The Nigeria Labour Congress has called on the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association to fully comply with the ruling of the International Court of Justice affirming workers’ right to embark on strike action.
The NLC said attempts by NECA to question or weaken the ruling amounted to a defence of exploitation and selective obedience to international labour laws.
In a statement issued on Friday, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, criticised comments made by the Director-General of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, during an interview on TVC where he argued that the right to strike was not automatic and must be exercised within the provisions of Nigeria’s labour laws, particularly Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act.
Ajaero described the remarks as “a painful but avoidable and needless act of hair-splitting,” insisting that the legal position on the matter had already been settled by the ICJ.
“One of the fundamental principles of law is that the law must be obeyed wholly and not selectively. Nigeria ratified Convention 87 in 1960 underscoring the importance in which it was held, and still held. Now, that the highest court in the world has ruled that the right to strike is implied in the Convention, it behoves Nigeria, including NECA, which Mr Oyerinde represents to obey this law unconditionally and not selectively.
“As for the de facto operation of the strike aspect of this ruling, it is important to know that strike has never been the first option for workers. It is the last. It has always been, and workers do not intend to change this. It is reason we find Mr. Oyerinde’s intervention on TVC as an unnecessary academic exercise in futility.
“We counsel that adversarial interpretation of the ruling of the ICJ will not be helpful to our collective course. Respect for the law and mutual respect for the parties will,” Ajaero said.
According to him, the dispute over whether the right to strike is implied in Convention 87 had gone through several stages within the International Labour Organisation system before eventually reaching the ICJ after employers’ groups challenged the interpretation.
“Still not satisfied, the Employers Group appealed to the ICJ, which decided the matter in favour of workers. Given the fact that the ICJ is the highest and last court to entertain this matter, we were at a loss by the prescriptive review of Mr Oyerinde,” he added.
The NLC president maintained that strike action had never been the first option for workers, describing it instead as a last resort after dialogue and negotiations fail.
