International Labour Organisation Calls For The Formalisation Of Waste Keepers

Nigeria needs to strategise ways to encourage collective efforts to ensure sustainable waste management to aid environmental sustainability and reduce impact on climate change.

Director, Special Duties of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Adamu Gizos said that Climate Change has come to stay and Nigeria must do better with its waste management sector.

”I want to challenge that climate change has come to stay not just in Nigeria, but all over the world. Look at even within Nigeria these days, you can see recently what happened in Maiduguri and many other places and even this week, we have heard there might still be some environmental disruptions, when you look at the fuel situation, we are trying yo migrate, these are big challenges and by the time we go into these transitions, a lot of peoplewould be affected”,he said.

Adding that “By the time we put this research work to use, we make it formal, so that government will look into it, to give it a proper sense of direction so that a lot of youths that are involved in this are not left behind”.

National Project Coordinator of the International Labour Organization, ILO, Mr Stephen Agugua reiterated the commitment of ILO to its core mandates to standardise Labour Laws, promote social justice, social dialogue, support job creation and decent work initiatives .

Speaking more on other projects in the pipelines by the ILO to safeguard the welfare of waste keepers and reduce stigmatization, Mr Agugua  said ”we are working with other organizations, such as the Ministry of Environment to develop a National Digital Repository for Waste Pickers in Nigeria”.

He explained that one of the reasons behind conducting the research on promoting just transition and decent job for waste pickers in Nigeria is to ensure sustainable management of Waste to achieve several of the sustainable development goals.

He also said that ”he research was used to collect data that will support, promote and enhance decent work as it relates to waste collection in major urban cities in Nigeria”.

On his part, the President of the Association of Scraps and Waste Pickers of Lagos, AWOL, Mr. Friday Oku called on the government to formalize the sector to reduce the challenges faced by waste keepers in discharging their duties.

He said ”People call us a lot of names, they do not know that we are doing a great work for the environment. The challenges we are having are from the government, the society and the communities we work are working with, also from the people that buy from us, they exploit us”.

Continuing, ” if waste keepers have their own Union to call their own, even if it still remains a daily wage payment, they will be proud of what they do. Also, there is a need for rebranding, we don’t currently work with ID Cards, so when we get to some places, they drive us away but if there is a rebranding, if we have uniforms whatever the government agrees to give us, and some safety and health measures in place, this would help create more job opportunities as many people are afraid to join the sector now because it is stigmatised. ID Cards will also help to reduce people who use waste picking to cause havocs”.

Goodwill messages from other stakeholders commended the initiative by the ILO to promote a more conducive working environment for waste pickers in Nigeria .

Representing the Nigeria Labour Congress, A climate Change Desk Officer of an affiliate Union, NUPENG, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Mr. Suleiman Pema said the role of waste pickers in ensuring a healthier environment is key to sustainable waste management and they should be given due respect and renumeration.

Similarly, Chief Scientific Officer of Lagos Waste Management Authority, Mr. Bode Oresanwo said the research is coming at a critical time and expressed optimism in the positive impact the implementation of the research would have on the waste management sector, especially in other parts of the country.

Mr. Oresanwo said keeping a clean and safe environment is the responsibility of not just the government, but everybody Participants at the Workshop commended the research work, made some recommendations and constructive criticisms to enhance the goal of the study to ensure effective and sustainable of disposal of waste to mitigate against the impact on climate change.

The core objectives of the ILO are to formulate International Policies and Programmes to promote Basic Human Rights, Improve Working and Living Conditions, create international labour standards backed by a unique system to supervise their application.

The First office of the International Labour Organization, ILO was established in 1959 in Lagos State, South-West Nigeria.