Senate Reviews Labour Law To Check Modern Slavery, Child Labour, Others

The Senate, on Tuesday, began moves to review the Labour Act to provide stiffer penalties for various offences ranging from modern slavery, child Labour to discrimination against women in the work place.

The amendment to the Labour law seeks to introduce stiffer penalties to punish employers who deny female employees maternity protection and discriminate against women during employment to fill positions in underground work or mines.

Sponsor of the Bill, Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi, in his lead debate, said the bill “seeks to amend the present fines for his offences in the Labour Act which are now obsolete and bring them in line with modern realities.”

He said that an amendment to the Act will serve as deterrent against Labour related offences, adding that the amendment Bill seeks the upward review of fines in the Labour Act for several offenses among others.

Onyewuchi said; “The present fines for offenses in the Nigerian Labour Act are obsolete in context and content. The sanction, penalty and interest payable under the Act are ridiculously low and do not reflect current economic realities.

“These current provisions cannot provide the needed protection for workers in the labour market. There is therefore a need to review these penalties/fines upwards in order to achieve fair and harmonious employee relations,” he said.

The bill which scaled second reading on the floor during plenary showed that Section 21 proposed a fine of N500,000 and N1,000,000 from the present fine of N800 and N500 for first and second offences relating to “Breach of terms and conditions of employment”, as it relates to the wage hour, nature of employment, leave, contracts of employment, among others.

Also, the Labour Act amendment bill in Section 75 and 76 on contravention of records of wages and conditions of employment; returns and statistics of employees was amended to propose a N300,000 fine as against the present N200.

Whereas, in Sections 85 and 88 of the Principal Act (costs in court and fines for regulations made by the minister), the present fine of N50 for first offence and N500 for second or subsequent offences was reviewed to N50,000 and N500,000.

Contributing to the debate, Senator Istifanus Gyang (PDP, Plateau North) said that “actions and policies of employers that negate the rights of workers and constitute ill treatment can no longer be condoned.”

He therefore, supported the fines against the offences, adding, “let’s impose severe sanctions that will serve as a deterrent against such practices.”

According to him, some of the ill treatment of workers are mostly linked to denial of maternity protection and employment of women, employment of young persons in unreasonable circumstances, as well as forced labour of young persons.

On his part, Senator Rochas Okorocha (APC, Imo West) said the piece of legislation “seeks to dignify labour and to remind us that labourers and workers are not beggars.”

Okorocha added; “It is unfortunate today, that because of the high rate of unemployment, our sons and daughters are moving from different places – even in the National Assembly here – looking for white collar jobs which is not even forthcoming, and they look for these jobs under any condition, whatever they can do to get it.

“This is what we might call Labour abuse law to really inform employers on the need to treat their workers with dignity and with a sense of humanity.”

The bill after scaling second reading was referred to the Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity for further legislative work by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.

The Committee is Chaired by Senator Abdullahi Kabir Barkiya is expected to report back to the Senate within four weeks.