The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says it is seeking collaboration of the Canadian and German governments to mitigate the high unemployment rate in the country.
NLC President Ayuba Wabba said the collaboration was through vocational training and skill acquisition.
Wabba made this known when he led a delegation of the congress on a courtesy visit to both the Canadian and German Embassies in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said that such collaboration was necessary to curb the high level of migration through the Mediterranean by Nigerian youths seeking better source of living.
At the Canadian High Commission, the NLC president expressed the commitment of the congress to work with development partners in the country.
“”We want to see the areas of possible assistance within the context of the current economic challenges in the country, especially in the area of unemployment and vocational training.
“”The congress will continue its advocacy in the area of development as the congress is playing a leading role on the African continent in engaging issues of development,” he said.
He noted that the power sector in the country, which was critical to development, had remained a major challenge.
Wabba solicited the assistance of Canada government to overcome the challenges in the privatised power sector.
This, he said, was imperative because Nigeria and Canada share similar challenges as the congress would want to know how they were able to overcome it.
He also appealed to the Canadian government to assistant the country in advancing social justice, adding that inequality would continue to prevai in a society where there was lack of social justice.
At the German Embassy, Wabba said the congress was ready to learn from the Germany Government how to tackle the issue of unemployment in the country.
According to him, it is on record that the Germans has excelled in the area of entrepreneurship which the country was ready to adopt.
He noted that the congress had been working with German agencies like the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in developing the capacity of the trade union movement in the country.
He also noted that it was a relationship that had been beneficial to the Nigerian workers.
In his remarks, Mr Christopher Thornley, the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, commended the NLC for looking for ways to ensure vocational training for the Nigerian youths.
Thornley said that the trade union movement in Canada had been involved in HIV and AIDS campaign in the country, stressing that it was common knowledge that unemployment had become like an epidemic in the country.
He described the NLC as a very important partner in the development of the country, adding that Labour economy was a very important source of information for any society.
On his part, the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Berhard Schlagheck, assured the NLC delegation of the collaboration.
““I want to assure you of the readiness of the German government to collaborate with your congress in ensuring the development of the country and the trade union movement,” he added.b(NAN)
JAN/OFN
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