The Federal government is to collaborate with Humanity Foundation, a nongovernmental organisation, in the generation of qualitative data that would strengthen migration protection between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, William Alo stated this when he received in audience a delegation from the Humanity Foundation, led by the project Officer, Mr. Paul Nwankwo.
He said Nigeria has explored multiple ways of safeguarding the rights of Nigerian citizens in Saudi Arabia and the independent assessment to be carried out by the Foundation will help to strengthen the processes in furtherance of the mandate of international placement of migrant workers provided for in the Labour Acts Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004.
Alo assure the Foundation of the Ministry’s support and encouragement in the collaborative effort.
“I have directed the Department of Employment and Wages of the Ministry to give you all the necessary support you need so that this work will be achieved at the estimated time frame of six months”
“we strongly believe that the data that would be generated will help us in our planning and enhancing better government policy/programme that will help our Nigerian migrants in Saudi Arabia” he added.
Speaking earlier, the Project Officer, Mr. Paul Nwankwo said that the group was undergoing a project on Assessment of Protection of Rights of Nigerian Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia and Migrant Workers in Nigeria.
He said their visit was to intimate the Ministry on the details of the project, which entails gathering of data to look at the status of Nigeria Labour laws and protection of migrant workers in Nigeria and in the global economy.
According to him the principal implementer of the project is the International Organisation on Migration (IOM) and the goal of the project is to provide data evidence that will assist Nigeria and Saudi Arabia strengthen their migrant Labour Protection Laws and at the same time make useful recommendations that can support the European Union EU-IOM Initiative for migrant protection and re-integration in Nigeria