FG seeks ILO’s support to review, strengthen labour laws

The Federal Government on Friday requested the assistance of the International Labour Organisation in the review and strengthening of Labour laws in the country.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, William Alo, made the request while receiving the ILO Director General, Guy Ryder, in his office in Abuja.
He also requested ILO’s assistance in capacity building for professional officers of the ministry.
According to him, there is the need to strengthen the Labour Inspectorate System in the country by providing technical assistance with regards to granting quotas for full fellowships to facilitate access to training programmes.
While appreciating the ILO for the Decent Work Country Programme I and Decent Work Country Programme II, Alo appealed to ILO to extend  its usual full support to the Nigerian Government in the formulation and implementation of Decent Work Country Programme III, which had become overdue.
He also requested for technical and financial support from the ILO for the implementation of action plans of various national policies such as National Employment Policy and National Policy on Labour Migration.
Others are National Productivity Policy, National Policy on Child Labour and National Policy on Occupational Safety and Health.
Alo acknowledged the support extended to Nigeria in the development of the policies for the achievement of decent work, and urged ILO to consider providing technical and financial support for the establishment of the National Labour Market Information System.
The Permanent Secretary further acknowledged ILO’s recognition of Nigeria as a strategic partner and expressed delight that Nigeria was chosen as the venue for the Global Youth Employment Forum.
He reiterated Nigeria’s resolve to continue partnering with the ILO, pledging to continually extend all necessary support to the organisation in all areas desired.
In his response, Ryder said that he was in Nigeria to understand the process and challenges faced in the labour sector and how the organisation could be of assistance.
Ryder said that he was aware that in the past, ILO had collaborated in the formulation of major programme in the country, especially the National Agreement Programme, but noted that “there are some pending issues like labour legislation review and reforms”.
He said: “I wanted to be sure, while in the country, that the different Tripartite Council and structure which exists, don’t simply exist on paper but in practice.’’
He promised to meet with the Trade Union, NLC, TUC and NECA to assess their feelings on how the Tripartite Cooperation was functioning in Nigeria.