NAN-H-46
Policy
By Bukola Adewumi
Abuja, Oct. 27, 2016 (NAN) Mr Dennis Zulu, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Officer for Nigeria, said on Thursday that the proposed employment policy would promote sustainable economic growth for the nation, if adopted.
Zulu made this known at the National Employment Policy Validation Workshop in Abuja.
He said that the employment policy would support Nigeria’s efforts towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals of creating full, productive employment and decent work for all.
According to him, the workshop would determine whether the draft policy could collectively contribute to address unemployment and underemployment in a comprehensive, coherent and integrated way.
Zulu said that the process of preparing an employment policy for Nigeria began in 2012 with the objective to promote full and productive employment by developing skills policies that would impact economic growth.
“ The ILO wishes to note that the validation of draft national employment policy is in line with the prescribed national employment policies as articulated by ILO Employment Policy Convention No 122 of 1964.
He noted that the unemployment rate had risen from 12.1 per cent to 13.3 percent while the underemployment rate had also jumped to 19.3 per cent from 19.1 per cent.
In terms of labour force, the unemployment rate for women was 15.3 per cent compared to 11.5 per cent for men, he said.
Zulu said Nigeria did not have the choice of non-implementation of the policy as the consequences of doing so would aggravate a serious challenge of unemployment.
He, therefore, appealed to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and other social partners to consider ratifying the ILO convention by putting in place an employment policy. (NAN)
BOL/AK/NKO
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Edited by Akin Makanjuola/Nkechi Okoronkwo