Director General of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde, has emphasised the need for employers in Nigeria to embrace responsible business conduct in their operations to grow locally and in the international market.
Smatt-Oyerinde spoke during a workshop organised by NECA in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and International Organisation of Employers (IOE) in Lagos for enterprises on the ILO declaration to promote sustainable and responsible business practices,
Noting that the conversation in labour circles is moving away from doing business for profit to doing business responsibly, he attributed the workshop’s relevance to NECA and its member companies’ desire to join the global community in promoting responsible corporate practices.
According to him, the workshop will enable member companies to handle the challenges of sustainability and human rights that have become focal points in the workplace.
He further disclosed that new realities in the workplace ecosystem had shown that enterprises globally now paid adequate attention to sustainability, environment, social, and corporate governance issues.
“Business and human rights are major issues that we align with because the IOE, our global partner, aligns with them. It means doing business while taking cognisance of human rights. It is about looking at how business operations, which take care of human rights, affect everybody in the value chain of work,” he said.
Still on the purpose of the workshop, which was a coordinated activity supported by the ILO and IOE to ensure that everybody was involved, with NECA as the focal point, he explained that responsible business conduct was now a reality, as no hiding place existed for anyone, including NECA and its member companies.
He also said the training would address the knowledge gap among some member companies and deepen engagement and participation in responsible corporate practices among members, who are already aware.
One of the guest speakers, Benedetta Nobile, who is a project technical officer of Multinational Enterprises and Responsible Business Conduct Unit (MULTI/RBC), ILO, identified productive employment, rights at work, social protection, and social dialogue as central pillars crucial to achieving decent work.
In his remarks, Human Rights Specialist at the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) Kinga Dery, charged governments to look into the root causes of all elements that hinder responsible business conduct. At different sessions, participants urged employers to develop a roadmap supporting responsible business conduct for the realisation of decent work.
