NSUK Lecturer Advocates Living Wages Through Social Dialogue at ILO Conference in Italy

A lecturer in the Faculty of Law, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Dr Daniel Moses Eyyazo, has addressed the International Conference and Summer School organised by the International Labour Organisation in Turin, Italy.

Eyyazo, a specialist in Administration of Criminal Justice and Labour Law Justice and National Legal Adviser of the Nasarawa State University Alumni Association, spoke on Implementing Living Wages Through Social Dialogue: Transforming Corporate Due Diligence into Enforceable Wage Outcomes in Global Supply Chains.

He delivered the lecture alongside Dr Nanzy Nzom, an employment expert and alumnus of the University.

His presentation examined the persistent problem of workers earning wages too low to support a decent standard of living, particularly in global supply chains. He argued that while many companies make commitments to living wages and governments increasingly require human-rights due diligence, these measures often fail to translate into actual improvements in pay.

The lecture proposes social dialogue, especially collective bargaining and meaningful worker participation, as the missing link between corporate promises and real wage improvements.

Eyyazo identified three reasons why social dialogue can improve wages. First, workers understand the real cost of living in their communities, including food, rent, transportation, education and healthcare, making wage calculations more realistic. Second, collective bargaining creates accountability through negotiated agreements with specific wage obligations, implementation dates and monitoring mechanisms. Third, workers and employers are more likely to accept and implement decisions they participated in making.

He concluded that social dialogue and collective bargaining remain the bridge between corporate responsibility and wage justice, stressing that when workers, employers and governments participate meaningfully in wage-setting, policies become more realistic, accountable and sustainable.

A fair global economy cannot be created through compliance documents alone; it requires institutions that give workers a genuine role in determining their conditions of work and ensuring wages allow them to live with dignity, he added.

No fewer than 26 countries, besides Nigeria, were represented at the conference.