The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, says it has commenced the training of its newly-recruited officers on the procedures and approaches to Labour inspection services.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Yerima Tarfa, said this at the opening of a three-day capacity-building workshop with the theme,“Understanding Labour Inspection Services: Approaches and Procedures”, on Tuesday, in Abuja.
Tarfa, who was represented by Mr Emmanuel Eigbinosun,his Technical Assistant, said the training would equip the officers with the necessary knowledge to provide effective and efficient labour inspection services.
He said that through the training, those labour officers would acquire the necessary capacity to effectively perform their functions.
He noted that the function included “to carry out periodic labour inspection of work places, educate employers/employees, and enforce the National Labour Standards with a view to nipping in the bud any potential threat to industrial peace.”
He also said that the officers were also required “to enshrine decent work by unearthing unfair labour practices and other unwholesome practices such as child labour, forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking in workplaces.”
Tarfa noted that employers of labour at times employed unfair labour practices, which impeded the wellbeing of workers, while the workers sometimes engaged in activities that might prove a disservice to the employers.
He added that for those reasons, government played the role of umpire, through Labour Inspection Officers, to moderate the activities of employers and employees in order to secure industrial peace and harmony.
The permanent secretary also noted that the training would improve the performance and productivity of the officers, and enhance the ministry’s overall performance in delivering its mandate.
He urged the officers to take seriously, the workshop, as the method adopted in the process of inspection would determine their level of success.
Mr Ajuwon Dauda, Acting Director, Inspectorate Department in the ministry, while welcoming the participants, said that the objective of the workshop was to build the skills of the officers on labour Inspection services and Industrial Relations Mechanisms, to properly equip them for the job.
He added that the knowledge gained at the training would be applied to bring about sustainable industrial peace and harmony required for improved national productivity.
