ILO Commends Nigeria on its Preparation for 2018 International Labour Conference

ABUJA (ILO News) - The Director of the ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Dennis Zulu, has called on Nigeria’s delegation to the 107th International Labour Conference (ILC), to prepare adequately for the forthcoming conference and have a unified position on the agenda items to be discussed. He reminded the delegation of Nigeria’s prominent status in the ILO and in Africa by virtue of its position in the Governing body. He urged the delegation to use this position to speak with one voice and ably represent the interests of the tripartite constituents not only in Nigeria but also the whole of Africa at the conference. He urged Nigeria’s delegation to present issues affecting Africa at the meeting for consideration.

In his welcome remarks, the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen (Dr.) Chris Nwabueze Ngige, emphasized the importance of Nigeria’s active participation at the ILC by contributing positively to the agenda items slated for discussion. According to him, “our ability to arrive at common ground on all interventions will go a long way to ensure a successful outing for Nigeria”. He however reminded all the participants to ensure the duplication of the success achieved at the meeting in Nigeria. He used the opportunity to appeal to all the social partners to selflessly contribute to the review of the Labour Bills. He thanked the ILO for the support given the constituents and social partners for working with government to make the preparatory meeting a success.

Earlier in his introductory remarks, the Chairperson of International Relations Committee, Comrade Amaechi Asungini stated that the meeting was organized to ensure that the tripartite partners have a united opinion on issues at the ILC and participate effectively. In view of the theme of the conference which is “Building a future with decent work”, he appealed to the participants not to ignore the work of any committee as all the committees have great roles to play to add value to the ILC and the 2018 theme.

In his contribution the President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba emphasized the need for Nigeria to go the conference as a united and not as individual partners and need to project Nigeria in a better light with effective representation. Regretting the non-adherence to at least 30% female representation, he promised that Nigeria will achieve at least 30% female representation during 2019 ILC.

International Labour Conference

The 107th Session of the International Labour Conference will be held from 28 May to 8 June 2018 in Geneva, in two locations, the Palais des Nations and the ILO headquarters. The International Labour Conference is the ILO’s highest decision making body. It meets annually, bringing together the tripartite delegations from the Organization’s 187 member States and a number of observers from other international actors to consider a series of topics related to the world of work, placed on its agenda by the Governing Body of the ILO. The Conference is composed of plenary sessions and break out by the technical committees.