Nigeria, Qatar begin negotiations on migrants’ policy

Nigeria, Qatar begin negotiations on
migrants’ policy
October 15, 2015 at 6:04 pm in News
Abuja – Nigeria and Qatar on Thursday
commenced negotiation on a policy that would
guarantee the general welfare of the migrant
employees in both countries.
Dr Clement Illoh, the Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Labour and Productivity, said this at
an Inter-Ministerial Preparatory meeting on
Bilateral Labour Agreement between Nigeria and
Qatar in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that
Qatar, had in 2014, requested for the
employment of manpower from Nigeria.
Illoh said that the National Policy on Labour
approved by the Federal Executive Council in
October 2014, covered three broad objectives of
promotion of good governance of labour
migration, protection of migrant workers and
promotion of their welfare and that of the
families left behind.
It also touched on optimising the benefits of
labour migration on development while
mitigating its adverse impact.
“In this regard, the request by Qatar for
employment of manpower from Nigeria is a
validation of human resources in the country.
“This is a welcome development amid the
thinning job opportunities and the recent global
crisis of migration.
“Thus, this meeting is important to scrutinise
the draft Nigeria-Qatar Bilateral Agreement, to
maximse the inherent befits therein and check
the potential negative outcome in its
implementation.”
Illoh said that it was important to consider the
modalities that would govern the cooperation
agencies, vacancy notification, recruitment and
selection.
Other issues include residence and work
permits, terms of condition of employment,
dispute settlement and social security, among
others.
Ms Enira Krdzalic, the Chief Mission,
International Organisation for Migration (IOM),
said the meeting was convened to formalise
the process.