By Michael Paul
In a bid to promote ethical and fair recruitment of Nigerian migrant workers, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Nigeria Labour Congress have called for more awareness on the contents of the Federal Government Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for International Recruitment of Nigerian Migrant Workers.
The SOP developed by the Nigerian government offers intending migrant workers access to information on the role of various government agencies in ensuring their protection from exploitative recruitment agencies.
Nigeria is witnessing a new wave of emigration as scores of young Nigerians leave to settle in other countries. This new emigration wave is regarded as “Japa syndrome” in the local Nigerian lingua to depict the desire to escape the growing economic & security woes of the country.
This trend has given rise to an increasing number of unlicensed private recruitment agencies taking advantage of desperate Nigerians seeking to work abroad to put them in precarious work conditions abroad.
But the ILO Country Director of the Abuja Office, Ms Vanessa Phala said the SOP not only demonstrates the commitment of the Nigerian Government to ensuring adequate safeguards for migrant workers are in place, but further highlights good practices that can be adopted in the area of labour migration governance.
Ms Phala who was represented by Senior Specialist, ILO-ACTRAV, Abuja Office Inviolata Chinyagarara, spoke on Friday at a One-Day Workshop for Trade Unions on the SOP and Use of The Trade Union Guide on Return and Reintegration of Migrants & Migrant Workers In Nigeria.
The event was convened as part of the country component of the ILO FAIRWAY Global in Nigeria funded by the Government of Switzerland, targeted at addressing gaps identified in the level of awareness and stakeholders’ capacity to effectively contribute towards operationalizing these very important frameworks relating to the rights of migrant workers.
She noted that that Standard Operating Procedures have been developed by the Government of Nigeria for purposes of facilitating effective international recruitment of Nigerian migrant workers and in fulfillment of the provisions of the 2004 Labour Act CAPL1LFN.
According to her, “ILO’s strategy on labour migration and mobility in the African region is guided by its International Labour Standards (ILS) and Decent Work Agenda and implemented in close collaboration with the World of Work actors (Ministries of Labour and workers’ and employers’ organisations).”
Earlier, NLC general secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja affirmed that fair recruitment and responsive governance are some of the ways to tame exploitation and abuses in the world of work, eliminate poverty and inequality.
“In essence, the pursuit of fair recruitment for all including migrant workers ensures that the migrants, their families, business, receiving and host economies all benefit,”
Ugboaja who was represented by comrade Uche Ekwe, the NLC head of International Dept said.
He explained that the NLC has always recognised that to be effective In the protection of human and labour rights of all workers, including migrant workers, it has to devise means and Strategies to assist and support Nigerian migrant workers in promoting decent jobs and support returning migrants and migrant workers, to return, be readmitted and reintegrated in comfort and dignity.
According to Ugboaja, “As part of NLC activities in contributing to the promotion of better labour migration governance, the congress has developed a Trade Union Information Guide on Return and Reintegration for Migrant Workers in Nigeria that should be given the necessary publicity and stakeholders sensitized on it.
“Also, the Congress is in collaboration with the different stakeholders in the promotion of better migration governance in Nigeria, as such is using this workshop to expose and sensitise it affiliates focal persons on the National Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) for International Recruitment of Nigerian Migrant Workers.
“This will contribute meaningfully to enhancing the capacity and position of the NLC affiliates and other relevant stakeholders for effectiveness in promoting fair recruitment for migrant workers, better return and reintegration, and ultimately reducing the serious challenges faced by Nigerian migrant workers.
“Considering the importance of the SOP and the Information Guide and the necessity to operationalize these resources, the NLC in collaboration with the ILO FAIRWAY Programme is organizing this workshop to carry out awareness creation and sensitisation of stakeholders.”
Dr Sunday Onazi, the Head of International Migrant recruitment at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, said the Federal Government is committed to promoting fair and ethical recruitment of Nigerians seeking to migrate.
He explained that the idea for the development of the SOP was necessitated by the desire to bring an end to abuses which Nigerian migrant workers were experiencing, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC).
He said, “Let me give a brief overview of what led to this SOP, the Ministry of Labour is implementing the recruiter licence regime of the Federal Government because without the regulation of the activities of private employment agencies, there will be a lot of unfair labour practices.
“It is a requirement of the recruitment agencies to bring the would be migrant workers to the ministry for the conduct of pre-departure orientation seminars for the intending migrant. Thereafter, they will be deployed to work overseas. But between 2017 and 2018 and , the Ministry was inundated with complaints of different abuses coming from the GCC and the ministry liaised with its foreign affairs counterpart and an interministerial committee was set up to see how the ministry of Labour in collaboration with that committee can promote ethical recruitment of Nigerian migrant workers.
And after series of meetings and agreement, the SOP was developed.”
He noted that the Federal Government is committed to partnering with other stakeholders, especially Trade Unions, to ensure the protection of human and labour rights of Nigerian Migrant Workers.