Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

Equality of Treatment (Accident Compensation) Convention, 1925 (No. 19) - Nigeria (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government's report does not contain the information requested in its previous comments. It therefore again wishes to point out that section 2(2)(b) of the Workman's Compensation Decree No. 17 of 12 June 1987 excludes any workman employed in the public service of the Federation who has first been engaged in a place outside Nigeria and who is not a Nigerian citizen. In this connection, the Committee recalls that Article 1 of the Convention provides that equality of treatment in respect of compensation for industrial accidents shall be guaranteed, without any condition as to residence, to the nationals of any other State Member which has ratified the Convention, and to their dependants; this Article does not permit exceptions in regard to public sector employees. The Committee therefore trusts that the Government will not fail to take all necessary measures to give full effect to the Convention on this point.

In addition, the Committee notes that the Government does not possess statistical information on the number of foreign workers employed in Nigeria. In this regard, the Committee would suggest to the Government the possibility of recourse to ILO technical assistance. It hopes that the Government will soon be able to supply the statistical information, in particular on the number of foreign workers employed in the public service and excluded from the scope of Decree No. 17 of 1987 cited above.