A Reflection on the Socio-Legal Conundrum of Unfair Termination of Employment in Nigeria.

Abstract

The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and the 2006 National Industrial Court Act (NICA) bestows on the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine labour disputes relating to or connected with unfair labour practices, including unfair termination of employment. There is, nevertheless, no general statutory rights, in explicit terms, given to workers under the Nigerian Labour Law, not to have their employments unfairly terminated and to claim compensation, re-instatement and re-employment for unfair termination of employment. This paper reflects on the socio-legal conundrum of unfair termination of employment of workers in Nigeria. The research methodology employed by the authors is basically doctrinal analysis of relevant primary and secondary sources. The paper finds that the unfair termination of employment of workers in Nigeria is contrary to the United Nations (UN) International Labour Organisation (ILO) Termination of Employment Convention 158 of 1982 (Convention 158) as well as international human rights’ norms or treaties. The paper recommends that Nigeria should promulgate a Labour Rights Act that would give to workers, in explicit terms, the rights not to  have their employments unfairly terminated and to claim compensation, re- instatement and re-employment for unfair termination of employment in line with the practice in other countries, including Kenya and the United Kingdom (UK).