Battle lines drawn: Labour and employers clash over International Court of Justice ruling on workers' right to strike

Nigeria's industrial relations landscape is once again embroiled in controversy, as organised labour and employers hold sharply divergent views on the scope and limits of workers' right to strike, sparked by differing interpretations of the International Court of Justice's recent ruling on the matter.

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The International Court of Justice in The Hague confirmed the right to strike for workers and trade unions on May 21, delivering an advisory opinion that affirmed the right of workers and their organisations to strike is protected under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, specifically ILO Convention No. 87 of 1948.

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The ICJ's judgment has elicited strong reactions from both sides, with labour insisting that workers' rights must be fully respected, while employers argue that strike is regulated under national laws and cannot be exercised without limits.

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Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, strongly criticised comments made by Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde, Director-General of the Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association, during a television programme, describing them as an attempt to undermine established international labour principles and weaken workers' rights.

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Ajaero argued that the matter of strike rights has already been fully addressed through established international processes, and attempts to re-open or dilute it are unnecessary and counterproductive, stating that debates held at various levels of the ILO affirmed the right to strike.

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He noted that the final position had already been determined at the highest level of international judicial interpretation, leaving no room for selective compliance, and that the ICJ is the highest and last court to entertain this matter.

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Ajaero insisted that Nigeria's obligations under international labour conventions remain binding and must be implemented in their entirety, citing the principle that the law must be obeyed wholly and not selectively, and that Nigeria ratified Convention 87 in 1960.

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The NLC President also pushed back against suggestions that strike is a frequent or casual choice for workers, stressing that it remains a last resort, and that workers do not intend to change this, describing Smatt-Oyerinde's intervention as an unnecessary academic exercise in futility.

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Ajaero counselled that adversarial interpretation of the ICJ ruling will not be helpful, and that respect for the law and mutual respect for the parties will, adding that the NLC has always played by the rules and never in breach of the law.

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Earlier, the Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association had taken a different position, insisting that the right to strike is not absolute and must operate within the boundaries of national legislation and economic realities.

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NECA Director-General, Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde, said the ICJ's advisory opinion recognises strike as part of labour rights discourse, but does not eliminate the authority of domestic laws governing industrial relations, and that the ICJ explicitly declined to define the content, scope, or conditions of the right to strike.

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Smatt-Oyerinde noted that the right to strike was intentionally excluded from Convention No. 87 during its 1948 drafting, and that historical ILO records and dissenting opinions of four ICJ judges support the argument that supervisory bodies have, at times, extended beyond their intended mandates.

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He reaffirmed NECA's commitment to social dialogue and tripartism, and that the association will continue to support the position previously taken by the Nigerian government, which favours consensus-building over judicial determination in resolving complex labour matters.

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Smatt-Oyerinde stressed that the exercise of strike action must be balanced against several critical considerations, including employers' right to manage and operate their businesses, protection of essential services, national security and economic stability, and existing Collective Bargaining Agreements and bilateral Memoranda of Understanding.

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NECA is preparing for the November 2026 ILO Governing Body session, where the way forward will be discussed, and in the interim, the association urges a constructive and pragmatic approach, reaffirming its commitment to supporting the Nigerian government in ensuring that the national industrial relations framework remains balanced and conducive to economic growth.