The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has trained 30 journalists on labour migration, using its media toolkit.

The National Project Coordinator, Mr Austin Erameh,  told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday that the workshop which held in was focused on using toolkit in reporting forced labour and fair recruitment.

NAN reports that the participants were drew from jouirnalists, Civil Society Organisations and government officials.

Erameh said that in 2020  ILO launched a global “Media Toolkit on Forced Labour and Fair Recruitment“ in order to contribute to quality reportage by journalists in that area.

He said the toolkit has an accompanying media-friendly glossary on migration and provides concrete tips for improving media story ideas to promote production of quality reporting on forced labour and fair recruitment issues.

According to him, the ILO in Nigeria started the adaptation of the toolkit in 2020 and facilitated a presentation of the draft document to integrate stakeholders’ feedback.

“We are training the participants to be able to use the adapted toolkit more effectively.

“We hope the training will really be impactful on the capacity of media organisations in Benin and the South-South region so that they are able to track media stories, report more accurately and effectively labour migration stories.” he said.

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On his part, Mr Tunde Salman, a co-facilitator of the workshop, disclosed that Benin was a deliberate choice for the workshop because of the participation of residents in the subject matter.

Salman, also a consultant to ILO on adaptation of media toolkit, said that the workshop would also give journalists the opportunity to participate effectively and accurately in migration reportage.

A participant, Mr Lucky Ighomuaye, said reporting labour migration, using ILO’s media toolkit, indicated that when reporting on a situation of forced labour the solution of freeing the workers would be the desired outcome.

Another participant, Mr Franklin Aideloje, who is a researcher, said from the lLO toolkit, he learnt that migration was a right.

He said that a person was free, both legally and morally, to travel to any destination of his choice and not through irregular means.

According to him, from the toolkit the issue of labour migration has become an urgent and compelling concern to the state.

He said that organisations involved in labour recruitment must be discouraged from making false promises to those they want to recruit. (NAN)