Trade Union Amendment Bills: NLC, minister disagree

Soji-Eze Fagbemi, Abuja

Adetokunbo KayodeTHE Minister of Labour, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode and the representatives of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) appeared last Thursday before the House of Representatives Committee on Labour and Productivity to contribute to the on-going process to amend the Trade Union Act, but they ended up in sharp disagreement on some provisions of the bills before the National Assembly.

The five bills before the National Assembly undergoing legislative process are: The Collective Labour Relations Bill; The Labour Standards Bill; Labour Institutions Bill; Occupation Safety and Health Bill and an Act to Amend the National Directorate of Employment.

Prince Kayode, who made the first presentation, on what he termed as “the harmonised position of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, and its constituencies, on the executive and private member draft labour bills currently pending at the National Assembly.”

Although,the NLC, later in its presentation, agreed that it was involved with the other stakeholders in the review, which ended up in the presentation made by the minister,it condemned certain provisions in the bills which it claimed gave enormous powers to the office of the minister of labour.

However, Prince Kayode said the ministry and its tripartite partners, which include the workers’ and employers’ associations, supported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), undertook a review of the extant labour laws to bring them in line with international best practices and International Labour Organisation Conventions already ratified by Nigeria and thereby, strengthening the overall economic development of the country.

He said: “The need therefore arose for the ministry and its constituents to take a critical look at all the bills in order to ease the work of the honourable members of this House. The outcome of this rigorous exercise is what I want to present to you today using the opportunity provided by the public hearing.

“The ministry organised a stakeholders’ forum on March 16 and 31, 2009, to which it invited its tripartite partners and major stakeholders, including professional organisations in relevant areas. Consequently, this presentation represents a consensus opinion of the stakeholders.”

Under the Collective Labour Relations Bill, the minister made an observation and suggestion that the registration of the trade unions should be based on industrial lines to avoid the mushroom trade unionism that plagued the system before the 1978 restructuring.

“It is the view of the majority of stakeholders that the lumping of Conciliation and Arbitration under one organisational labour relations arrangement may introduce an element of bias which could potentially undermine the dispute resolution process and should be adjusted accordingly,” the minister added.

He suggested that the word, “NOT” should be deleted in section 68 sub-section 2F as it negates the subsection and therefore contradicts section 68 1 Aii, which embodies the definition of a “dispute of right” as spelt out in section 82.

But the NLC, in its presentation, kicked against certain provisions in the bills which it said gave the minister of labour enormous powers of “discretion, interpretation and even amendment of the proposed laws, which the Presidency and the National Assembly did not even possess.

“We shall inevitably be calling on National Assembly to deny the office of the labour minister such powers, which, in our views, are arbitrary and can lead to gross abuse.
“Perhaps, we should also make the point that the bills before you are ordinarily supposed to be the outcome of a tripartite work involving government, which is also an employer, labour and other employers. But in the long intervening period between when the bills were drafted and now, we are unable to vouch for the transformational politics they seem to have been subjected to.”

Preventing young workers’ injuries at work (II)

Federal Child Labour Laws
A workplace may be fully compliant with OSHA regulations and yet may place young workers at risk of injury or illness if applicable Federal and State child labour laws are not followed. One study estimated that more than three-fourths of employers of young workers were unfamiliar with child labour laws. Lack of awareness of occupational safety and health laws by young workers, adults, and employers has been identified as a major obstacle to preventing injury and illness in young workers [NRC/IOM 1998].

The primary Federal law governing the employment of workers under age 18 is the Fair Labour Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, which is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration within DOL. Child labour provisions of the FLSA are designed to protect the educational opportunities of minors and prohibit their employment in jobs that pose safety or health risks.

The FLSA does not cover all young workers. The FLSA applies to an entire business enterprise if the enterprise has annual gross revenues of $500,000 or more. Some states extend coverage of child labour laws to all businesses, regardless of revenues. Even if an entire enterprise is not covered, the FLSA applies to individual workers engaged in producing, transporting, loading, or receiving goods for interstate commerce. Interstate commerce also includes workers who handle documents related to interstate commerce, such as credit card transactions. For more information, visit www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs27.htm.

Child Labour Regulation No. 3 restricts hours and specifies allowable employment activities for workers aged 14 and 15.Two other groups of regulations define work prohibited for young workers in terms of Hazardous Orders—occupations declared hazardous for young workers by the Secretary of Labour. The first of these defines hazardous farm work prohibited for workers under age 16[DOL 1990].

However, no Federal child labour laws cover children working on their parents’ or guardians’ farms. Another group of regulations applicable to non-agricultural businesses, including family businesses,defines jobs prohibited for adolescents under age 18 [DOL 2001]. DOL reviews Federal child labour laws on an ongoing basis to ensure that they provide adequate protection to young workers. For more information, visit www.dol.gov/dol/topic/youthlabor/hazardousjobs.htm or call 1–866–4–USADOL.

State Child Labour Laws
States may also have their own child labour laws that are stricter than Federal laws. For example, Maine and Massachusetts prohibit all workplace driving by workers under age 18 [Maine DOL 2003; Massachusetts Department of Public Health 2002], whereas Federal law allows “occasional and incidental driving” by workers aged 17, although in limited circumstances [DOL 2001].

If a State child labour law is less protective than Federal law, or if no applicable State law exists, Federal child labour laws apply (if the business meets the requirements for coverage under Federal laws) [NRC/IOM 1998]. For more information, visit www.youthrules.dol.gov/states.htm or www.ilsa.net.

CASE REPORTS
The following case reports give examples of the risks young workers may face while at work:

Case 1—Amputation in meat grinder
In 2000, a 17-year-old bagger employed at his family’s retail grocery store suffered amputation of his right arm when it became caught in an operating meat grinder. A customer had asked him for ground beef. Because none was available at the meat counter, he decided to operate the grinder himself. Some of the meat became stuck in the grinder bowl.

‘Increase funding for LGs’

The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ibarapa Central Local Government branch, Igboora, Oyo State, Comrade Olugbenga Oladeji has called for increased funding of the local government councils in the country.

He made the call at the union’s office at the council secretariat after he was sworn in as the new chairman of the union by the State Deputy President, Alhaji, Ismaeel Adeleke.

Comrade Oladeji, who defeated the incumbent with 269 to 69 votes, noted that local government councils, as the nearest and closest tier of government to the grassroots, deserved better attention to spread the dividends of democracy to rural dwellers.

Other members of the new executive council are the Vice - Chairman, Comrade Akintola Taiwo Odunayo; Secretary, Orokale Emmanuel, Assistant Secretary, Rahmon Fatimoh Adebola and the treasurer, Salako Taiwo. Comrades Oyadara Gbenga and Adeniji Muniru are the new Auditor and Trustee, respectively.