The Nigeria Labour Congress held closed-door talks with top Federal Government officials this week to air grievances over alleged labour rights breaches and stalled agreements. The meeting, chaired by labour minister Dr.
Muhammadu Dingyadi and NLC president Joe Ajaero on Tuesday, came after Nigeria faced intense scrutiny at the International Labour Conference in Geneva.
Nigeria must report back to the International Labour Organisation by September on steps taken to address concerns raised by the Committee for the Application of Standards. The Permanent Secretary in the labour ministry, the Director of Trade Union Services, and other senior officials also attended.
Government interference in trade union activities dominated the discussions, according to officials familiar with the meeting. Organised labour warned that concrete action would be needed before Nigeria's next engagement with the ILO, sources said.
The NLC raised fresh alarm over the slow pace of implementing agreements negotiated between government and worker representatives. Labour leaders specifically flagged the 15 per cent telecommunications tariff reduction agreed over two years ago, which they said hasn't been implemented.
Wage award payments also drew criticism during the talks. The NLC expressed frustration over delays in fully rolling out the wage award introduced when the government removed fuel subsidies to help federal workers cope with economic hardship.
Implementation of the N70,000 national minimum wage also featured prominently in discussions. While the federal government has fully implemented the wage, several state governments remain non-compliant, sources told reporters.
Both sides acknowledged the need to start consultations early on the next national minimum wage negotiations. Preliminary discussions on this began during Tuesday's meeting.
The talks also touched on internal challenges within the labour movement. These included the ongoing leadership crisis in the National Union of Road Transport Workers and other sector developments.
The meeting reflects mounting pressure on the Federal Government to address labour concerns before the September deadline to the ILO. Nigeria's track record on labour standards has drawn international attention in recent months.