ILO Highlights the Need for Decent Work and Labour Standards for Migrant Workers

Abuja (ILO News): The Director of the ILO Country Office, Abuja, Mr. Dennis Zulu has expressed the need to ensure International Labour Standards, decent work, fair recruitment, social protection and social dialogue for migrant workers. He stated this during the inaugural meeting of the National Trade Union Platform held in Abuja from 9-10 August 2018. Speaking further, Mr. Zulu expressed the need for a normative framework on labour migration.

He also identified some of the challenges associated with labour migration to include growing and more diverse and complex nature of migration; risks associated with poorly governed labour migration; issues associated with sustainable development with respect to decent work, especially for low income workers; amongst others. He stated that Migrant workers continued to suffer from violations of their rights which lead to increase in the social and financial “costs of Labour migration”. He also observed that migrant workers were often concentrated in specific sectors like agriculture, construction, domestic work, or manufacturing.

In his remark, the Chief of Mission of IOM Nigeria, Mr. Frantz Celestin, commended the Trade Union’s initiative and said that there were opportunities for better migration management and promotion of Labour Standards in Nigeria, given that Nigeria had ratified the ILO Convention on Employment Migration, C97, and adopted a National Policy on Migration. He encouraged the platform to work towards ratification of other relevant international instruments. He pledged the support and commitment of IOM to the platform.

The National Trade Union Platform on Labour Migration in Nigeria was organized by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) with the financial and technical support of the ILO and was attended by representatives of International Organization for Migration (IOM), Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), affiliates of NLC, representatives of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the media.

In his remark, the president of Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba stated that the National Trade Union Platform was inaugurated in line with the advice of ITUC-Africa and other Regional Trade Union organizations to bring together members of African Trade Union Migration Network (ATUMNET), trade union leaders and their CSO friends across Africa to be exposed to and brainstorm on how to advance a fair, safe, orderly and regular migration.

He also stated that the initiative was to support national trade Unions to better understand the issues of migration, National Migration Policy, National Policy on Labour Migration, ECOWAS tool, Global Compact on Migration and other international instruments to help them provide support for better Migration Management.