’s plenary seeks to address the indiscriminate firing and retrenchment of workers by various categories of employers in the country.
Sponsor of the bill, Senator Sadiq Sulieman Umar (APC, Kwara North), said the piece of legislation seeks to provide for the establishment of the National Commission for Conciliation and Arbitration, National Labour Council and the office of the Registrar of Trade Unions to administer the provision of labour laws in Nigeria.
According to the lawmaker, Trade Disputes in Nigeria are currently governed entirely by the provisions of the Trade Disputes Act Cap T8 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
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Umar observed that ‘the greatest challenge of the present dispute settlement is that the entire process from negotiation, conciliation up to arbitration is domiciled in, activated by and operated by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity.
‘Under section 9 of the Trade Disputes Act, the Minister appoints the chairman, vice-chairman and all members of the industrial arbitration panel. This scenario is totally at variance With best practices in dispute settlement as it is difficult to see how such a body can be impartial where the government is a party.’
The lawmaker explained that the objectives of the Bill seek to create labour institutions that are independent, impartial, flexible, simple and functional.
He added that the Labour institutions when established would, among others, administer the provisions of all labour laws in Nigeria as it affects freedom of association, industrial relations, working conditions, health and occupational safety.
According to Umar, the institutions would also ensure compliance with the principle of tripartism as enjoined by the International Labour Organisation Convention 144 to which Nigeria is a party and has ratified; as well as promote the prevention, containment and speedy resolution of labour disputes.
‘Mr President, Distinguished colleagues, the thrust of the Bill is to transform the Industrial Arbitration Panel established under the Trade Disputes Act Cap T8 LPN 2004, into a Commission which shall be responsible for regulating the practice and procedure of Industrial Arbitration and Conciliation in Nigeria.
‘These will further deepen the practice of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the country’, he said.
He expressed concern that the Industrial Arbitration Panel established under the Trade Dispute Act during the military era in 1976 was crafted to suit the military agenda and the prevailing labour environment at the time.
‘These provisions have become obsolete and its implementation and enforcement is now at variance with current labour realities’, Umar submitted.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK