The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, International Labour Organisation and the organised labour movement have designed standard operating procedures (SOP) to stem the growing irregular labour migration.

The SOP spells out the guidelines for the international recruitment of Nigerian migrant workers. Its objectives include facilitating inter-agency collaboration in regulating the activities of licensed private employment agencies (PEAs) for the placement of Nigerian workers abroad.

It also requires all parties to be committed to fostering unhindered information exchange concerning PEAs operating within the country and abroad as well as exchanging information about the well-being of Nigerian citizens placed in jobs abroad by licensed PEAs.

It also requires all parties to be committed to monitoring the well-being of Nigerian citizens recruited to work abroad, especially low-skilled workers such as domestic workers, farm workers and nannies among others.

Speaking at the launch of the procedure in Abuja, the General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Emmanuel Ugboaja, who was represented by the Head, International Labour Centre, Uche Ekwe, NLC, said it always recognise that to be effective in the protection of human and labour rights of all workers including migrant workers, it has to devise means and strategies to assist and support Nigerian migrant workers in promoting decent jobs and support returning migrants and migrant workers, to return, be readmitted and reintegrated in comfort and dignity.

It added that as part of its activities in contributing to the promotion of better labour migration governance, the congress has developed a Trade Union Information Guide on Return and Reintegration for Migrant Workers in Nigeria to aid migration procedures.

Congress noted that the SOP will contribute meaningfully to enhancing the capacity and position of the NLC affiliates and other relevant stakeholders for effectiveness in promoting fair recruitment for migrant workers, better return and reintegration, and ultimately reducing the serious challenges faced by Nigerian migrant workers.

It pledged to continue to build the capacity of its affiliates, their members, and collaborate with stakeholders, especially those in the world of work in their several positive and pragmatic initiatives deployed to assist migrants, migrant workers and members of their families and communities to ensure the protection of their human and labour rights and contribute to efforts to defeat fragility and build resilience and stability to counter forced mobility.

The ILO lauded the government of Nigeria for developing the SOP in conjunction with relevant stakeholders, saying the SOPs not only demonstrate the commitment of the government to ensuring adequate safeguards for migrant workers are in place but further highlight good practices that can be adopted in the area of labour migration governance.

It added that the Trade Union Information Guide on Return and Reintegration of Migrants and Migrant Workers in Nigeria, which was developed by the NLC, provides easy and readily available guidance for returning migrants, thereby contributing to the national return and reintegration architecture.

The ILO also expressed its delight with the recent ratification of ILO Conventions 143 – Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, C 181 – Private Employment Agencies Convention as well as Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190) by the government of Nigeria.

The desk officer of Migration of the NLC, James Eustace, said trade unions campaign on important issues such as low pay, discrimination at the workplace, healthy workplaces, speaking up for vulnerable groups such as women, migrants, people living with disabilities, young workers and precarious work for the benefit of their members.

He also revealed that Migrant Recruitment Advisor (MRA) has been developed to guide would-be migrants on the basic requirements to prevent Nigerians from going into modern slavery in the hands of dubious recruiters.

He added that the MRA gives information on license recruitment agencies both in Nigeria and destination countries, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC).

Head of International Labour Migration Division, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr. Sunday Onazi said the need to clearly define the responsibilities of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the migration space necessitated the development of the SOP.

“Inter-agency rivalry is very popular in Nigeria which in most cases leads to the playing of conflicting roles. The need for different government institutions playing different roles in the recruitment of migrant workers to know their boundaries gave birth to the design of this SOP,” he said.
Onazi also said the ministry has developed a code of conduct that apportion punishment as well as reward deserving PEAs.

He added: “If a PEA is found wanting, the ministry simply withdraws its operating license. Conversely, if a company is doing very well, the ministry can increase the lifespan of the license of such a company from one year to two or three years. This is to encourage other PEAs to follow good examples. The code of conduct contains a set of rules and punitive measures to guide the conduct of PEAs. The code is self-operated because the Human Capital Providers Association of Nigeria (HUCAPAN), which is the national umbrella body of all the PEAs in Nigeria, operationalises it.”