Human Rights at Work: Measuring the Democratic Rights of Nigerian Workers by International Standards

In recent years, there has been an upsurge of international attention on the protection of workers’ rights. The growing interest is explained by an increased understanding among states and international organizations that workers rights are also within the vortex of human rights and deserve protection. This paper considers the extent to which Nigerian workers’ enjoy human rights at work. The paper draws on the International Labour Standards established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to measure the protection of workers’ rights. After briefly the reviewing the sources of Nigeria’s obligations to respect workers’ rights, the paper focuses on three key areas, namely membership of trade unions, the promotion of free and voluntary collective bargaining and the right to take industrial action. The paper argues that Nigeria lags far behind internationally accepted standards as there are significant gaps between rhetoric, which stresses the importance of workers’ rights, and practice, which does little to realize it. Consequently, proposals toward reform designed to ensure greater protection for Nigerian workers and to bring Nigerian law and practice in line with minimum international standards are put forward and discussed. Keywords: Human Rights, Workers Rights, International Standards, Violations, Nigeria