Organised labour in Nigeria has expressed concern over what it called the continuous enslavement and utilisation of children “in forced and bonded labour,” and trafficked within, through and outside the country.
This was contained in the intervention for the Nigerian workers’ delegation on the discussion of the case concerning the state of application of Convention 182, which deals with the Worst Forms of Child Labour by the Committee of Standards, at the ongoing 111th Session of the International Labour Conference ILC, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Speaking for Nigeria’s organised labour community, the Head of International Relations at the Headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, Uche Ekwe, said that labour is worried about the legal and administrative systems that allow perpetrators, handlers and sponsors of these to get away with very light sanctions.
The Committee he said, “must encourage, support and work with the Nigerian government with the inclusion of social partners to review and revamp existing pieces of legislation.
“As a show of our commitment to being part of the solution to this endemic crisis, the Nigeria Labour Congress pledges to be a member of the Alliance 8.7 to be more active in the fight against all forms of child labour in Nigeria.
Concerning the submissions of the experts on the issue of child labour in Nigeria, Honourable Ekwe said that labour fully aligned with it on the pragmatic interventions that the Nigerian government have initiated to stem the challenges….
“Chairperson, I speak for Nigeria’s organised labour community, and we say that we fully align with the submissions of the Experts concerning this case.
“As you have read, the Experts noted the pragmatic interventions that the Nigerian government have initiated to stem the challenges undermining the development of the Nigerian child.
“Unfortunately, the Experts have observed that these measures come far short for sundry reasons, some of which we shall touch on in ways that can provide more pieces of information to this Committee that can help it reach a conclusion that would assist our country to continue to improve in terms of areas of focus, direction, processes, content and likely outcomes”, he said.
He identified insecurity as a challenge militating against the preservation of the environment for the development of children in schools and playgrounds.
Citing Northeast Nigeria as an example, Ekwe said that the activities of criminal and violent groups have persisted noting that these groups have continued to utilise and exploit children as “fighters”, cannon folders and kidnapped victims to extract ransoms to finance their violent operations.
“Our country would need support to degrade, displace and defeat these elements. Further, it would be desirable for the Nigerian state to be able to effectively extract children involved in violent activities and victims of security-challenged environments.”
He called on the government to effectively rehabilitate and reintegrate the children into a stable, safe and healthy environment stressing that the traumatic and mental-joggling experience these children are subjected and exposed to, it was pertinent that psychological and mental health counselling and assistance be provided in doses and frequency necessary to heal and help them reintegrate into their communities.
He also spoke on the state of labour inspection in Nigeria, saying that it has remained lax and almost non-existent, which according to him, is also partly responsible for the cases of the growing incidence of child labour and the exploitation of children.
“In the past, this Committee has made the point about the need to improve the labour inspection regime in Nigeria through a well-defined plan to improve systems, personnel, materials and schedules in a scalable manner. We ask that this request be reiterated with urgency and the addition of the provision of a roadmap for implementation.
“In all sincerity, Chairperson, poverty and socio-economic dispossession are at the heart of the dominant and spiking state of the incidence of child and forced labour in Nigeria.”
On education, the labour leader revealed that the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index survey shows that 133 million people live in different poverty stages, representing 63% of Nigeria’s population.
“It is disturbing that out of Nigeria’s 216 million population, 20 million children are disadvantaged due to a lack of access to education.
“UNESCO has confirmed that the country now has 20 million children out-of-school children. We are worried that governments at all levels have made lightweight commitments to investment in education.
“World Bank figures show that Nigeria’s public investment in education fell from 7.5% in 2019 to 5.1% in 2022. Several State Governments are sacking teachers, and most are withholding and delaying the payment of salaries, and wage freeze imposed for several years.
As organised labour, he said, “We have continued to advocate for the defeat of Illicit Financial Flow activities of tax avoidance, evasion and dodging as part of the interventions to improve internal and alternative resource mobilisation possibilities, which will increase governments’ chances of financing public services such as education and public health provisions.”
He said that Nigerian families have continued to witness deepening economic challenges for some time now and called on the government to put adequate measures in place to lift the citizens out of poverty.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ms Chacollom Daju, leads the Nigerian delegation to the 111th session of the ILC.
The Conference which opened on Monday, 5th June will close on the 16th of June 2023.
