Labour Ministry PermSec harps on reviving Senior Officers’ Conference

ABUJA (Labour & Productivity Report) – The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Clement Illoh (Dr) has directed the resuscitation and yearly staging of the Senior Officers’ Conference of the Ministry and its Parastatals.
The Permanent Secretary gave this charge in Abuja on Friday October 17, 2014 while inaugurating the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity Resuscitation and Planning Committee for the Senior Officers’ Conference 2014.

Clement Illoh recalled that the last Senior Officers’ Conference was held in Bauchi in 1995 being about two decades ago. He also indicated that this year’s Conference would be held from November 25 to 26, 2014; adding that the Planning Committee has two weeks to submit its report.

According to him, the Senior Officers’ Conference is one of the machineries adopted by the Ministry to respond effectively to gaps and challenges identified in the process of implementing labour laws. “The officers use the forum to interact, share experiences on contemporary and emerging trends in the field and collectively proffer solutions to identified gaps and challenges as well as make projections into the next year through lectures and participatory discussions,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary noted that facilitators were usually versatile retired and serving Professional Factory Inspectors and Labour Officers and the resolutions adopted at the Conference were used to enrich the Ministry’s industrial relations system, especially policy formulation, practices and advice to Governments at Federal and State Levels.
He further noted that the Senior Officers’ Conference used to have in attendance State Controllers in the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT, Heads of Parastatals and Departments of the Ministry with the Permanent Secretary presiding. He revered that with the recent establishment of the Directorate Resident Labour Desks in Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the upgrading of Zonal Offices to Directorates, participation at the Conference would be expanded to capture the two new Directorates.
The Permanent Secretary listed the responsibilities of the Resuscitation and Planning Committee to include:  setting up modalities and guidelines for the successful hosting of the Senior Officers’ Conference, 2014; setting up criteria for the mobilization of funds for hosting the Senior Officers’ Conference, 2014; recommending measures to sustain regular funding and hosting of the Senior Officers’ Conference and recommending any other measures that will help to sustain and improve the standards and values of the Senior Officers’ Conference.

While responding on behalf of the eleven-member Committee, the Chairperson of the Planning Committee, Theresa Braimah, who is the Director of Productivity Measurement and Standard, represented by the Director of Human Resources Management in the Ministry, Abiola Bawa commended the initiative of the Permanent Secretary in facilitating the revival of the Conference and assured that the Committee would deliver on its mandate.

The members of the Planning Committee, she mentioned were the Director of Finance and Accounts, Akyen Muhammed; the Acting Director of Social Security, Nofisat Arogundade; the Acting Director of Inspectorate, Emmanuel Udoh and the Acting Director of Skills Development and Certification, Ibrahim Jibia as well as the Executive Director (Administration) of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Ibrahim Wakawa.

Others were; the Registrar of the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP), Hajara Usman; the Director of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Fatai Babatunde and the Director of the National Productivity Centre (NPC), Kasim Akor. Also,  the Deputy Director of Human Resources in the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Isa Abdu.