Property Rights as a Pathway to Labour Law Protection in the Nigerian Informal Economy

Abstract

Traditionally, the idea of labour law has been based on the premise that the standard employment relationship is a site of social oppression, inequality, and conflict, and labour law is the mechanism to balance this relationship. However, in many countries, particularly developing economies, the brunt of such oppression, inequality and conflict is experienced by people who are outside the purview of labour law and are in relationships that are difficult to characterize as employment. One such category is that of street vendors in Nigeria. These workers are not deemed to be employed in the legal sense and they are outside of the protective net of labour regulation. In Nigeria, street vendors comprise a large proportion of the wholesale and retail informal sector in the informal economy. Street vending serves as a viable economic means for many urban informal workers. However, it is criminalized. Street vendors are regularly harassed by law enforcement officials because their activity, particularly their use of public spaces, ostensibly poses urban planning and development challenges. In recognition of the decent work challenges facing informal workers, the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted Recommendation 204 to facilitate the transition of workers from the informal to the formal economy. Nigeria has adopted this Recommendation; yet, contrary to the spirit of the Recommendation, the criminalization of street vending remains intact. This article argues for the implementation of a hybrid regime of property rights in order to realize Recommendation 204 and extend labour law protection in the informal economy.