Nigerian Government seeks partnership in the campaign against workplace harassment

The Federal Government has stated that it is committed to strengthening the existing institutional and legal framework to fight violence and workplace harassment while urging stakeholders to collaborate with the government in the campaign.

According to a statement on the Ministry of Labour’s website on Tuesday, the Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, made the call in Abuja, at a two-day Stakeholders Sensitization Workshop on ILO Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment and Elimination of Gender-Based Violence in the Workplace.

Ngige, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Yerima Tarfa, stated that Convention 190 is the first international treaty to recognize the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment.

He said that eliminating harassment and violence in the workplace aligned with the Federal Government’s determination to create an enabling working environment for men and women in the country, as applicable in developed economies of the world.

He said, “This is to have the Member States ratify and implement the provisions of the Convention all around the world. It is expected that Governments of Member States that ratify C190 will put in place the necessary laws and policy measures to prevent and address violence and harassment in the world of work.”

In a goodwill message, the Director, ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Ms Vanessa Phala, represented by Mrs Chinyere Emeka-Anunu, pledged the commitment of ILO to continue to support Nigeria as it embarked on the journey for the ratification and implementation of C190.