The Federal Government has faulted the irregular practice of state governments establishing ministries and departments of Labour, and implementing parallel guidelines and policies to those developed at the federal level.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Kachallom Daju, who criticised this trend while flagging off the 2023 Session of the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, noted that if left unchecked, it could destabilise the already challenged Labour administration system in the country.

Daju who described the practice as counter-productive, 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.

The Perm Sec also stressed the need for state governments to embrace a uniform implementation of the Minimum Wage Act 2019, and align it 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.

Daju also remarked that Nigeria needed to develop strategies to bridge the gaps identified by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEARCR), on the application of Conventions No. 26 on Wage Fixing Machinery, 1928; and No. 95 on Protection of Wages, 1949.

She noted that this has become crucial in the face of the impact of the recent removal of subsidy on petrol on the Nigerian workers.

Director, Productivity Measurement and Labour Standards department of the Ministry, Juliana Adebambo, stated that the revival of the NLAC was evidence of Government’s political will to increase collaboration between social partners and governments (Federal and State) to ensure lasting industrial harmony, socio-economic development, as well as national growth.