By FUNMI KOMOLAFE, in Geneva

After almost a decade of deliberations on the exclusion of Customs, EPZ CBN and mint workers from trade union membership, the International Labour Organisation’s committee on the application of standards ruled that these category of workers be allowed to belong to trade unions.

The committee gave its verdict, weekend, when it ruled that these category of workers should not be regarded as “essential services”.

The Customs and Excise union was banned in 1986 following a trade dispute with the Federal Government.

Workers in the Export Processing Zones, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Security Printing and Minting Corporation were regarded as essential service workers by the Trade Union Act and were not allowed to unionise.

 ILO had continuously queried Nigeria on the grounds that such a law was a violation of Convention 87 of ILO on (Right to Freedom of Association) which Nigeria ratified at Independence.

On the procedure for going on strike, the ILO committee disagreed with the government’s position that all union members must be involved in a strike ballot and suggested that the ballot should be based on the number of union members present.