NLC, ILO To Protect Migrant Workers In Nigeria
Plans are underway by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) to adopt a study that will aid advocacy for migrant workers in the country.
At the validation meeting on the adoption of the report, ‘The landscape and challenges around decent work and social protection of migrant workers in Nigeria’ in Abuja, stakeholders said the gathering was a part of Congress’s continuous collaboration with the ILO through the FAIRWAY Migration programme.
Project Technical Officer, FAIRWAY Africa, Basanta Kumar Karki, said the report raised issues that are pertinent and provided recommendations that are useful to improving the conditions of migrant workers in Nigeria.
Karki, who is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, lauded the NLC, its Trade Union Congress (TUC), NECA and other stakeholders for the milestone reached, saying many labour centres around the world have many lessons to draw from their Nigerian counterparts.
“I must salute the NLC because the Congress in Ethiopia has not yet gotten to the point to start considering the migrant workers coming into Ethiopia. The NLC is already a step ahead of them. For working already on how to protect the human and labour rights of migrant workers coming into Nigeria as they do for Nigerian citizens, that is indeed remarkable and I salute them for that,” he stated.
Karki disclosed that discussion for the continuation of the FAIRWAY project beyond 2024 is already ongoing online, saying, “because the issues we are dealing with whether it is in the corridors of the Gulf countries, migrant workers within Africa and the challenges are still there. So, there is still a need for FAIRWAY to continue.”
He further hinted that FAIRWAY is in discussion with donor agencies such as the Swiss Agency for Development while also working with other potential donors to supplement the continuation of FAIRWAY phase two.
However, he cautioned that the scale and size could be a different one due to available resources.
“We may scale down on our activity but effort will be continued towards the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers wherever they are,” he added.
On his part, NLC focal person on migration, James Eustace, said the draft report of the study had been presented to the NLC technical working committee, presented at the NLC-NECA leadership meeting, and input made into and shared with the ILO for input, saying now that the inputs have been reflected, there is the need for it to be validated and endorsed by the NLC leadership.
Eustace said the findings from the report will help in building advocacy strategies.
His words: “I am talking about advocacy campaigns issues that we are going to use to advocate for the protection of the labour and human rights of workers, especially migrant workers. When you hear people say an evidence-based campaign, it is a campaign that is not based on hearsay or assumptions. It is a campaign that is based on practical testimonies of the migrant workers.”
Source: guardian.ng
