ILO nominates Nigeria into alliance against child labour, human trafficking
Nigeria has been nominated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as a pathfinder nation in what it termed Star Alliance against Child Labour, Slave Labour and Human Trafficking.
The country was nominated at the just concluded International Labour Congress held in Geneva, Switzerland.
The nomination, according to the Chief of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work(FPRW) at the ILO, Beate Andrees is sequel to top diplomatic support shown by President Muhammadu Buhari led administration against child labour, slave labour and human trafficking initiative at the 2016 and 2017 sessions of the United Nations General Assembly.
Speaking at a bilateral meeting with the Nigerian delegation, by the sidelines of the 107 International Labour Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, Beate Andrees said the huge role which Nigeria currently plays in championing the crusade against Child Labour and Human Trafficking easily secured her the place in the International Star Alliance, aimed at bringing down the incidence of Child Labour, forced Labour and Human Trafficking by 2025 and 2030 respectively.
She urged Nigeria to further galvanize the efforts of its tripartite community to ensure the success of this coalition through effective awareness campaign backed by affirmative action.
Accepting Nigeria’s nomination, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige thanked the ILO for endorsing different steps already being taken by Nigeria to check the threatening universal social disorder linked to poverty, global demand for cheap and indecent labour as well as sex tourism, that is unfortunately pushed by international criminal network.
He further pledged to bring on board, relevant ministries and agencies of government as well as ensure private sector participation against all exactions on the vulnerability of women and children and all forms of bonded labour.
Ngige said, “I will seek the approval of the Federal Executive Council of the Government of Nigeria to bring on board relevant ministries and agencies such as Women Affairs, Youth and Sports, Agriculture, NAPTIP and others for interministerial and agency synergy and further devolve action down to our federating units states where the majority of our people live.”
While appreciating the technical assistance promised by the ILO in this regard, the minister said awareness campaign and other institutional measures to tackle what passes for a modern day slavery must go beyond the transit countries of Africa to the host communities of Europe and Asia where governments appear to have a passing interest in the social scourge.
The alliance which already has ten countries as members such as Australia, Argentina, Germany, UK, France, among others is being expanded to fifteen countries . The Minsiter of Labour and Emplyment Chris Ngige has faulted the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over its petition on the issue of alleged killing of workers in the country to the Committee of Standards of the ILO.
Ngige described the NLC`s petition as outright falsehood, adding that no Nigerian has been killed for reasons of being a worker or issues linked to unionism. He said, “To do so especially at an international level is against the interest of Nigeria.
“People have lost their lives in parts of the country due to general insecurity and such incidents are clearly nondiscriminatory. Anybody could be affected. So, this is as a result of general insecurity. For anybody therefore to come to the ILO and claim that people are being killed because they are workers is an unacceptable tissue of lies.”
The Minister said the retrenchment of unqualified teachers in Kaduna State which the NLC also stated in its petition was being tackled at home and needed no mention at the international labour forum.
“We don’t need to wash our dirty linen in the public . My ministry summoned both the Kaduna State Government and the Nigerian Union of Teachers and they presented their case. We know the truth and don’t need to bring such to the ILO. Some of the people disengaged by the Kaduna State Government from the records tendered to us are not qualified teachers.”
“They don’t have the prerequisite certificate, competence. They got smuggled into the system but we don’t need to come here tell the world that Nigerians get jobs with fake certificates. We don’t need to engage in such demarketing of the nation,” said the minister.
He added that based on agreement with the Kaduna State Government, about ten thousand out of the number that failed the qualification test have re-applied, and the Kaduna State has re-absolved some of them, promising to move others to other jobs, adding it has recruited more qualified teachers into the system.
The ILO, however, decided to send a high powered team to investigate the matter.