Falana to labour unions: Demand enforcement of welfare laws — not just wage increase

Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and human rights lawyer, has asked the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to intensify efforts in ensuring the enforcement of labour laws and international treaties aimed at improving the welfare of Nigerian workers.

In a statement on Thursday, Falana urged the labour unions to move beyond demands for wage increases and focus on compelling the federal and state governments to comply with existing social and economic laws enshrined in the constitution and international treaties ratified by the country.

Citing sections 16 and 17 of the constitution, Falana highlighted the government’s obligation to ensure balanced economic development, equal pay for equal work, humane working conditions, and access to healthcare, education, and social protection.

He, however, lamented the consistent failure of the ruling class to uphold these principles.

Falana accused members of the political elite of concentrating the nation’s wealth in the hands of a few by privatising public enterprises and allocating oil blocks and mining licences to themselves.

This, he said, was in direct violation of the constitution’s economic objectives.

“Even though the members of the ruling class have  conspired to make the fundamental objectives and direct principles of state policy non justiciable in any court, the struggle of the Nigerian people for dividends of democracy has compelled the state to adopt policies and enact a numbers of laws that are designed to promote the welfare of the Nigerian people,” he said.

Falana said legislations such as the Labour Act, Pension Reform Act, Employees Compensation Act, and the recently passed National Minimum Wage Act have been widely disregarded.

He cited the Universal Basic Education Act, which mandates free and compulsory basic education for all children, and revealed that over ₦135 billion in matching grants remains inaccessible to state governments due to their failure to provide counterpart funding.

On the new minimum wage, the rights lawyer lamented the refusal of about 20 states to implement the ₦70,000 wage for local government workers and primary school teachers, despite it being backed by law.

He also condemned the federal government’s lack of enforcement, which has allowed private employers to ignore the law with “impunity”.

Addressing pension issues, Falana criticised the federal government for borrowing ₦10 trillion from pension funds, despite pensioners’ continued struggles to access their benefits.

He welcomed the house of representatives’ resolution to investigate and recover the funds, but insisted that preventive mechanisms be put in place to protect the contributory pension scheme from collapse.

Falana also drew attention to alleged corruption in the National Housing Fund (NHF), noting that Gimba Ya’u Kumo, former Federal Mortgage Bank CEO, is currently standing trial for allegedly diverting $65 million earmarked for housing development.

He urged the NLC and TUC to not only monitor the case but also press for the recovery of an additional ₦100 billion allegedly siphoned from the fund by some employers.

He noted the importance of enforcing welfare-focused laws and international conventions, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. 

“Therefore, it is high time that the  Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress mobilised  workers and allies to mount sufficient pressure on the federal government to enforce the welfare laws and international instruments,” Falana said.