Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Nigeria (Ratification: 1961)

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Contribution of the employment service to employment promotion. In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to ensure that sufficient employment offices are established to meet the specific needs of employers and jobseekers in each of the geographical areas of the country. The Committee also invited the Government to provide information on the National Employment Policy (NEP) and other measures taken to build institutions for the realization of full employment. It also encouraged the Government and the social partners to consider the possibility of ratifying the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), a significant governance instrument. The Government indicates in its report that the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment has a network of 45 employment exchanges and 17 professional and executive registries that are strategically located in city centres where jobseekers can easily access employment services. It adds that district labour offices are also located in states with a high concentration of industries. According to the Bulletin of Labour Statistics, in 2014 there were 2,254 jobseekers registered with employment exchanges, with 829 vacancies notified and 916 individuals placed in employment. The Government indicates that the final draft of the NEP endorsed by the Government in 2002 has been validated by the social partners and is pending approval by the federal Government. The Committee requests the Government to communicate information on the current status of the National Employment Policy and to transmit a copy as soon as it is adopted. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the nature and scope of the activities carried out by the employment service to ensure the best possible organization of the labour market, as required by Article 1 of the Convention. The Government is also requested to provide statistical information on the number and location of employment exchanges and professional and executive registries established, the number of applications for employment received, vacancies notified and persons placed in employment by such offices.

Articles 4 and 5. Consultations with the social partners. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the consultations held in the National Labour Advisory Board on the organization and operation of the employment exchanges and the professional and executive registries and the development of employment service policies and programmes.

Article 6. Organization of the employment service. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that the employment exchanges and the professional and executive registries perform a range of functions free of charge. These include: the registration of jobseekers and their placement in employment; provision of vocational career guidance and counselling; collection of labour market information from employers and their dissemination of this information to the public; collection and analysis of employment and unemployment statistics for economic planning purposes; and provision of guidance and counselling for potential young school-leavers. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on the organization and activities of the employment exchanges, professional and executive registries and any other services engaged in giving effect to the Convention, such as the district labour offices and the manner in which they ensure the effective placement of jobseekers.

Article 7. Activities of the employment service. The Government indicates that the public employment service is open to all categories of jobseekers, and provides services to vulnerable groups of jobseekers, such as those with disabilities. It adds that the public employment service provides proper counselling to persons with disabilities on career choices, and advises employers not to discriminate against persons with disabilities and to reserve a certain percentage of employment for them. The Government also trains and equips persons with disabilities to be self-employed through various programmes of the National Directorate of Employment. In its 1998 General Survey on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, paragraph 88, the Committee stressed the importance of vocational guidance in opening a broad range of occupations to persons with disabilities free of considerations based on stereotypes or outdated conceptions according to which specific trades or occupations are supposedly reserved for specified categories of persons. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the results of the measures taken by the employment service concerning various occupations and industries. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the nature of the career choice counselling given to persons with disabilities. The Committee is further requested to provide information on the nature and scope of the programmes implemented by the National Directorate of Employment to promote employment and self-employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and on the impact of such programmes, indicating the number of persons benefiting from these programmes.

Article 8. Measures to assist young persons. The Government indicates that the Employment Exchanges have been upgraded in 12 states of the country with internet facilities linked to the National Electronic Labour Exchange (NELEX). The Committee notes that the Government provides no information on specific measures aimed at assisting young persons in finding employment. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee reiterates its request that the Government provide information on the impact of measures taken or envisaged by the employment service to assist young persons in finding suitable employment. It also requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the National Directorate of Employment and the National Poverty Eradication Programme measures aimed at assisting young persons to access employment.

Article 10. Measures to encourage full use of employment service facilities. The Committee reiterates its previous request that the Government provide information on the measures taken or envisaged by the employment service, with the cooperation of the social partners, to encourage the full use of employment service facilities.

Article 11. Cooperation between public and private employment agencies not conducted with a view to profit. The Government indicates that annual private employment agency workshops have been held in 2014, 2015 and 2016, with the aim of further strengthening existing cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. It adds that the next annual workshop is planned for the third quarter of 2017. The workshops provide a platform for discussions and exchanges of ideas on fair recruitment, as well as on measures to ensure compliance with government regulations. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to ensure effective cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies not conducted with a view to profit, including information on the content and outcome of the annual workshops on private employment agencies.