The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment has signed the Instrument of Ratification for ILO Convention No.190 on Violence and Harassment, which will be deposited with the Director General of the International Labour Organization.
The announcement was made by Ms Kachollom S. Daju, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, at the opening ceremony of a 2-day Regional Sensitization Workshop on ILO Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment and Eliminating Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the Workplace for Professional Officers in the three Northern Geo-Political Zones.
Daju stated that Nigeria is the fourth African country and the eighth in the world to have ratified the Convention.
She went on to say that the Ministry had already included prohibitions on violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, in the recently completed review of the National Labour Bills.
She stated that ratification entails a great deal of responsibility and reporting for Nigeria.
“She urged state labor officers to put their best foot forward because it is their responsibility to implement, intercept, and intervene in all cases of violence and harassment, as well as other related unfair labor practices, in all workplaces once the convention is domesticated.
“The Ministry’s Headquarters will also be depending on you to generate and gather data that will be used to develop a comprehensive First Report of Nigeria’s implementation of the Convention to the ILO when the time comes” she said.
The permanent Secretary thanked the ILO Regional Office in Abuja and the International Labour Office in Geneva for providing technical support for the workshop, as well as their assistance in ensuring that Nigeria’s Labour Administration System follows international best practices.
Earlier in her welcome address, Mrs Juliana A. Adebambo, Director, Productivity Measurement and Labour Standards, stated that the Ministry, with technical assistance from the ILO, had convened a series of preliminary activities across the country’s six Geo-Political zones, with the 2-day workshop being the first in the lineup.
