By Michael Oche
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for the mainstreaming of labour standards that promotes decent work in the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) protocols.
NLC general secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja stated this at a two-day workshop in Abuja organised by the Congress with support from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The general secretary who was represented by Comrade Uchenna Ekwe, stressed the need to protect the rights of workers in the continent in the implementation of AfCFTA.
Our Correspondent reports that the NLC in January inaugurated a network of focal person from its affiliate unions to actively engage the AfCFTA and amplify trade unions concerns in its implementation.
Furthermore, the Congress said it is now
partnering with the Nigeria Office on Trade Negotiations (NOTN) and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) in a bid to foster Decent work in Nigeria and Africa through trade and investment.
In his goodwill message to the Conference, Ambassador Yonov Fred Agah, the NOTN Director-General while emphasising on the contribution of trade and investment in sustainable development and decent work, recalled the role of the NLC in re-directing the policy alignment of the Nigerian government to include the social partners and to mainstream their concerns.
The Director-General who was represented went on to call on the participants to take the training seriously since the policy thrust of the NOTN going forward is the fostering of enabling space for an inclusive engagement with the Africa Continental Trade Area instrument.
He said that Organised Labour has a huge role to play to make the AfCFTA work for all Nigerians and that the NOTN is poised to partner with Organised Labour to achieve that.
The Director General of NECA who was represented by Mr. Femi Paul said that employers in Nigeria are willing to partner with Organised Labour and government to ensure that Nigerians makes the most of the AfCFTA.
In her goodwill message to the workshop, the ACTRAV Specialist, Ms. Inviolata Chinyangarara, who represented the ILO Country Director, Ms Vanessa Phala while highlighting the role of trade and investment in social and economic growth and progress emphasized the need for trade unions to get involved in trade and investment processes to ensure that they yield outcomes of gainful employment and decent work for workers both in the formal and informal branches of the economy.
The Deputy President of the NLC, Comrade Audu Amba called on the social partners to work together to make the AfCFTA a trade instrument that accommodates the interest of most Africans especially workers.
The role of the ILO in facilitating the policy discourse and engagement space on Trade and Investment in Africa as enablers for Decent Work was also strongly highlighted by the social partners at the workshop.
The National Workshop with the theme “The Impact of Trade and investment Agreements on Decent Work and Sustainable Development: Trade Unions Role in influencing Trade Policies” was attended by desk officers from the affiliate unions of the NLC in different sectors of the Nigerian economy.
