ABUJA, AUGUST 30, 2016 – The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, said on Tuesday in Abuja that the ministry was working toward developing a roadmap to address unemployment challenges in the country.Ngige said this during the ‘National Dialogue on the Future of Work Initiative’ organised by the ministry in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
He said that the developing the roadmap was important to meet the rapid changes in the world of work.
“This administration is fully aware of the high rate of unemployment and underemployment and the need to combat it through the diversification of the economy to other productive areas besides from oil and gas.
“This administration is, therefore, strongly committed to the promotion of inclusive and sustainable economic development, and productive employment and creation of decent jobs for our teeming youths.
“It is, therefore, very imperative to note that the outcome of this dialogue will also serve as a roadmap for addressing the challenges of unemployment in the country.”
He said that government would also develop strategies to address issues of casualisation, contract work, outsourcing, climate change among others, which had posed challenges over the years in the country.
The minister said that the dialogue was ILO’s objective of humanising work that would be celebrated at its centenary anniversary in 2019.
Ngige said that the ILO had initiated four thematic areas to guide member-countries in responding to the initiative.
“The thematic areas of Future of Work Initiative include work and society, decent jobs for all, the organisation for work and production, and the governance of work,” he said.
He added that the dialogue would open opportunities for the advancement of ILO’s mandate for social justice through engagement of all stakeholders to debate and contribute to the reflection on the future of work.
“It will also establish a High-level Commission on the Future of Work that would organise activities at the 108th Session of the ILO Conference in Geneva, Switzerland in 2019.”
Ngige said that the dialogue was timely and therefore, urged all stakeholders to take cognizance of all the issues raised in the thematic areas.
He urged them to take cognisance of the significance of the dialogue to the ILO future direction in addressing the challenges of ending poverty, ensuring social justice and decent work, among others.
Earlier, Mr Denis Zulu, the Director, ILO Country Office in Nigeria, said that the rapid changes in the world of work would affect workers, businesses and the society.
Zulu identified some of the key drivers for change in the world of work as technological advancement, innovation in robotics, computing power, artificial intelligence, medical science, globalisation and shifting employment relationships, among others.
“These changes come in different contexts in that most economies are still in recession or are recovering from one economic crisis with more than 200 million unemployed women and men globally.
“We are also faced with the unprecedented impact of climate change, demographic growth, conflicts and migration,” he said.
He said these transformations would necessarily reshape the range of policies that governments would need to navigate through a dynamic and increasing complex mix of challenges.
Zulu said there was therefore, the need to better understand what the transformations meant for governments, employers and workers, adding that they must be agents of change.
“It is they who are able to develop new policies and build stronger institutions that make the world of work a better place for present and future generations.
“The proceedings of this dialogue would, therefore, feed into global framework and provide the roadmap that is needed to achieve ILO’s mandate,” he said.
