Nigeria is committed to upholding international labour standards and meeting its obligations as a member state of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, has said.
Dingyadi stated this at a tripartite workshop organised to prepare Nigeria’s first reports on four key ILO conventions, an obligation as a member state of the ILO.
The four conventions are C190 (Violence and Harassment Convention) 2019 (No.190), C187 (Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention) 2006 (No. 187), C181 (Private Employment Agencies Convention) 1997 (No. 181), and C143 (Migrant Workers Supplementary Provisions Convention) 1975 (No. 143).
Represented by the Director, Productivity Measurement and Labour Standards, Yakubu Inuwa, the Minister stated that reporting on ratified conventions is a crucial mechanism through which Nigeria demonstrates its commitment to upholding decent work and strengthening its labour administration system.
According to Dingyadi, the stakeholders’ workshop was organised by the Ministry, in collaboration with the ILO, to respond to the comments, observations and direct requests of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) of the International Labour Organisation (| ILO) on conventions ratified by Nigeria.
He disclosed that Nigeria is obliged, under the ILO Constitution, to make such reports, noting that the report is expected to not only meet international standards, but also reflect the state of labour administration in Nigeria.
The Minister noted that apart from being part of the processes of preparing the report, the report will enhance the knowledge, techniques and skills of relevant agencies and focal officers on ILO Reporting in line with the expectation by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR).
In her remarks, the Director of the ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Vanessa Phala, stated that the workshop is aimed at strengthening national capacity to fulfil the reporting obligations that flow from ratifying those conventions.
Phala, who was represented by Ekpemi Nnaemeka, said: “These first reports are not only constitutional obligations under Article 22 of the ILO Constitution, they are also opportunities to take stock of progress, identify implementation gaps, and establish a foundation for constructive dialogue with the ILO supervisory system.”
According to her, the four conventions respond to pressing realities in today’s world of work, explaining that Convention 143 (C.143) addresses migration in abusive conditions and promotes equality of treatment for migrant workers, while C. 181 promotes decent work within private employment agencies while safeguarding workers’ rights.
“Convention (C. 187) places occupational safety and health at the heart of fundamental principles and rights at work, and C.190 is the first international treaty to address violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence,” she stated.
