News Analysis – By Abdul Lauya
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has thrown its weight behind a proposed law that seeks to grant extended widowhood and bereavement leave to Nigerian workers.
On the surface, the initiative appears progressive, a rare nod to the emotional realities faced by civil servants. But critics say the bill is a symbolic gesture that dodges the structural failures hollowing out the nation’s public service.
At a public hearing convened by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Service Matters, NLC President Joe Ajaero described the bill as “long overdue” and aligned with international standards. He recommended a minimum of 30 working days’ leave for bereaved spouses, extendable to 60 days in exceptional cases, regardless of gender.
Ajaero also proposed the inclusion of a bereavement allowance and a two-week leave provision for workers mourning the death of close relatives.
While these recommendations may sound progressive, they are largely unmoored from global practice. Countries like France and South Africa, cited by the NLC, offer far more modest benefits: France grants three to five days of paid leave for the loss of a spouse or child; South Africa allows just three days under “family responsibility leave.”
New Zealand permits three days’ bereavement leave, including after miscarriage, while most private employers in developed nations provide no more than one to two weeks of leave.
Nigeria’s proposal, 30 to 60 days of paid leave, would rank among the most generous in the world, yet it lacks clear enforcement mechanisms or financial modelling, especially across private and informal sectors where most Nigerians work.
More troubling for critics is what the legislation fails to address. While lawmakers deliberate over days of mourning, entrenched dysfunction continues to corrode the Nigerian civil service.
Nepotism remains widespread: some public servants routinely insert their children, many still in secondary school, into government payrolls. These children begin “earning” salaries long before graduation, only to be absorbed into the system permanently, while thousands of qualified graduates remain unemployed and later disqualified from applications on age grounds.
Absenteeism is rampant. In many ministries and agencies, civil servants report to work around midday and depart before official closing hours. In some offices, informal rosters have been institutionalised, allowing employees to show up only two or three days a week while drawing full salaries.
Ironically, these same workers are often the loudest in protesting poor working conditions and stagnant promotions. Meanwhile, honest workers endure blocked career progressions due to outdated retirement policies and an opaque promotion process.
The same hearing at which the NLC endorsed the grief leave bill also saw the union reject the policy mandating compulsory retirement for directors after eight years. Ajaero called the rule arbitrary, counterproductive, and anti-worker, saying it has led to the premature exit of experienced personnel and eroded institutional memory.
However, this deeper conversation was overshadowed by what many now see as the legislature’s emotional but ultimately superficial focus.
Sponsored by Hon. Saidu Musa Abdullahi (APC–Niger), the Widowhood Leave Bill (House Bill 401) passed its second reading in March 2024 and is currently before the House Committee on Public Service. Friday’s public hearing was part of stakeholder consultations expected to inform the final provisions.
While the bill now enjoys support from organised labour and women’s rights groups, doubts persist about its legislative priority and long-term enforceability.
Policy experts warn that Nigeria may be legislating around symptoms while ignoring the disease. “This is classic political optics,” said Dr. Amina Yusuf, a public affairs analyst. “We are handing out grief leave in a system where entire departments operate on ghost workers, employment is traded for favours, and honest civil servants are punished for playing by the rules.”
To many, the bill represents a missed opportunity to pursue sweeping reforms. With a civil service riddled by corruption, inefficiency, and patronage, passing an ambitious grief leave law without tackling the rot beneath it risks offering comfort where what’s truly needed is accountability.
