Migration Day: Unions urge FG to domesticate ILO Conventions on fair migration

Wed, Dec 18, 2019
By publisher
2 MIN READ

Politics

THE National Trade Union Platform on Migration has called for improved management of migration governance by the Federal Government.

The platform comprises migration focal persons from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and Trade Union Congress(TUC), affiliate unions.

The platform made the call in a statement signed by Mr James Eustace, the NLC focal person on Migration, to mark the International Migration Day, on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to Eustace, the Federal Government must, as a matter of urgency, ratify and domesticate the relevant international instruments such as ILO Convention 143, Convention 181, along with Convention 189,  which promotes fair and orderly migration.

“Migration is not a crisis and can never be a crisis as it contributes to growth and development of all countries; the lack of better management and governance is the challenge.

“When better managed, migration is a blessing as it goes with enormous benefits. The global acknowledgement of the imperative of migration led to the adoption of the Global Compact on Migration (GCM).

“Nigeria must do everything possible to benefit from the gobal architecture on better migration management to promote fair, orderly and regular migration as enshrined in the GCM.

“Nigeria must, as a matter of urgency, ratify and domesticate the relevant international instruments such as ILO Convention 143, Convention 181, along with Convention 189,” he said.

He, however, said that one of the most important steps must be to ensure that the push factors propelling irregular migration are addressed.

He listed the critical push factors to include massive unemployment, especially youth unemployment, and the complete absence of social protection floors in Nigeria.

The NLC focal person called for the immediate ratification of ILO Convention 122 on employment creation.

“The platform calls on the government to revisit the several reports on employment creation with a view to implementing them.

“It made the point that the full implementation of the new National Minimum Wage will go a long way to curtail the poverty crisis that is exacerbating irregular migration,” he said.(NAN)

– Dec. 18, 2019 @ 10:15 GMT

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